Micromount
Encyclopedia
Micromount is term used by mineral collectors and rockhounds to describe mineral
specimens that are best appreciated using optical aid, commonly a hand-lens or better, a binocular microscope
. The magnification employed ranges from 10 to 40 times.
A micromount is permanently mounted in some kind of box and labelled with the name of the mineral and the location
from which it came. Proper mounting both preserves delicate crystals, and facilitates their handling.
Micromount specimen collecting has a number of advantages over collecting larger specimens.
Micromount specimens take up less space and cost less than larger specimens.
Small crystal
s are usually more perfect than larger ones.
Micromount material can often be readily collected at locations that rarely
if ever yield specimens with large crystals.
Crystals of many rare species are only found in microscopic sizes.
Micromounting is a craft, as much as it is a collecting activity. Two English language books on
micromounting have been published,
one by Milton Speckels
in 1965, and the other by Quintin Wight
in 1993.
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
specimens that are best appreciated using optical aid, commonly a hand-lens or better, a binocular microscope
Microscope
A microscope is an instrument used to see objects that are too small for the naked eye. The science of investigating small objects using such an instrument is called microscopy...
. The magnification employed ranges from 10 to 40 times.
A micromount is permanently mounted in some kind of box and labelled with the name of the mineral and the location
from which it came. Proper mounting both preserves delicate crystals, and facilitates their handling.
Micromount specimen collecting has a number of advantages over collecting larger specimens.
Micromount specimens take up less space and cost less than larger specimens.
Small crystal
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...
s are usually more perfect than larger ones.
Micromount material can often be readily collected at locations that rarely
if ever yield specimens with large crystals.
Crystals of many rare species are only found in microscopic sizes.
Micromounting is a craft, as much as it is a collecting activity. Two English language books on
micromounting have been published,
one by Milton Speckels
in 1965, and the other by Quintin Wight
in 1993.