Meeting

Casper Voogt International Mindat Conference April 25 Program Many NVMC members are familiar with the Mindat Internet site, an invaluable source of information about our hobby. Mindat also has marvelous images of many different minerals. Beginning in 2011, Mindat sponsored an annual international conference held in a country of mineralogical interest. In 2014, Madagascar was the country of choice. Our presenter for April, Casper Voogt, had the good fortune to be one of 60 participants at the Third International Mindat.org Conference. Casper will present an overview of the 16-day conference, which might better be described as a geological/mineralogical tour, with stops at mineral markets, nature reserves, natural wonders, and other attractions. Casper’s trip included several days of hearing presentations and lectures, including by Dr. Federico Pezzotta, Curator of Mineralogy at the Museum of Natural History in Milan. The mineral pezzottaite is named after Dr. Pezzotta.

Casper will present a summary of the trip, including mineralogical and other highlights (such as lemurs, chameleons, villages, food, and people). He will show some of the specimens he brought back.

Casper is a part-time mineral dealer, lifelong mineral collector, and avid traveler. His academic background is in architecture (Princeton and Georgia Tech). He has lived in Aruba, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States. Casper runs a Web development company and serves as Webmaster for the Northern Virginia Mineral Club, the Mineralogical Society of the District of Columbia, and the Gem and Mineral Society of Lynchburg, VA.