Rocky Mountain Gems & Minerals
Self-Aware- Minerals - Jeff Self & Donna Ware
Jeff Self has been collecting in Colorado for most of his life, and Mount Antero for the last 20 years.
A Colorado native, Jeff Self spent his young years in the gold fields of the San Juan Mountains, working with his grandfather (Ralph
As a young boy, Jeff would sell minerals speciments to tourist out of a little red wagon at the Silverton stop at the Durango Silverton Narrow Cause Train.
With his wife Donna Ware, they both have been proprietors / owners of Self-A-Ware Minerals for 8 years, and hoc
mineral dealers for most of their lives.
Jeff and Donna have mined some exceptional minerals through out their mining career, and many of these specimens are currently on displayed at that School of Mine's famous Mineral Museum in Golden Colorado , and private collectios around the world.
In 2006, on Mount Antero, Jeff and Donna discovered one of the largest pockets in their mining careers. Beau's pocket yielded approximately 3,000lbs of mineral speciments, mostly quartz, feldspar and muscovite plates, with minor beryl. Near the top of the pocket several large pieces of beryl weighing over 9,000 carats in total were discovered . These pieces were later assembled into one of the largest known beryl crystals from this locality. Equally unusual, the pink sections of beryl were confirmed as Morganite by analysis at the University of Colorado at Boulder and Cal Tech. Morganite had been suspected, but not previously confirmed from this locality, which is known for its Aquamarine.
Jeff and Donna mine occasionally in Arizona and New Mexico, but the majority of their prospecting has been in Colorado. Some of their favorite spots to mine are:
Mount Antero for Aquamarine, Phenakite, and Fluorite Cystals
Crystal Peak for Amazonite, Smoky Quartz Crystals, and Fluorite
Tarryall Mountains for Topaz
Members to several Clubs:
Friends of Mineralogy
Colorado Mineral Society
Albuquerque Club
Denver Mineral Club (Ragged Ass Miners)
Volunteer Work:
Denver Mineral Clubs & Events
Creed Symposiums
Denver Mineral Shows
School of Mines
Current Projects:
Friends of Mineralogy Colorado Chapter Preservation Committee - "Miners Oral History Project"
Famous mining quote from Jeff Self:
"The worst day in the field is better than the best day sitting at home watching television"
A Colorado native, Jeff Self spent his young years in the gold fields of the San Juan Mountains, working with his grandfather (Ralph
As a young boy, Jeff would sell minerals speciments to tourist out of a little red wagon at the Silverton stop at the Durango Silverton Narrow Cause Train.
With his wife Donna Ware, they both have been proprietors / owners of Self-A-Ware Minerals for 8 years, and hoc
mineral dealers for most of their lives.
Jeff and Donna have mined some exceptional minerals through out their mining career, and many of these specimens are currently on displayed at that School of Mine's famous Mineral Museum in Golden Colorado , and private collectios around the world.
In 2006, on Mount Antero, Jeff and Donna discovered one of the largest pockets in their mining careers. Beau's pocket yielded approximately 3,000lbs of mineral speciments, mostly quartz, feldspar and muscovite plates, with minor beryl. Near the top of the pocket several large pieces of beryl weighing over 9,000 carats in total were discovered . These pieces were later assembled into one of the largest known beryl crystals from this locality. Equally unusual, the pink sections of beryl were confirmed as Morganite by analysis at the University of Colorado at Boulder and Cal Tech. Morganite had been suspected, but not previously confirmed from this locality, which is known for its Aquamarine.
Jeff and Donna mine occasionally in Arizona and New Mexico, but the majority of their prospecting has been in Colorado. Some of their favorite spots to mine are:
Mount Antero for Aquamarine, Phenakite, and Fluorite Cystals
Crystal Peak for Amazonite, Smoky Quartz Crystals, and Fluorite
Tarryall Mountains for Topaz
Members to several Clubs:
Friends of Mineralogy
Colorado Mineral Society
Albuquerque Club
Denver Mineral Club (Ragged Ass Miners)
Volunteer Work:
Denver Mineral Clubs & Events
Creed Symposiums
Denver Mineral Shows
School of Mines
Current Projects:
Friends of Mineralogy Colorado Chapter Preservation Committee - "Miners Oral History Project"
Famous mining quote from Jeff Self:
"The worst day in the field is better than the best day sitting at home watching television"
