Every specimen has a story. You deserve to know it.

Hey, I'm Shalina. I'm a geologist.

But my love of rocks started long before the degrees. As a little girl outside Austin, I'd sit in the back yard, mesmerized by dolostones glittering in the Texas sun. Nature was my sanctuary, the place I found peace, wonder, and a connection to something greater than myself. It still is.

That wonder led me to a B.S. and M.S. in geology, fieldwork in Mexico as both an undergraduate and a graduate student, and years as a professional geologist. In 2021, I founded Truth Minerals to answer a question I kept hearing from friends: Where can I find crystals I can actually trust?

The name holds more than a promise about sourcing. Truth, like beauty, is something I've always found most clearly in the natural world. Every specimen here is a small piece of that, made slowly by the Earth over millions of years.

What “ethically sourced” means here

The phrase gets used loosely these days. So here’s what it means at Truth Minerals:

•      These specimens come from independent miners and hand-diggers in the United States, with a few select pieces from Canada. Most of them work their own claims.

•      I buy directly from the people who dug them (in most instances). I know their names, their stories, and can tell you where your piece came out of the ground.

•      The people doing this work are adults who chose it, and love it. They're fairly paid and work safely, and larger operations reclaim the land when they're done.

•      I examine and identify every piece myself. When a specimen has been cut, polished, or treated in any way, the listing says so plainly. Most pieces are left exactly as the Earth made them.

The people behind the pieces

Some of my favorite moments in this work happen on a tailgate, listening to a digger tell the story of a find.

Carl Holzer, a lifelong Colorado digger, carries every piece down from the Colorado Rockies in a backpack. One Colorado crew named a pocket “911” after pulling out an amazonite cluster so big, someone shouted for help. I've made more than five sourcing trips to Bisbee, Arizona, seek out local minerals travelling across the US, go to Colorado and New Mexico every summer, and I return to Tucson each winter to meet the miners I've come to know over the years.

When you hold one of these specimens, you're holding a piece of that story.

What you'll find

•      Fine mineral specimens

•      Rare American turquoise, including Bisbee

•      Natural statement pieces that bring the outdoors into a home

Each piece is one of a kind. When it's gone, there won't be another quite like it.

Private sourcing for collectors

Some of the most rewarding work I do happens behind the scenes. I partner privately with a small number of collectors building something larger and more personal. I search out specific material, evaluate pieces with a geologist's eye, and draw on years of relationships with miners across the US.

If you're building a collection and would like a trusted guide, I'd be glad to talk. shalina@truthminerals.com

Care, start to finish

Your piece arrives in biodegradable, compostable and/or recycled packaging. And a portion of every sale supports organizations that help people reconnect with nature.

Stay in touch

When new pieces come in, I write about them: where they came from, who found them, and what makes them remarkable. People on my email list see new collections first. I'd love for you to join them.

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With gratitude,

Shalina