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In 2020, the Mineralogical Society (MinSocWA) launched a collaborative project to expand Simpson’s Mineral of Western Australia.

Background

Dr Edward Sydney Simpson (1875–1939) is widely regarded as the ‘Father’ of Western Australian mineralogy for his comprehensive studies of rocks, minerals and meteorites of the State. The Simpson Collection, now housed at the Western Australian Museum, formed the basis for his definitive three volumes Minerals of Western Australia, published posthumously in 1948, 1951 and 1952. It remains a significant reference publication for mineralogists and prospectors in the State. Since publication, many mineral discoveries  (401 and counting) have been made in Western Australia — both as new occurrences of previously recognized minerals and as type species. Documentation of these is scattered amongst many national and international publications, not all of which are accessible for free to everyone.

Project

MinSocWA is inviting its members and interested collaborators to participate in this project. It is envisaged that:

• The publication would be a single volume following the format used by Simpson Vols. 1–3 but with up-to-date production techniques and colour maps and photographs.
• The publication is to be printed as a hardcopy volume or provided digitally — with the former being the preferred option. Suitable sponsors, in addition to MinSocWA, will be sought to alleviate the cost to MinSocWA, as well as potentially a pre-release commitment to purchase by interested individuals.
• A sub-committee (Vernon Stocklmayer, Susan Stocklmayer, Angela Riganti) is coordinating the preparation of the update.
• A time frame of about 3 to 4 years is envisaged.

Update format — details

The update will complement Simpson’s three volumes by:

Presenting new mineral discoveries made during the 70 years since Simpson’s publication — both as new occurrences of minerals that were previously known, but unrecorded in Western Australia, such as euclase and putnisite, and as new mineral species such as natrowalentaite.

Including graphic material to make the book more attractive to mineral collectors and relevant institutions.

View the July 2020 PowerPoint introducing the project.

How can you contribute?

Please contact the Project Coordinator  if you would like to write up some minerals or if you have any information on localities and occurrences for the mineral on the list, or simply to inform us that there is a species missing from the list (see what is covered in Simpson’s three volumes here).

Photographs of mineral species are especially welcome, and must include mineral names, locality, scale/FOV and a declaration that you have copyright or written permission to use (if not your photo).

A draft example for euclase and acanthite are provided here. Writing guidelines  are also available, but please contact the project coordinator FIRST to avoid duplication of effort, as others may have already started compiling information on some species. The Project Coordinator can also assist with a list of useful references, a tectonic unit map of Western Australia and the index for the 1:100 000 map sheets covering the State.

All written content will be edited to conform to the standardized presentation requirements, and all contributions will be acknowledged.

The Simpson WA update project is launched as a collaboration and we look forward to it gathering momentum by the efforts of our membership and all volunteers/interested parties.

Contact: Susan Stocklmayer at simpsonWA@minsocwa.org.au

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