New acquisitions for MKPM

The new acquisitions at the Matilda and Karl Pfeiffer Museum and Study Center include, from left: Front--andradite, smithsonite and pyromorphite. Back row- fluorite sprinkled in pyrite, stibnite, scheelite on musconite and witherite. (Times photo/Tim Blair) [Click to enlarge]

Last month trustees with the Matilda and Karl Pfeiffer Museum and Study Center in Piggott made their annual pilgrimage to Arizona to attend the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. The show is held the first full weekend of each February, and has grown into the largest such event in the United States. Each year the trustees attend the show, and bring back items to add to the museum's extensive collection.

For the local museum the 2010 show was a great event as a total of seven new minerals are being added to the collection, including items from China, Madagascar and right here in Arkansas.

"We try to work each year to add to our collection in both value and what we have to offer," trustee Jim Richardson noted after driving in from Arizona with this year's acquisitions.

"We were very fortunate this year to add a couple of items with ties to Arkansas," trustee Don Roeder added. "We were able to get a great sample of Smithsonite from the Rush Creek District in Marion County and a rare Witherite mineral from Montgomery County."

Roeder said the museum acquired an example from the famous Bunker Hill Mine in Utah, a rare mineral that's part of the garnet family from Madagascar along with three items from mainland China.

Following Richardson's arrival with the new acquisitions, he and Roeder, along with trustee Peggy Heaton, pored over the parcels like kids on Christmas morning. The trustees then began the process of unwrapping each of the minerals and matching them with their display stands. The acquisitions were scheduled to be placed in the local museum's collection immediately, and are now available for viewing by the public.

This year's acquisitions for the local museum included a piece of andradite, a rare mineral from the garnet family that came from Ambanja District, Madagascar. Also included is a sample of Smithsonite, or what's commonly referred to as "turkey fat." Smithsonite is often a by-product in the formation of zinc ore and comes to the museum from the Rush Creek District of Marion County, Ark. Back in the early part of the 20th century, there were many zinc mines in that portion of North Central Arkansas, primarily along the scenic Buffalo River.

The museum's new sample of pyromorphite, a lead-based mineral, is from the famous Bunker Hill Mine in the state of Utah. Closer to home, the museum also acquired an excellent specimen of Witherite, a rare carbonate that is the second most common barium mineral on the planet. The acquisition comes to the museum by way of the Pigeon Roost Mine in Montgomery County, Ark.

The collection also now includes three new items from China, including a fluorite mineral with pyrite (fool's gold) sprinkles on top from Jiangxi Province. The trustees also purchased a Stibnite specimen (a sulfide mineral that's also sometimes referred to as Antimonite) that came from the Hunan Province.

The final acquisition from mainland China was a specimen of Scheelite on Musconite from the Sichuan Province. Sheelite is an ore material while Musconite is as a type of granite.

"We were very fortunate with our acquisitions this year," Roeder added. "We were very lucky to find such great specimens with ties to Arkansas along with the others."

The Matilda and Karl Pfeiffer Museum and Study Center is located at 1071 Heritage Park Drive, just north of the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum in Piggott. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturdays. Those wanting more information about the museum, or their world class mineral collection, may call them at 870-598-3228 or email pfeifferfnd@centurytel.net

More information is also available on their website at http://www.pfeifferfoundation.com