Book Documents Minerals, Mining Activities in Georgia

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Cartersville, GA -- On Thursday, Tellus Science Museum will launch the newest edition of Minerals of Georgia at a book release lecture event.

The book was written by Dr. Robert B. Cook, professor emeritus of the Department of Geology at Auburn University, former Tellus curator Julian Gray and edited by Tellus Executive Director Jose Santamaria.

Guests are invited to meet the authors and editor for an exclusive book signing following the lectures, which will start at 7 p.m. Feb. 4 at the museum.

Minerals of Georgia is illustrated with over 150 color photographs, and is an alphabetized record of every mineral identified in the state. This guide provides the most current listings and descriptions of mineral occurrences and mining activities documented in Georgia over the past 150 years.

Gray describes the book as “the most complete book describing mineral occurrences in Georgia.”

Gray, who now serves as the executive director of the Rice Northwestern Museum of Rocks and Minerals in Hillsboro, Oregon, also added the original version inspired his rock collecting activities throughout his formative years.

The important reference guide had not been updated since its original publication in 1978, so it was well past time to refresh the book since many new minerals and locations have been documented, Cook stated.

“Without the update, the reader is automatically almost 40 years out of date,” he said.

The trio worked more than 15 years soliciting new mineral location information from mineral collectors and compiling the data to create the most complete reference guide on the subject to date.

“Keeping this project going has been a very rewarding process,” Santamaria said. “We gathered information from many collectors and from our own fieldwork, and then assembled over 150 excellent mineral photographs for the book. This edition will serve mineral enthusiasts, as well as inspire beginner collectors, for generations to come.”

The book is being released at Tellus Science Museum because Santamaria and Gray worked on it collaboratively at Tellus during most of the revisions. Senior author Dr. Bob Cook has loaned or donated significant portions of his collection to Tellus.

For more information, call 770-606-5700 or visit www.tellusmuseum.org.

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Image via Tellus Science Museum