Before leaving to Fianarantsoa and the rain forest, we met with Federico, the most connected man in Madagascar for collecting minerals. Federico wrote the feature article detailing Demantoid minerals in the May-June 2010 issue of The Mineralogical Record. This is a fascinating article on everything from the mining operations to detailed information on the minerals.
Doug & I were interested in purchasing a demantoid collection of 13 specimens. Federico was familiar with the collection and suggested he help us with the buy - a wise decision. This transaction was much like a drug buy. We met with the mineral dealer in the lobby of his hotel. He told us they allow him to use the upstairs veranda for his purchases. We gathered and took a look at the minerals. A few of them were exceptional and all were very nice. Federico told us after we made the purchase that the collector started the deal for about 35 million ariary which translates to over $17,000 US. He told the dealer not to insult him and that Doug is a serious dealer that brings groups of people to Madagascar just to buy minerals. We purchased them at a very reasonable price and in the end everyone was happy.
What a memorable experience.
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| Danny, Giorgio, Federico, Danny's partner, the Madagascar Minister of Mining, and Doug prior to negotiations. |
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| One of the nicest demantoid specimens |
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| A few of the 13 specimens we purchased |
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| Danny signing my copy of the Mineralogical Record featuring Madagascar. Danny noted the photos of all the demantoids he sold. These are some of the finest specimens known in the world. Danny actually owned the demantoid which is on the cover of the magazine |
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| Doug & Federico holding my copy of the Madagascar issue of The Mineralogical Record. |
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| Danny smiling after selling his demantoid collection to us. It must have been a good sale for him. |
