The 26th Expominer, Mineral and Fossil Exchange Exhibition, which was held from the 12th to the 14th of November in Hall 6 in Montjuïc, had an audience of over 14,000 visitors including professionals, collectors and students from different schools institutes and colleges in Catalonia.

This annual event, organised by Fira de Barcelona, played host to around 120 exhibitors, half of them from abroad, which presented their collections of very beautiful and unique fossils and minerals in an area of 4,000 square meters.

Expominer also provided the setting for two cultural exhibitions:one dedicated to dinosaurs that inhabited Mongolia, with the reproduction of Velociraptor and Protoceratops skeletons, and another on the Carcharodon Megalodon, the largest shark known to man that became extinct 1.8 million years ago, of which a 2-metre high replica of its jaws was exhibited.

The mid-range jewellery pieces, presented by exhibitors from Spain and other countries, such as India, Morocco and Lithuania, among others, attracted a large number of visitors and buyers interested in the different styles and design and the variety of gems used.

Visitors to Expominer were also able to attend various activities, such as those held by the company “Lithos”, cutting up some geodes to reveal their inner beauty. Geodes are hollow cavities lined with crystals deposited by mineral-rich water. The ones featured at the exhibition come from Chihuahua (Mexico), are spherical and lined with amethyst or chalcedony.

On this occasion, Expominer also provided the setting for pan handling demonstrations that, with the collaboration of the Asociació de Buscadors Aurífers de Catalunya, were held throughout the exhibition. The event, which took place in a small pool in the stand, featured filtering sterile sand bearing small gold particles. With the aid of instructors, some children were able to take an active part in the demonstrations and be initiated in the art of pan handling for gold.

The winners of the traditional “Drawing contest for children” –whose subject this year was “Life’s fossils”- were Eduard Pérez Martínez, from the “Escola Pública Pompeu Fabra” in Pont de Vilomara i Rocafort (Barcelona), and Raquel Fernández Blázquez, from the “Col·legi Alfageme” in Barcelona. Each winner received a diploma and a collection of minerals.

Aside from the trade aspect, the Exhibition has always been a cultural event, promoting collectionism and providing information on mineralogy and palaeontology in order to encourage young people. In its 26-year history, Expominer has become the leading event of its kind in Spain and one of the three most relevant in Europe. It will be back in Montjuïc from the 11th to the 13th of November 2005.

Expominer is a trade show of Fira de Barcelona, the leading organiser of industrial and professional exhibitions in Spain and one of the first four in Europe in number of events.

Barcelona, 15th November 2004

Source:Press Departament Fira Barcelona