Mineralica 2024

But first I would like to briefly introduce myself. I started collecting minerals as a child in Bad Bleiberg and on the Hüttenberg in Carinthia. In the years that followed, I acquired my first literature on mining and mineralogy.

As an adult, I came to Munich for professional reasons and met some of my companions here. Thanks to my constant thirst for knowledge, I was able to gain more and more expertise. I am still particularly interested in historical mining and collecting German and Austrian ore minerals. I am also occasionally active as a “Strahler” in the Alpine region.

As a member of several mineral clubs, I have realized that the community of collectors is changing. My aim with Mineralica is to make a difference. I want to get more young people interested in our fascinating hobby again and bring the international community together through a magazine that covers different languages. The availability of all articles on our website creates an easily accessible offer for anyone interested - all you need is access to the Internet.

The premiere of Mineralica holds three colorful and diverse articles for you in this special issue. The first article is about the Wolf mine in Germany, a historically important site with a long tradition. Despite their small size, the rhodochrosites found there are considered as absolute classics among German minerals. Matthias Reinhardt has masterfully captured the impressive colors. Markus Henrich complements this with an informative text that illustrates the fascination for this site.

Next up, the Pala District in California will be presented, known for remarkable gemstones that have been mined on Chief Mountain for many years. The intensely purple-colored kunzites are among the best in North America. Mark Mauthner shows a veritable wealth of extraordinary minerals in text and pictures. His most detailed mineralogical list to date is the result of years of research in mines, which are still active today.

This issue concludes with a gripping and inspiring article by Martin Grüll, who describes one of the most important amethyst finds in the Austrian Alps. Erika and Rudolf Planitzer discovered an impressive cleft and, together with their friends, were able to recover backpacks full of beautiful scepter and window amethysts.

My heartfelt thanks go to all those who have supported me and the idea of Mineralica from the very beginning. I would especially like to thank the authors who have made this issue possible with their wonderful contributions. A big thank you also to the editors Mark Mauthner, Michael & Julia Heimerl and Wolfgang Zahnleiter, who have always supported me professionally and actively helped with the translation. But my biggest thanks go to my partner Noah, who always encouraged me. I would also like to thank my parents, Monika & Georg, because without their many years of support I would probably never have gotten this far.

I hope you enjoy reading, browsing and discovering,

Maximilian Schiller