During these years we have had way to see many collections of minerals, everyone constitutes a life fragment, a part of the personality of the collector who has built it year after year.

You can perceive his personality from the choice of the specimens and their size, from the organization of the exposure, the different thematic.  Very rarely we had the chance that the collection was expression of the life and work of the collector, like if the passion for minerals and the same existence were melted in an only element.  Michele Pusceddu, a old Sardinian miner, is one of these rare cases:  its mineral collection, than recently we have acquired, was constructed during thirty years, between the sixties and nineties, in parallel with the hard job as miner in the Iglesiente mines.

...a Miners and his Collection

Appointment with Gianfranco in Serravalle to take the ferry to Sardinia. The sea has been calm and the following morning is wonderful: the better way to start our journey in Sardinia, the country of the nuraghi, the beautiful sea, and wild mountains and above all of the numerous mines. These last ones, in the past years, have given occupation to thousands of people, but now most of the mines is closed.

Our target is Fluminimaggiore, in the center of the mining area of the Sulcis-Iglesiente with the famous mines of Ingurtosu, Montevecchio, Crabulazzu and Su Zurfuru, whose galleries are close to the city. The economic agreement for the acquisition has been already reached in general terms; we have to fix only the last details with our friends.
Pusceddu is an old Sardinian miner with more than eighty years, the honest face and the large and still sturdy hands, like many its contemporarys that has begun to work in mine from child age.

For all the life he had not other occupation making all the jobs that constituted the activity and the career inside a mine: worker, maintenance, explosives, etc. The salary was however always very low and it must not have been simple to maintain its numerous family with 13 children. Even with this hard work, Michele did not give up his passion for the minerals therefore he returned during the night in the mines galleries to exploit the geodes of crystals that came out during the day during the mining work. Its collection has grown in this way, until forming, in the course of the years, the interesting nucleus of approximately 800 pieces from the various mines of the Fluminese.
The minerals were exposed in every angle of the house, various sizes (from thumbnail to the museum size) and with different levels of interest.
 

To pack the collection has not been a simple job and has involved 3 complete days of work, during which Michele helped us telling thousands of histories that every piece evoked it to his mind. Therefore we have listened as lukily he discovered the blue fluorite geode in the Santa Lucia mine; as he recovered a large piece of Desolate from the external stairs of one house in Montresta; as he has been successful to recover and to transport with a small motorcycle the magnificent specimens of Pyromorfite from Crabulazzu; as he was able to extract and to carry during the night to the house an enormous piece of Barite and Fluorite from Santa Lucia mine; and then many, many other small and great histories that have given way to us to live again the history and the growth of his collection.

The Collection

 Approximately 80% of pieces of the Pusceddu collection has origin from the mines of the Sulcis-Iglesiente area, where Michele has carried out its working activity; the remaining part is constituted by specimens from other parts of Sardinia or from Italy obtained through exchanges.
Even if most of the specimens are coming from a relatively small area with a relatively simple paragenesis, what makes this collection absolutely unique is the passion and the particular mineralogical sensibility of Pusceddu: every specimen has a peculiarity, each one is very selected and specific.

By far the most important specimens are some pieces of deep Blue Fluorite on quartz from a unique geode of this quality found in the Santa Lucia mine: crystals of 4-5 cm with some pyrite and marcasite inclusions that give a particular shine to the crystals and an effect similar to the night sky with stars...remarkable are also some honey yellow barite samples in association to Fluorite from Santa Lucia, of singular transparency and color, some exceptional specimens of Linarite, all coming from S' Oreri in Santa Lucia mine. Very interesting are also the minerals from the Su Zurfuru mine, Green and white Fluorites, Mimetites, Anglesites, Cerussites, etc). In particular we Highlight the yellow /orange/green Mimetites in very lucent crystals . In addition there is an incredible variety of Barites, Calcites, Fluorites, Aragonites and other typical minerals of the zone: the green phantom Barites of Carbonia, the Crabulazzu Pyromorfites, Silius Fluorites, Calcites and Barites and finally some spectacular Aragonites , collected many years ago in the various caves of the mines.

The Collection on our sites

Most of the specimens of the collection have gone to increase our personal collections; only a small part is proposed for sale, to integrate the galleries of our section dedicated to the Sardinia: these samples will be characterized by the code M.P.

What proposed in the galleries is part of the available material, in addition we have some museum - size barites up to 10-15 cm of, calcites and fluorites in pieces of dimensions over the 30 - 40 centimeters. You can contact us describing the type of mineral of interest and the cost range or otherwise you are welcome to visit us in our warehouse.
 

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