Minerals of AZ Symposium

The Foundation sponsors the annual Minerals of Arizona Symposium. This symposium is usually held in either March or April and features a variety of interesting presentations on minerals, mineral collecting, new and classic localities, and mining history. In addition, the symposium includes a mineral sale/silent auction where collector quality specimens and other items are available to attendees.    Poster design by Don Boushelle

2026 Symposium Information

The 33rd Flagg Mineral Foundation Minerals of Arizona Symposium will be held Saturday, March 28, 2026. The venue will be the Southeast Regional Library, 775 N. Greenfield Rd., Gilbert, AZ 85234. The theme for the 2026 symposium is carbonates!

The 2026 symposium marks the 33rd anniversary of this event! The symposium will have a one day format (8AM to 5PM) and will include mineral sales, lectures, and a variety of other mineral related events. There will be several dealers attending with a large variety of specimens available. In addition, Wayne Thompson will be attending at lunch and probably for the afternoon break with his new Ikons book for sale. He and Les Presmyk will do book signings.

2026 Flagg Mineral Foundation Minerals of Arizona Symposium Registration (attendees, click here)
2026 Flagg Mineral Foundation Minerals of Arizona Dealer Registration (dealers, click here)

Poster/Cover Design by Don Boushelle

Symposium Agenda:

Symposium History

The following is a summary of the first thirty years of the Minerals of Arizona Symposium. For each symposium the year, co-chair, chair, and location are given.

1 – 1993 – Glenn Miller/Ray Grant – Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum
2 – 1994 – Glenn Miller/Ray Grant – Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum
3 – 1995 – Glenn Miller/Ray Grant – Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum
4 – 1996 – Susan Celestian/Ray Grant – Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum
5 – 1997 – Susan Celestian/Ray Grant – Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum
6 – 1998 – Susan Celestian/Ray Grant – Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum
7 – 1999 – Susan Celestian/Ray Grant – Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum
8 – 2000 – Susan Celestian/Ray Grant – Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum
9 – 2001 – Kristen Cecchi/Ray Grant – Mesa Southwest Museum
10 – 2002 – Susan Celestian/Ray Grant – Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum
11 – 2003 – Anna Domitrovic/Ray Grant – Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
12 – 2004 – Susan Celestian/Ray Grant – Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum
13 – 2005 – Susan Celestian/Ray Grant – Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum
14 – 2006 – Susan Celestian/Ray Grant – Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum
15 – 2007 – Susan Celestian/Ray Grant – Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum
16 – 2008 – Jan Rasmussen/Ray Grant – Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum
17 – 2009 – Jan Rasmussen/Ray Grant – Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum
18 – 2010 – Jan Rasmussen/Ray Grant – Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum
19 – 2011 – Anna Domitrovic/Ray Grant – Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
20 – 2012 – Phil Richardson/Ray Grant – Clarion Hotel, Phoenix
21 – 2013 – Phil Richardson/Ray Grant – Clarion Hotel, Phoenix
22 – 2014 – Phil Richardson/Ray Grant – Clarion Hotel, Phoenix
23 – 2015 – Phil Richardson/Ray Grant – Clarion Hotel, Phoenix
24 – 2016 – Phil Richardson/Ray Grant – Quality Inn Phoenix-Chandler
25 – 2017 – Anna Domitrovic & Phil Richardson/Ray Grant – Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
26 – 2018 – Phil Richardson/Ray Grant – Drury Inn & Suites – Phoenix Tempe
27 – 2019 – Phil Richardson/Les Presmyk – Drury Inn & Suites – Phoenix Chandler Fashion Center
28 – 2021 – Les Presmyk/Eric Fritz/Susan Leib – UArizona Alfie Norville Gem and Mineral Museum
29 – 2022 -Les Presmyk/Catie Carter-Sandoval – Arizona Mining, Mineral and Natural Resource Education Museum
30 – 2023 -Les Presmyk/Catie Carter-Sandoval – Arizona Mining, Mineral and Natural Resource Education Museum
31 – 2024 – Les Presmyk/Catie Sandoval – Southeast Regional Library, Gilbert, Arizona
32 – 2025 – Les Presmyk/Catie Sandoval – Southeast Regional Library, Gilbert, Arizona
33 – 2026 – Les Presmyk/Catie Sandoval – Southeast Regional Library. Gilbert, Arizona

A database of speakers and their topics for each symposium are listed in the index.

Speaker abstracts and/or other information on the symposium may be found here by clicking on a year.
additional abstracts are currently being compiled and will appear as a link