The minerals exhibition
The minerals are displayed on the first floor in the Geological Museum. The earliest mineral collection was assembled in 1757 at the Mining Academy in Kongsberg. It was transferred to the University of Oslo in 1814. Among the highlights of the museum exhibition today are silver samples from Kongsberg, a specimen of moon rock, beautiful gems and industrial minerals and 13 of the 14 known Norwegian meteorites.
Some highlights from the exhibition
1. Wire Silver on calcite, Kongsberg
The best locality in the world for well crystallized silver is the Kongsberg mines. The silver was discovered in 1623 and mining continued until 1957. Many of the most beautiful specimens were given by the Danish kings to emperors of Europe and may now be found in many natural history museums around the world.
3. Vesuvianite, Drammen
This is the best vesuvianite from Norway. In the Oslo region there are several contact metamorphic localities, formed during the Permian rifting when large bodies of granite and syenite came into contact with the early Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. This metamorphic event formed many smaller iron and zinc deposits and also large quantities of skarn mineralization. These localities formed the basis for Victor M. Goldschmidt's Ph.D. in 1911: "Die Kontaktmetamorphose im Kristianagebiet". Goldschmidt is the father of modern geochemistry.
2. Leucophanite, Vestfold
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4. Hellandite-(Y), Kragerø Hellandite is a mineral rarely found in large, well formed crystals. This is a beautiful crystal form the type locality at Lindvikskollen and one of the specimens used byW. C. Brøgger to describe the new mineral in 1906. Hellandite was named in honour of the Norwegian geologist Amund Theodor Helland (1846-1918). |
5. Althausite from Buskerud
The world's largest crystal of Althausite, a mineral known from the Tingelstadtjern and Overntjern quarries, Modum, Norway. The magnesite quarries are known for the excellent quality of the serpentine. A number of rare associated minerals have been found here; the localities are type locality for five mineral species. Althausite was named by Gunnar Raade (Natural History Museum, Oslo) and Magne Tysseland (University of Bergen) to honour professor Egon Althaus (1933- ), Karlsruhe University, Germany.
6. Hydroxylapatite, Buskerud
Opaque white blocky crystal of hydroxylapatite associated with black actinolite crystals. The locality has been mined occasionally for specimens since the early 19 Century. One of the all-time classics from Norway, good specimens are on display in almost every major mineral museum in Europe.