OUR STORY OF AJOITE AND HOW WE HAVE THE LARGEST COLLECTION IN THE WORLD
My early days of collecting ajoite at the Messina Mine. Messina, Transvaal. South Africa.
(now Musina Limpopo Province)
By Rob Smith ceo.
AFRICAN GEMS AND MINERALS. Est 1984
It all started in 1971 when I had a family member Anton Jansen who worked on the mine and I went up regularly to visit him and his then wife Joey. He always had some interesting included quartz crystals that he had put aside for me.
At this time NO Ajoite or Pappagoite had been found or collected at this location!
It was only when an old friend and legend in the area Jimmy Townsend introduced me to a miner working at the Harper Shaft, Ertjies Jansen who took me aside and showed me a few beautiful turquoise coloured included Ajoite in quartz Crystals! He took me to his farm and on a shaggy white carpet in his homestead. He had about eighty mind blowing Ajoite in quartz crystals displayed on it.
What a sight!!! THIS IS WHERE IT ALL STARTED!
For a few years after that I stashed every piece of Ajoite that came my way telling no one!
It was only when I decided to attend my first Tucson Show in 1986 that I asked my good friend then Bruce Cairncross to help me with the show, did I let everyone know of my good fortune!
The very first pieces that I ever sold was to Leonard Hymes and Cal Graber for $15.00 each in a muddy and bogged tent at a very cold and rainy Tucson Show on the strip.
At this show I showed them to Wendell E. Wilson of the Mineralogical Record who photographed a few crystals and published them in Vol 17 No3 1986.
Strangely enough there was not much interest in these rare and stunning Crystals among mineral collectors. I needed to sell so I showed them to the metaphysical Guru of our Planet “MELODY” (author of Love is in the Earth series). She bought one of these killer crystal in those days for $3,000 and promptly put it on the cover her first book!
In short it is with thanks to this beautiful Lady that Ajoite is what it is today – through her and my marketing.
In the early days I put away many thousands of kilograms of these stunning Crystals and limited the sale of them to the market over time.
I have the world’s largest private collection of Fine Ajoite and Papagoite Crystal numbering over one hundred carefully selected pieces.
The Messina Mine closed in 1992.
The mine is now flooded and all the shafts have been sealed with concrete.
There is no other source of these stunning Ajoite Crystals available other than from AJOITE1.COM or from folk selling up or out of their private collections.