New mineral gunterite's namesake is McLeansboro native
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[When Mickey Gunter was growing up in McLeansboro his father, Marion Gunter, worked in the oil fields.
Gunter took an interest in the conversations his father had with others in his field regarding the minerals in the earth. Gunter said he did not excel in high school and worked as a carpenter until he learned that career did not suit him. The idea of a career in the field of minerals was compelling.
About 40 years later, Gunter, professor and chairman of the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Idaho, has a newly discovered mineral named for him in honor of his professional achievements in the world of mineralogy.
The new mineral is called gunterite, of the vanadate group, Gunter said. Gunter received his first sample of gunterite in April.
"It has a nice orangish color," Gunter said.
Someone discovered gunterite in a uranium mine in southwestern Colorado and could not identify it. That person submitted the sample to the International Mineralogical Association with the recommendation it be named in honor of Gunter for his contributions to the field of mineralogy. In his years in the field Gunter has published over 100 scholarly works and co-authored a mineralogy textbook that is used in colleges around the world.
"When you get honored with these things, you are not a part of the process," Gunter said in April.
"(The IMA) asked me six months ago if I would be willing to have a mineral named after me."
He said a mineralogist will never decline such an honor.
Gunterite puts Gunter in an elite field since there are only so many minerals on the earth.
"There are a little over 4,000 (minerals) on the earth. Every year people find a few new ones. They may not be able to identify them because no one ever has," Gunter said.
Gunterite may not be a precious gem and may never have any practical applications. But it is orange and sort of sparkly. It cannot be polished to a sheen because it is very soft.
"This mineral occurred in an area that had been mined as a growth on other minerals," Gunter said.
But it is a new mineral named after a Southern Illinois native which makes it a unique rock.
"I do not dislike it," Gunter said.
Gunter, 1972 graduate of McLeansboro Township High School, earned his bachelor's degree in geology from Southern Illinois University and his doctorate's degree in geology from Virginia Tech. He has been a professor at the University of Idaho since 1989 and has had visiting professorships in Bern, Switzerland; Kyoto, Japan; and Rome, Italy. He currently holds a Marsh Professorship at the University of Vermont.
Gunter said Idaho -- the Gem State -- holds a fascinating collection of minerals in the ground and is a fine place for any mineralogist to study. It is also a comfortable climate.
"I think what drew me to the area was a desire to be in a cooler, less humid climate. I've been very fortunate," Gunter said.
Gunter's parents, Maycel and Marion Gunter of McLeansboro, are deceased. His wife, Suzanne Aaron, is from Harrisburg, the daughter of Barbara Aaron and the late Thomas Aaron.
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