Friends of Mineralogy Colorado Chapter 2025 Symposium - Specimen Mines of the United States

The Friends of Mineralogy Colorado Chapter is pleased to announce that we will be hosting a symposium June 12th – 15th, 2025, at the Mines Museum of Earth Science and Hill Hall at Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. The symposium theme will be “Specimen Mines of the United States.” We are lucky to have an excellent lineup of speakers and events. All who are interested in minerals and mineralogy are welcome to attend.

Parking is free on School of Mines campus after 5pm on weekdays and all day on weekends.

Preliminary Schedule: 

Thursday June 12

• Behind the Scenes Tour at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science; 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm; tour the rock, mineral, and fossil collections; limited to 12 people; free registration with general symposium registration

Friday June 13

• Behind the Scenes Tour at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science; 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm; tour the rock, mineral, and fossil collections; limited to 12 people; free registration with general symposium registration

• Mineral Specimen Prep Demo @ The Collectors Edge; 10am and 2pm; Each demo will last ~1.5 hrs; Limited to 12 people on each; $10 on top of general symposium registration

• Smoky Hawk / Sky Hawk (Pinnacle5 claims, the Pikes Peak Batholith) tour and collecting trip; 9am start time; $20 on top of symposium registration; limited to 25 people (additional details below)

• Opening Reception at the Mines Museum of Earth Science; 5:00 to 8:00 pm (beverages and light food included); Includes a silent and live auction.

Saturday June 14

Symposium proceedings (Hill Hall room 202):

8:50 - 9:00 AM Opening Remarks
9:00 - 9:45 AM Levi Gregory: History and Production of the Little Three Gem Mine
9:50 - 10:35 AM Dave Varabioff: Gold Specimens
10:40 - 11 AM MORNING BREAK
11:00 - 11:45 AM Karly and Don Litchfield: The Mineralogy, Paleontology and Geology of Elk Creek, South Dakota.
LUNCH BREAK
1:30 - 2:15 PM Jeremy Fuller: Utah Red Beryl
2:20 - 3:05 PM Robert Nacarato & Walt Gaylord: Elmwood
3:10 - 3:30 PM AFTERNOON BREAK
3:30 - 4:15 PM Les Presmyk: The Brushy Creek Mine – A specimen collecting project
4:20 - 5:05 PM Graham Sutton: A brief history of 40 years of digging in the dirt

Sunday June 15

Symposium proceedings (Hill Hall room 202):

9:00 - 9:45 AM Joe Dorris: Artisanal mineral specimen mining, Smoky Hawk Pegmatite Group, Teller Co., Colorado
9:50 - 10:35 AM Mary Freeman: Trophies from Mount Mica, Paris, Maine
10:40 - 11:00 AM MORNING BREAK
11:00 - 11:45 AM TBD
11:50 AM - 12:00 PM Concluding Remarks

1:30 - 4:00 PM Micromineral Summit (GRL201, room across the hall from the Mines Museum)