Western Australia is a treasure trove. Emeralds, green tourmalines, purple lepidolite, lustrous black tantalite and other minerals are found in pegmatites scattered across the vastness of Western Australia.

Fossickers, prospectors, and miners have searched out and mined these pegmatites since the late 1800s. Successive mineral booms for cassiterite, muscovite, beryl, lithium, feldspar and most recently tantalum during the 1990s resulted in further pegmatite exploration.

The locations, directions to the deposits and descriptions of these localities areoften buried in obscure or unpublished reports or even kept secret by a handful of fossickers.

The Guidebook to the Pegmatites of Western Australia summarises the history, geology and mineralogy for all the known pegmatites in Western Australia. Most importantly, the book provides specific, geodetic locations of these deposits and their ownership where known.

As such, this guidebook is an excellent first tool for planning recreational fossicking trips to Western Australian localities. For professional geologists first encountering Western Australia, the guidebook is an excellent introduction to the pegmatites and their economic minerals, containing first hand information, in some cases available no where else. pp. xxxvii, 356 illusts, maps, photographs. #0618/0219