Where to Find Fossil Fish – Dig Sites

Two sites outside the small town of Kemmerer, Wyoming, offer pay-to-dig. Just make an appointment or register, show up and they will take great care of you, showing you how to fish… with a hammer and chisel.

One site is the Warfield Quarry, also known online as Fossil Safari, and the other is the American Quarry.

While visiting the pay-to-dig sites in Kemmerer, it is a must to travel a short distance away to the Fossil Butte National Monument. Sorry no collecting here, but the museum boasts a tremendous variety of animals and plants from the Green River Formation. Cut unobtrusively into the hillside, the visitor center is filled with wonderous fossils, a great compilation of the ecosystem 50 million years ago.

The Green River Formation

Pay-to-dig sites are part of the Green River Formation where there are hundreds, no, thousands of fish trapped in rock that was once a series of fairly shallow lakes. Streams and rivers drained the surrounding mountains enabling the formation of this special fossil location.

The Green River Formation is known as a lagerstatte, which loosely translated from German means “storage place.” The area butts up against the limestone of the Wasatch, Unita, Wind River and other mountain ranges. It is an area where fabulous and spectacularly preserved fossils including plants and animals represent a snapshot of life living within that ecosystem.

When & How was this Site Made?

The Eocene period, about 53 to 48 million years ago, was a transition from a warm and moist environment to one that was hotter and drier. This is evidenced by some of the fossil finds in the area. Palm fronds, crocodile and sycamore leaf remains point to a warm moist environment and deciduous tree leaves point to a drier climate. The mountains were partially made up of limestone. During heavy rains, water would run down into the streams and rivers bringing with it sand, mud and silt sediments filled with dissolved minerals such as calcium oxides, inorganic elements and calcium components.

This would wash into the lakes fouling the water, making it turbid and in some cases changing the pH levels. At times the change in the chemical composition of the water was detrimental to the life forms in it.

Fish would die along with many of the other creatures and become buried in the silty sediments. Paleontologists can tell by looking at the various layers, which were deposited during times of drought and which were deposited in times of flood. It is also possible by studying the cross-section of the quarry where the best location is to find fossil fish.

The spectacular fossilization and completeness of the fossil fish is because they were buried quickly. Even the bottomfeeding scavengers were not quick enough or did not survive to disarticulate the bodies of the dead fish. The sediments filtered down to the bottom of the lake and covered the creatures with thin layers. It is within these layers that spectacular fish specimens may be found.

Where to Find Fossil Fish – Digging

In specific horizons, one of which is called the split fish layer, a finely laminated limestone is present that entombed many fish. This is easy to split and if the rock contains a fossil, it splits so that you can easily see it in both a positive fish fossil and also a negative impression. The fish are beautifully preserved with bones, gill covers, ribs and even scales intact. In some cases, a bit of matrix, the limestone that clings to the fish skeleton, is still present. It is quite easy to remove. In many instances, all that is needed is a dental pick, or a pin vise to gently remove excess rock matrix. You must be very careful not to go too deep into the limestone so it’s best to attack it at an acute angle.

This limestone is so fine-grained that many plants and insects that fell into the water or were washed in from rivers and streams are also seen in spectacular detail.

In some areas birds, reptiles, turtles and even crocodiles may be found all preserved in exquisite detail.

This story about where to find fossil fish previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe! Story and photos by Joseph “PaleoJoe” Kchodl.

The post Where to Find Fossil Fish first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

It was 1983, he was in his early 30s, and it was a photograph of something he could only describe as “incredibly beautiful.” The picture’s subject was a Herkimer “diamond”, which is actually a doubly terminated quartz crystal. And Halleran was not only hooked but he was smitten.

“I’ve seen a lot of things in my 68 years, but I still have never seen anything quite like the first sign of a Herkimer diamond as it’s coming out of the ground,” Halleran said.

Evolution of a Herkimer “Diamond” Fan

To say he’s seen a lot may even be a bit of an understatement. As a military veteran, former owner and operator of a restaurant specializing in pizza, over-the-road truck driver through which he earned membership in the national Million-Mile Driver club, owner of thoroughbred horses, a husband, father, and rockhound, that’s a lot of roles in which to gain life experience.

Each step in the journey has had its purpose, even if he didn’t know it at the time, Halleran recalled. Now, after more than 30 years, he’s revisiting — in a big way — that early love, Herkimer diamonds.

Reviving a Passion for Herkimer Quartz “Diamond”

For the past several decades, he’s had a staggering collection of Herkimer specimens of a variety of shapes and colors, sitting in the basement of his home. To quantify staggering” it’s estimated to be 1.5 million carats of double-terminated quartz crystals. The crystals are named after a location where they are found, Herkimer County, New York and the surrounding area. However, New York is not the only place to find these quartz crystals. Examples have been discovered in Arizona, Norway, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, among other locales.

Many of the crystals in his collection were stored in buckets, and some in boxes, and all are the product of a passion for diamonds. It’s a passion that, at one time, led him to seek out digging adventures wherever he could. Whether that meant an entire day at the Herkimer Diamond Development, or a few minutes spent in a rut looking for geological treasures on the side of the highway in Utah. Among his most fond memories of the years, he spent actively digging for diamonds, were those he spent in the company of his fellow rockhounds.

“It was Big George, he was an engineer, and Diamond Jim, the school teacher, Boston Jimmy, a geologist, Pocket Dale, the philosopher, Edge 111, the author, and myself,” Halleran recalled. “We met in Field #2 at the Herkimer Diamond Development, and from there, we became friends and kind of a community of rockhounds.

“We each developed our own digging techniques, we’d share knowledge about the ancient seabed that was once the field, we’d discuss all sorts of topics, and a lot of the time after we’d spend the day digging, we’d go to Bev’s Diner, which was near the field, and we’d talk some more.”

Rockhounding Forms Lasting Memories

The “fellas of field number two” weren’t the only memorable people Halleran met and learned from during his years of prolific digging. Groups of children visiting the mine during school trips also had a big impact, he added. Halleran recalled one day in particular, when a busload of children arrived at the property, while Halleran and friends were prospecting. As the children came up, Halleran recalled, he put down his hammer and greeted the students who wore kid-size eye protection with small hammers in hand. A couple of the men used a prybar to lift a section of rock they had been working to break open, which revealed a cavity sparkling with crystals.

“The children were like a flock of seagulls swarming the rock, and we work to make sure each one was able to pick up one piece to put in their collection baggies — because each child was able to keep what they found.

“That was the greatest day I had in the mine.”

As happens in life, sometimes, the fellow rockhounds of the group each followed their paths, and ultimately the meetups became less, and as years have gone on, they’ve lost touch, and some have passed away, Halleran said. But, the memories are still there, he added. Those memories are part of what has come alive as he’s spent the last couple of years unpacking, sorting, and organizing the Herkimer diamonds of his collection.

To answer the question of why is he now unpacking the treasures he accumulated all those years ago, Halleran said, he’s not certain, except that he is.

Seeking to Share Herkimer Treasures With Others

“I wish I had some intelligent reason I could tell you as to why now, but I can only say NOW is the right time,” added Halleran, who has worked with Marcus Boehm to create a video about his collection, which can be found on his website, www.herkimerrockstar.com. View the video below…

During the process of organizing his collection, which he said has become like “mineral decor” in his home, he’s also decided it’s time to share some of these amazing items of nature with others. In addition to hoping to inspire others to appreciate Herkimer diamonds, Halleran hopes by sharing the story of how he came to have the collection, which he endearingly calls the “Herkimer Stardust” collection he can inspire others to explore the origins of these ancient treasures of nature.

“The greatest lesson from treasure hunting, mining, or playing with a pail and a shovel at the beach, is you tune into the oneness of nature,” Halleran said. “At first, you don’t see “it” or even maybe hear “it,” but one day you do, because nature has been there all along, we just need to pay attention.”

To view more examples of specimens in Halleran’s collection, visit www.herkimerrockstar.com.

This story about hunting Herkimer diamonds appeared in a previous issue of Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe! Story by Antoinette Rahn.

The post Hunting Herkimer Diamonds first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

In over a century of searching, riches are still found in the “Treasure State” of Montana. Initially earning this moniker for the gold, silver and copper finds, sapphires have solidly earned their place among the bounty of the State.

During the Montana gold rush in Southwestern Montana in the early 1860s, sapphires appeared as colorful distractions in the miners’ pans and sluice boxes. The colorful bits of sand and gravel were of little value. While gold was one of the main forces, followed by silver and copper, behind the creation of Montana as a territory and a state, if the miners knew what they had at the time, they wouldn’t have been as quick to toss them aside.

“They were after the gold,” says Cass Thompson, owner and operator of the Spokane Bar Sapphire Mine, roughly 30 miles northeast of Helena. Thompson’s family has mined this area for sapphires over the past 60 years.

How Montana Sapphires Were Created

Created as igneous rocks slowly cooled, sapphires are made of the mineral corundum, chemically known as aluminum oxide. With a Mohs rating of nine, sapphires are the hardest natural substances following the diamond.

Reaching the level of the sapphire-laden material can be a challenge. Bound in a conglomerate of feldspar and bentonite clay, sapphires tend to settle well below layers of topsoil, overburden, and evidence of volcanic activity in the gravel bars. In some parts of the Eldorado Bar along the upper Missouri River deposit, there are layers 100 feet below the surface making it more difficult to reach. But because of the sapphires’ high specific gravity of four (although much less than gold’s 19.3) these areas were often intermingled with placer deposits, which is why they were intertwined with the search for gold.

The Brilliance of Chemistry

“We have quite a variety of sapphires in Montana, but the mainstay is the Yogo,” said Glenn McCaffery, longtime gem enthusiast in Great Falls, Montana, and registered jeweler with the American Gem Society.

“The Yogo is untreated and of exceptional quality. There are very few flaws,” he explained. While mining for gold in 1895 along Yogo Creek in the Little Belt Mountains east of Great Falls, prospector Jake Hoover collected the brilliant blue stones instead of discarding them, and sent them to Tiffany & Co. in New York City for an assessment. It turns out these excellent quality gemstones earned Hoover and his partners $3750, over $3000 more than what they’d made finding gold.

While the beautiful “cornflower blue” of the Yogo is highly desirable, natural sapphire colors range from lighter blues, lavenders, pinks, greens, oranges and yellows. Combinations of titanium, iron, small amounts of chromium, and nickel result in this wide array of hues. The signature coloration of the Yogo is a result of titanium and iron, with the more iron involved, the deeper the blue. Rubies, which are also corundum and sometimes found in these areas, are brilliant red because of the presence of a higher concentration of chromium.

“In the Missouri River Deposit where we mine, we get the full spectrum of colors, but the most prominent is the blue/green,” said Thompson. He also notes they find a wide range of sizes.

More Valuable than Gold

“We’ve seen some really nice gem-quality sapphires up to a 26 facet grade,” said Thompson.

When searching for sapphires, sharp eyes are needed to pick out the tiny gems that are mere millimeters across, but larger stones closer to 10 carats are not uncommon. “The largest was found by my grandfather. He found a 50-carat stone. I’m still in the high 20s,” he said. To put it in perspective, Thompson said a 50-carat sapphire is roughly one and a half inches long and as big around as a man’s thumb.

The popularity and price of sapphires, especially since they are September’s birthstone, today would make early prospectors swoon. Thompson said some of the stones found on their place were valued between $1000 to $10,000 per carat. As an example, Thompson said a 24-carat sapphire cut to an 8 to 9-carat finish is easily worth $10,000 or more. “The value (of sapphires) is definitely more than gold,” he said.

Where Montana Sapphires are Found

Besides Yogo Gulch between Great Falls and Lewistown, which is no longer open to the public, there are many sapphire-rich areas throughout Central and Southwestern Montana, all of which coordinate with historic gold speculation. The gravel bars running along the upper Missouri River between Canyon Ferry Reservoir and into Hauser Lake, including the Eldorado and Spokane Bars, are some of the earliest finds and are still rich in sapphires. But after the construction of the dam in the early 1900s to create Hauser Lake, several of the gravel bars were submerged deep below the surface. It’s interesting to consider what sapphires are strewn along these now underwater former gold stakes when prospectors tossed the pretty stones aside.

More to the southwest, the Dry Cottonwood Creek (discovered in 1889) near Deer Lodge, as well as Rock Creek closer to Philipsburg, which was also found in the late 1800s, became popular sapphire mining areas. While the high-quality gems of Yogo Creek earned impressive amounts, many of the other sapphires initially found industrial uses, primarily in watchmaking, as well as being used in bombsights for torpedos and as the abrasive material on sanding wheels until the mid-1940s. After this time period, industrial operations shifted to synthetic sapphires to suit their needs. Since then, treasure hunters still gravitate toward several of these historic mining locations.

Want to Try your Hand at Finding your Own Montana Sapphires? Touch base with these knowledgeable operations for your treasure hunt. Spokane Bar Sapphire Mine Not far from the state capital of Helena, the Spokane Bar Sapphire Mine offers several digging options. Gem Mountain Sapphire Mine Located in Philipsburg, Gem Mountain offers material at a downtown shop or at the mine roughly 22 miles out of town. Montana Gems of Philipsburg Whether searching gravel on-site or having it shipped to your own, Montana Gems offers materials from Rock Creek and the Eldorado Bar areas. Sapphire Gallery Also in Philipsburg, the Sapphire Gallery offers materials from the Rock Creek deposit in the aptly named Sapphire Mountains.

Commercial Mining

Montana is the only state where sapphires are commercially mined, which includes providing opportunities for the public to try their hand picking through gravel to find treasure. Thompson said the basic premise of sapphire mining hasn’t changed very much over the past century. “Since we’ve been doing it, it’s pretty much the same. The equipment just gets bigger,” he says. Front-end loaders and excavators are the front line in removing the materials from the mining location before further processing.

For operations that sell gravel for individuals and families, it’s not a matter of simply dumping dirt and gravel into a bucket. Once extracted, the material goes through a trommel, a rotating drum that sorts out the larger rocks, followed by multiple screening and washing processes to refine the material to a manageable size. In the end, what’s left is a bucket of seemingly innocuous gravel and clay that is rich with sapphires, along with possibly topaz, hematite, garnets, fossils and even gold.

Digging Montana Sapphires

Is it legal to collect rocks, including Montana sapphires? Many commercial mines are open to the public throughout the state with the option of visiting the mining area and searching through the gravel outdoors in a beautiful setting. Some allow visitors to gather material to gain a better understanding of the process. Other places have storefront facilities where there is typically an option to purchase a bucket to sort through at the shop or buy materials to take home. Most mines can even ship bags of gravel.

The actual sorting process is fairly simple. Customers are given a shaker box, which is a screened, roughly three-inch tall container that allows the water to flow through the materials. It is filled about halfway with gravel, then washed in a large tub or trough.

Washing is somewhat of a zen moment. The rhythmic motion of gently working the shaker box in the water — submerge, tilt, flatten, turn, repeat — is surprisingly relaxing. With these movements in the water, the gravel rises, and because the sapphires are heavier, they sink below the layer. Washing also filters out the fine clay to make the gems more visible. After a few passes, it’s time to flip the box on the table so the sapphires are closer to the top.

It doesn’t take long to train your eye to see the pastel colors and different shapes, which are sometimes more rounded or potentially crystalline depending on the mine location. Tweezers are the tool of choice to pluck them from the gravel. Because there can be several different minerals among the sapphire material, if there is any question, save the stones and ask someone at the mine. With generations of experience, they’re happy to explain your find and answer questions.

As with many outdoor activities in Montana, operating seasons are dictated by the weather. Some of the indoor shops offer gravel washing throughout the year, but for those who want to hunt at the mine sites, it’s best to wait until the weather moderates. Thompson said that they’ll often continue mining into December, which can be a brutal month. If Mother Nature cooperates, they welcome visitors in March or April.

Treasure Hunting

Steeped in a long tradition of treasure hunting, Montana sapphires are a unique find in this extraordinarily beautiful landscape.

Picking through pay dirt, it’s easy to understand the allure of gold, and later these colorful gems, and why this quest never fails to spark the heart and imagination of those that appreciate the challenge.

This story about Montana sapphires previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe! Story by Amy Grisak.

The post Montana Sapphires 101 first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Kingman turquoise has been a favorite of mine for many decades, and I have often used it in my goldwork. I believe the rich blue of Kingman should be accented with the rich yellow of gold. The first gemstone mine sales office I ever visited was to buy Kingman turquoise back in the late 1970s, and I still have some of the rough material from that purchase. With that, I was very pleased when Marty Colbaugh invited me to tour the Kingman mine itself.

I met Marty and his son Josh, first thing in the morning just outside of Kingman, Arizona at Colbaugh Processing, headquarters of the mine, and we hopped into their truck to head to the mine. It is a short drive from the main office to the mine, and during the drive, the two men talked about Kingman Mine history and their family’s involvement.

Kingman Character

Kingman Mine is in the Mineral Park area of the Cerbat Mountains in northwestern Arizona. This mountain range is primarily Precambrian gneiss, and many gold, silver and copper mines have operated there in recent history. The Kingman Mine is inside a copper mine. It is within two areas inside the copper mine, in Ithaca Peak and Turquoise Mountain. Currently, mining takes place on the face of Turquoise Mountain, as Ithaca Peak has been removed. There are many decades of reserves still to be mined, and the turquoise occurs in areas of sulfides and sulfide oxides. The upper sulfide oxide areas produce turquoise with more greens, and as you go deeper into the sulfide areas, the quality of the turquoise gets better and a richer blue.

Turquoise is present in veins, and as the veins go deeper into the ground, the quality of the material improves. Veins as thick as 40 feet have been found in this mine.

When Marty’s father, S.A.” Chuck” Colbaugh, first began mining Kingman, the diggings of Native Americans were still visible. At one time, he exposed a tunnel that had goatskin water bags and stone hammers still inside. The American Indians had been using turquoise from this mine for 1800 years or more, most often for personal adornment and trade purposes. Kingman turquoise traded through the ancient trade routes has been found as far as Mexico City. Archaeologists have been able to date the Mexico City area turquoise to 200 AD and have traced it back to this mine.

Chuck Colbaugh cut his first lapidary stone in 1929. He worked in the mining industry as a heavy equipment operator, welder and foreman in Battle Mountain, Nevada. Then he moved to Globe, Arizona, to work in the area mines. It’s believed the elder Colbaugh became the first person to stabilize Kingman turquoise after he put some chalky turquoise into epoxy. This discovery wouldn’t be his last. Colbaugh was an inventor and tinkerer and at one time held the patents on all the automatic cabochon cutting equipment in the US.

In 1962, Chuck Colbaugh heard that the Mineral Park Copper Mine was going to open, so he got permission to remove turquoise from the mine. Two years later, the Duval Mining Company began copper mining and Colbaugh retained his contract rights to mine turquoise within the mine. To this day, the Colbaugh family still has those contract rights, now with the Origin Mining Company of Canada. The copper mine is not currently in production but could restart any time Origin feels the market conditions were right.

Exploring Brilliant Blue Veins

Continuing with the tour, we drove up to the mine gate, and Marty punched in the security code to enter. After going through the gate, we switched to driving on the left side of the road. The drivers of the huge mining dump trucks have poor visibility to the sides, so for safety, all vehicles drive on the left side so the truck drivers can see other vehicles. While no large dump trucks are currently working in the mine since it is dormant, but the safety rules remain and are followed. After a short distance, we arrived at the large pit below the very tall mine face, but I was disappointed to see no actual excavation taking place. We were told someone had just headed to town for parts to repair vehicles, so they halted until they could get things running again.

Rather quickly, I could see blue veins of turquoise hundreds of feet up the face of the mine, but well below the top of the face. In order to mine the vein the crews cut benches, starting at the top of the face and work down. Each bench is 50 feet high and 25 feet wide, and the excavated rock is pushed off the bench and into the bottom of the mine pit until it is 150 feet deep. At this time, the rock is removed, ground, and graded into three sizes of rock. It then goes through the sorting shed.

There are two sorting sheds, and within each, two people were hard at work, pulling turquoise off conveyor belts. If they have hit a particularly rich area of material, the rock is recirculated through the belts to make sure nothing is missed. The sheds are small and air-conditioned.

The group is very strict on safety and have never lost an hour over an accident. They routinely get top ratings for safety from the Mining Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and recently received a “0” citation report after an inspection. A no citation report is so unusual that MSHA sent another inspector out to confirm, and he also turned in a “0” citation report.

All-In-One Operation

As we returned to the mine headquarter, I toured the manufacturing facility. The

company does all of the manufacturing of the products they sell. They used to have all of their stone cutting done in China, but eight years ago, they decided they could do it cheaper themselves and have had great success in doing so. Today the company employs nearly 50 people, with crews working in the mine, the manufacturing facility, and in the office and salesroom.

Carrying on the stabilization tradition set forth by Chuck Colbaugh, a great majority (95 percent) of the rough material removed from the mine is stabilized or pressed into bricks. This material is too soft or too small to be formed into cabochons or beads, but nothing goes to waste, and Colbaugh Processing is among the leaders in the stabilization of turquoise, using a stabilization process with optically clear resin under no pressure. The stones weigh the same after stabilization as before. In a recent development, Rolex is manufacturing a Kingman turquoise dial watch, and the company only wanted stabilized material for the consistency and lack of color change.

A small percentage of their mined material is unusable even for stabilizing. New technology has created colorful pressed bricks ready to be cut into gems with a bronze spider webbing. Marty Colbaugh bought this process and perfected it into a product that cuts into beautiful, consistent stones. The pressed bricks come in many colors, some dyed, and others with turquoise mixed with other stones such as malachite, azurite, Spiny Oyster shell and pink opal. The company’s Mojave Green bricks got their name when a Mojave Green rattlesnake wandered into the shop. However, I don’t think the actual snake is in any of the bricks.

A unique combination of brick is the blue and orange version created by mixing turquoise with orange-colored Spiny oyster shells. These shells are a byproduct of Mexico’s shell food industry, which means no oysters had to die for the production of the jewelry. Josh Colbaugh suggested the brick combination to his father since Native American silversmiths used the Spiny Oyster shells in combination with turquoise. Marty felt otherwise but was wise enough to let Josh experiment with this notion, and now it is their best seller. I think this combination looks great, and I bought some bead strands.

Whether the stones are natural, treated or made into bricks, they go into the cutting shop to become cabochons, beads, cell phone case accessories, and candle holders, among other items. With this process, the company uses mass-production techniques to preform, then hand cut and polish. They make cabs using a preform cabochon cutter from Germany, not the one that Chuck Colbaugh invented. It turns out the efficiency of the German machine is more important than nostalgia in this modern workshop.

Intrigued By Equipment and Creativity

I was fascinated by the bead cutting equipment as I had never seen how beads were made. But, my favorite machine was the dopper. It uses hot glue heated with natural gas to dop up to 26 cabs at once. They are perfectly centered and are ready to go into the automatic preform machine. After preforming is done, workers at banks of cabbing machines put an excellent polish on a wide variety of calibrated shapes and sizes, and then the stones are ready to go to the salesroom.

The salesroom is new and an improvement from the previous space. It is big, provides a lot of room to wander around and look at the bead strands, rough material, trays full of calibrated cabs, cases full of finished jewelry, and the bricks manufactured in the shop. My favorite part of the sales area is the rough material room just off the main floor. This room contains bins full of treated and natural rough material in various sizes and qualities. I picked out some slabs that are natural veins 4” x 4” and 1/3” thick, plenty big enough to cut a nice belt buckle cab.

The Kingman that I drool over most is the spiderweb, and there is plenty to choose from in both stabilized and natural. There is spiderwebbing in various colors such as blue and black or white, but I am fond of black spiderwebbing. I have cut stones from it and have found the webbing to be consistent as I cut through stone. I was pleased to find some blue webbing just like the first pieces of Kingman I bought 40 years ago. It has dark blue webbing with a light blue interior, very beautiful.

Colbaugh Processing is a family operation with the third and fourth generations of the Colbaugh family involved with the company. Hopefully, the fourth generation will keep this family business moving forward, and with the known reserves of the mine, they will continue to have turquoise to mine and cut and sell.

The mine office is just seven miles north of Kingman, Arizona. If you find yourself in the area and are a lover of turquoise, you need to stop in. There is enough for everyone to drool over, trust me. For more information, visit www.colbaugh.net.

The post Spending Time At Kingman Mine first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

• Patriotic Pride: Jerry Muchna Salutes America in Faceted Gem Quartz. By Bob Jones

• “Fingerprinting” Turquoise: Answering the Questions of Provenance. By Steve Voynick

• Mining & Military Veterans: Recognizing Mining Support of Veterans and a Call to Recognize Veterans. By Antoinette Rahn

• Faceting Focus: Diane’s Oval. By Jim Perkins, Mark Oros, and Antoinette Rahn: Sponsored by Cutting Edge Supply Co.

• Rock Shop of Distinction: Nevada Mineral & Book Company (Part I). By Jim Brace-Thompson

• SPECIAL SECTION: Tools of the Trade — Cutting Edge Supply Co.

• Marvelous Micromounts: Magnifying Minerals for a Perfect View. By Bob Jones

• San Diego Mineral & Gem Society & Museum: Celebrating, Showcasing, and Preserving Natural and Community History. By Helen Serras-Herman

In addition, you’ll find the following regular R&G columns: Bench Tips with Bob Rush, Rock Science with Steve Voynick, What to Cut with Russ Kaniuth, On the Rocks with Bob Jones, Rock & Gem Kids and Earth Science In the News with Jim Brace-Thompson, Sneak Peek: Opals, The Road Report with Helen Serras-Herman, Picks & Pans, Show Dates, and the always popular Parting Shot.

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The post Issue Highlights: November 2020 first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Did you attend summer camp as a child? If so, do you recall the various emotions you felt leading up to the start of camp, while at camp, and the years following your camp experience(s)?

During this time of self-isolation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s challenging to consider planning ahead, but do you recall what it felt like as a child to have something that promised to be exciting and adventurous waiting for you in the future?

Experiential Learning

That’s the kind of positive anticipation the Montana Learning Center (MLC) has created for the past 35 or so years and continues to create today. The Montana Learning Center, with its timeless and well-developed practice of providing youth, teachers (and now non-academic adults — more about ‘One Rockin’ Weekend’ later in this article) with outdoors, hands-on, experiential learning opportunities, is a ‘something to look forward to’ when it is once again safe for society to engage.

The idea for the Montana Learning Center was that of Gil and Marilyn Alexander, founders of the precursor to the Center. In the mid-1980s, the couple sought to create and operate a summer camp program for children, which focused primarily on earth science and geology. It was a professional passion of Gil’s, who held a Ph.D. in earth science, and a personal passion of the couple to inspire children to become interested and excited about science. The Alexanders’ believed the best way to achieve this was to provide outdoors, hands-on, experiential learning opportunities, either at their facility at Canyon Ferry Lake, outside Helena, Montana, or elsewhere in the area, explained Montana Learning Center’s Executive Director Ryan Hannahoe.

“While the science camps offered by the Montana Learning Center aren’t limited to earth science and geology and now include astronomy, paleontology, robotics, aeronautics, and other sciences, all of the Montana Learning Center’s offerings are based on and expand upon the Alexanders’ guiding principle of encouraging students’ interest in the sciences through outdoor, hands-on, experiential learning,” Hannahoe said.

Instilling A Love For Learning

The Alexander family also saw the larger picture of the lasting impact these programs and camps provide, and in turn, developed a training program for science teachers, to broaden the impact and benefits received by students in the communities served by these teachers.

In the 35 or so years, since its inception, tens of thousands of children and teachers have participated in events at MLC. The programs have also benefitted many more people because those who attended were able to bring back to their local schools’, information, ideas, and equipment acquired during their time at MLC, Hannahoe explained. The staff-to-student ratio during the camp sessions is 1:8 or better; to ensure every child receives personal attention and their camp experience is positive, empowering, and memorable.

In today’s world, and more evident than ever right now, technology and science impact virtually everything, said Hannahoe. With that, helping youth develop and evolve their skills of critical and analytical thinking and to become more scientifically minded is essential in helping them make evidence-based decisions now, and for the rest of their lives, he added.

Rockhounding Camp For Adults

While it likely comes as no surprise to rockhounds, geology is at the center of another evolution in the MLC story, with the addition of a program for adults. “One Rockin’ Weekend” is a result of frequent requests from parents of youth campers for the Center to develop a program for adults.

“If the ‘One Rockin’ Weekend’ geology camp is successful, the Learning Center will add more adult-oriented camps focusing on other scientific fields,” Hannahoe said.

The ‘One Rockin’ Weekend’ also marks an extension of a long-time collaboration between the MLC and the Helena Mineral Society, the club that assists with many of the Center’s geology activities. It’s a partnership wherein campers discover and are inspired to develop an appreciation for geology as an area of study and a source for life-long adventure.

With a smaller staff-to-student ratio, maximum enrollment
for various camps may be met earlier than others. As of this writing, the schedule of camps is still set for 2020, with the first camps slated to begin in mid-to-end of June. The cost of the camp ranges from $350 to $1,000, depending on the focus and activities. Scholarships are available. Below is a list of the camps and brief descriptions of each.

Adult Summer Camp: One Rockin’ Weekend

Are you 18 or older and want to experience the fun you remember having as a kid at summer camp? Maybe you never went to summer camp as a child, but still want memories like that. The Montana Learning Center is offering you a chance to be a kid again this summer, while you explore the Canyon Ferry Lake area and learn about rockhounding.

All proceeds from this event go toward supporting the MLC summer learning camps for kids.

To learn more and register, visit http://montanalearning.org/adult-camp/.

Summer Camp Spotlight: Dinosaur Camp

The Montana Learning Center is partnering with Carter County Museum in Ekalaka, Montana for a unique camping experience for students entering grades 7– 10. Dinosaur Camp includes three days of field expeditions to participate in active dig sites in the Hell Creek Formation in Eastern Montana.

To learn more and register, visit http://montanalearning.org/dinosaur-camp/.

Summer Camp Spotlight: Camp Innovations – Montana Treasures

During the five-day Camp Innovations – Montana Treasures, students entering grades 7 – 9 will learn basic rock and mineral classification and will have the opportunity to apply what they learn out in the field, digging for agates and quartz crystals, and panning for garnets and sapphires, with the guidance and supervision of rockhounds from the Helena Mineral Society.

To learn more and register, visit http://montanalearning.org/camp-innovations/.

Summer Camp Spotlight: Camp Young Naturalist Adventures – Discover Earth’s Treasures

The Montana Learning Center’s five-day Camp Young Naturalist Adventures – Discover Earth’s Treasures teaches students entering grades 4-6 about the Earth from the inside out. Campers will explore the Montana Learning Center’s massive rock and mineral collection, collect gemstones, crack open geodes, and uncover new treasures during a fossil dig.

To learn more and register, visit http://montanalearning.org/camp-young-naturalist/.

If you or the younger humans in your life could use a little ‘something to look forward to’, perhaps an adventure, courtesy of the Montana Learning Center, would fit the bill.

For more information, visit www.montanalearning.org, email montanalearningcenter@gmail.com, or call 406-475-3638.

The post Opportunities to Explore: Montana Learning Center first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

By Antoinette Rahn

Zoltan and Jody Matolcsy, owners of Dig Maine Gems (Main Mineral Adventures), have been rockhounds for as long as either of them can remember.

“I have been interested in rocks since I could walk,” said Jody. “I’ve had many rock collections over the years. Now we can reach out and share that love of rocks and discovery with people from all walks of life, and that’s huge for us.”

Zoltan, whose father was a painter and farmer who immigrated to America from Hungary and mother who was a professional dancer, grew up across the road from Ryerson Hill Mine and Quarry, in Oxford County, Maine. He recalls his father citing his amazement at the strength and hard work of the miners, who they would see daily, with weather-worn faces exiting the feldspar mine.

Early Mine Exposure Fueled Interest

Although Zoltan recalls as a young child being more afraid than amazed at the comings and goings at the mine, as he grew so too did his interest in the quarries.

“Like a lot of young people, to me quarries were scary, adventurous places where we could run, jump and swim,” he recalls with a chuckle. “Quarries were really groovy places to hang out.”

As time went on, the conclusion of feldspar mine operations brought gem mining onto the scene in this area of Maine, Zoltan recalls. Before her passing in 1982, Zoltan’s mother purchased a nearly 100-acre parcel of land across from their family homestead, the same property that once housed Ryerson Hill Mines and Quarry, which by that time had ceased operations, and is now Zoltan and Jody’s property.

Connected by Rockhounding

The 1980s were a pivotal time for Jody as well. Arriving in Maine in 1988, one of her first stops was Perham’s rock shop, which has since closed. It was in this shop she discovered a bevy of stunning rocks, gems, and minerals including the prolific pegmatite, tourmaline, and quartz. Furthermore, it was during this stop at the shop that she realized all of the beauty could be found in the very ground on which she stood.

“It was after that visit I pursued digging for gems here, as I had no idea what Maine had for gems,” Jody said. “It was unbelievable to me at the time. I had to find my own.”

That she did, and in short order, she started to help others find their treasures. By the time she and Zoltan married in 2005, she had been leading guided field trips to local mines, where they had mine owners’ permission to dig, for more than 15 years.

Field Trip Excitement

Guided field trips are one part of the services offered by Dig Maine

Gems, with the Matolcsy’s hosting a weekly dig trip to Mount Mica mine every Sunday morning. They also schedule special field trips for private groups and welcome thousands of people each season to their Woodstock site to dig through the dump piles, which they sometimes buy direct from local mines, including Mount Mica. The Dig Maine Gem season typically begins in May and runs through the end of October.

“We teach and offer a safe place for people of all ages to go rockhounding,” explained Jody, who along with her husband, has had the opportunity to work with the family’s three children over the years. “The best thing about Maine is the diversity of the minerals found, and the people who live around here.

“People who visit say they really enjoy their time here because of our personalities, which I appreciate because it’s very real. It’s who we are.”

Life Enhanced by Minerals

For Zoltan, who uses many of the traditional mining methods and teaches others the same, the opportunity to share the wonder of minerals with others, alongside his love, Jody, is one of the greatest experiences of his life, which he calls “an incredible journey.”

“Going into these spaces we are serious about the investigations on which we are embarking,” Zoltan added. “We aren’t just collecting pretty things. These are beloved gifts given to us by our creator to enjoy as we walk the earth.

“Crystals are tablets of information. The earth is screaming out every time to teach us. We just need to listen. As long as we are looking, we’ll be making discoveries.”

For more information, visit http://www.digmainegems.com, email digmainegems@gmail.com, or call 207-674-3440.

The post Maine Mineral Attraction: Dig Maine Gems first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Located in the northern part of Utah, the Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere. In an average year, the lake covers an area of around 1,700 square miles, but this measurement fluctuates substantially due to its shallowness.

For instance, in 1963 it reached its lowest recorded level at 950 square miles, but in 1988 the surface area was at the historic high of 3,300 square miles. In terms of surface area, it is the largest lake in the United States that is not part of the Great Lakes region.

Remnant of Prehistoric Pluvial Lake

The lake is the largest remnant of Lake Bonneville, a prehistoric pluvial (fed by rainfall) lake that once covered much of western Utah. The three major tributaries to the lake, the Jordan, Weber and Bear rivers, together deposit around 1.1 million tons of minerals in the lake each year. As it is endorheic (has no outlet besides evaporation), it has very high salinity, so much higher than that of seawater that swimming in it is similar to floating. And its mineral content is steadily increasing. Its shallow, warm waters cause frequent, sometimes heavy lake-effect snows from late fall through spring.

Although it has been called “America’s Dead Sea”, the lake provides habitat for millions of native birds, brine shrimp, shorebirds, and waterfowl. The Great Salt Lake contributes an estimated $1.3 billion annually to Utah’s economy, including $1.1 billion from industry (primarily mineral extraction), $136 million from recreation, and $57 million from the harvest of brine shrimp.

Solar evaporation ponds at the edges of the lake produce salts and brine (water with high salt content). Minerals extracted from the lake include sodium chloride (common salt), used in water softeners, salt lick blocks for livestock, and to melt ice on local roadways; potassium sulfate, used as a commercial fertilizer; and magnesium-chloride brine, used in the production of magnesium metal and chlorine gas, and as a dust suppressant. US Magnesium operates a plant on the southwest shore of the lake, which produces 14% of the worldwide supply of magnesium, more than any other North American magnesium operation. The lake’s northern arm contains deposits of oil, but it is of poor quality and it is not economically feasible to extract and purify it.

Oolitic sand can be found in the lake and on its shores. It consists of small, rounded, or spherical, grains (ooides) made up of a nucleus (generally a small mineral grain) and concentric layers of calcium carbonate (lime). They look similar to very small pearls.

Fascinating Salt Crystal Growths

For the mineral collector, the Great Salt Lake has some interesting salt crystal growths. Some are even colored pink due to the algae bloom that happens in the spring. These salt crystals are best harvested in the fall after a long, hot, dry summer when the water level is low. You should plan on getting salt-encrusted and wet from the knees down. The salt crystals are easy to spot, as they look like small islands protruding above the water level. Bring a crowbar or shovel to loosen the crystal growths from the lake bottom. Let the crystals dry on a rack outside for a couple weeks before bringing them inside. Since they are salt, the crystals will not last long; over time, they dry out and crumble.

Gypsum occurs on every continent and is the most common of all the sulfate minerals. Gypsum is formed as an evaporative mineral, frequently found in alkaline lake mud, clay beds, evaporated seas, salt flats, salt springs, and caves. The Great Salt Lake has gypsum crystals that have been nicknamed “dirty diamonds”. With a chemical composition of hydrous calcium sulfate (CaSO4 · 2H2O), such crystals are found as floater crystals in clay beds, where they fully form without being attached to matrix. The dirty diamonds are lenticular (lens-shaped) crystals in the monoclinic system, with a shape that resembles a diamond.

The crystals may trap clay inside when forming, coloring a specimen brown or gray, or making it opaque. These clay inclusions sometimes form hourglass formations inside a crystal. These inclusions are what give the crystals their nickname, dirty diamonds.

Gypsum Crystal Attributes

Gypsum crystals are known for their flexibility, and slim crystals can be slightly bent. It is not advisable to bend good crystals, since they are only slightly flexible and can break. The dirty diamond is 2 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness. Gypsum has many interesting properties and crystal habits. Many gypsum crystals are found perfectly intact, without distortions or parts broken off. The dirty diamonds do have good cleavage in one direction, which can produce thin sheets of gypsum.

Gypsum crystals often fluoresce light yellow in short-wave ultraviolet light, and occasionally they are phosphorescent.

Gypsum has the same chemical composition as the mineral anhydrite, but contains water in its structure, whereas anhydrite does not. Many anhydrite specimens absorb water, transforming into the more common gypsum. Some gypsum specimens show evidence of this, containing growths of crumpling layers that testify to their expansion from the addition of water.

Selenite, satin spar, desert roses, and gypsum flowers are four varieties of the mineral gypsum; all show obvious crystalline structure. The four crystalline varieties of gypsum are sometimes grouped together and called “selenite”. The dirty diamonds are of the crystalline variety.

Collecting Spots

When you go searching for the dirty diamonds, plan on getting salt-encrusted and wet from the knees down. Bring a pair of waterproof boots or old sneakers, or go barefoot. The barefoot option is only advisable if your feet are in good shape, with no cuts or scrapes. The salty water will make the open cuts burn.

The tools needed for collecting are a hand rake and shovel, waterproof bins to store the crystals in, old towels to separate the layers of specimens in the bin, and a gallon of water to wash yourself with after collecting. A hat and sunscreen are definitely needed. Be aware that the shallow saltwater lakes look solid, but you will sink into them the farther out you go.

Along the water’s edge, look for the gray, clayey soil. This is where the crystals grow. Sometimes, a twinkle will catch your eye. Stop and check out the area for broken crystals. Once you spot some crystals, dig in the clay for unbroken ones. The dirty diamonds are found all around the lake. A 1970s edition of the Western Gem Hunters Atlas, by H. Cyril Johnson, notes that they can be found at the northern end of Stansbury Island.

To get there, take Interstate 80 Exit 84 to Stansbury Island west of Salt Lake City. Stansbury Island is not an island right now due to the low water level. The road heads west, then proceeds north. The paved road ends, but the gravel road is well maintained and passable for passenger cars. Keep your eyes open for the gray clay soil. Keep driving north.

Topographical Tips

On either side of the road, you will see evaporation ponds. These ponds are a

claimed mine operation, but sometimes you can see the gray clay soil along the roadside. The evaporation pond claim owners have canals that bring in the saline water. These are quite deep and the water is fast-flowing. Be cautious around these canals. The evaporation pond locations are always changing, as the saline water is evaporated and the minerals harvested. The dikes around them also change, so fresh gray clay soil that is there one year won’t necessarily be there the next year.

Keep heading north on the gravel road for approximately 10 miles to the end of the island. Keep checking on the west side for the gray clay soil or twinkling crystals. As you’re traveling along the gravel road, you will see a quarry operation on the side of Stansbury Mountain to the east. This is a claimed operation that produces silica sand. Local lumberyards sell 20-pound sacks of this sand for use in rock tumbling at a reasonable price.

Other rockhounds have found the dirty diamonds on the northern edge of the Great Salt Lake, near the Spiral Jetty. The Spiral Jetty is an earthwork sculpture constructed in April 1970 that is considered the central work of American sculptor Robert Smithson. It is only above water level during times of drought.

To get there, take Interstate 15 north from Salt Lake City about 59 miles to Exit 365 and head west on state Route 13/Promontory Road through the town of Corinne. The last gas station is in Corinne, so top off your tank and take state Route 83 to the northwest. In 17.7 miles, turn left onto 7200 N Road/W Golden Spike Drive N. In 6.6 miles, turn left (south) on 22000 W Road/Golden Spike Road.

About a mile down the road is the Golden Spike National Historic Site. Brown, wooden signs will direct you to the Visitor Center. This is the last place to find a public restroom and get good cell reception.

Golden Spike Connection

The Golden Spike Historic Site is run by the National Park Service and is very informative. It commemorates the ceremonial final spike that was driven by Leland Stanford where the rails of the First Transcontinental Railroad connected with those of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869. The actual golden spike now lies in the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, in California.

There is a steam locomotive on site that runs up and down the existing tracks. If you are feeling really adventurous, you can drive on the old, graded railway routes that were built in 1869 to join the East and West coasts. The iron rails have been removed and the railway grade is 5% or less.

Spiral Jetty is 15.5 dirt road miles southwest of the Visitor Center. Atlas Obscura  assures the reader that the Department of Natural Resources has posted white signs at each turn and fork to indicate directions to the Jetty. The following, more specific directions are from Google Maps.

Past the Visitor Center, there are only dirt-and-gravel roads. Continue southwest for 5.4 miles on North Golden Spike Loop. At the fork in the road, veer left and you will cross a cattle guard, one of four along the route. In 1.3 miles, turn right onto N. Rozel Flats Road W. From this point, the second cattle guard appears after 1.7 miles. The third is 1.2 miles past that, and the fourth is 2.8 miles farther on.

Directions to Key Destinations

According to Atlas Obscura, about 5.7 miles from the Rozel Flats Road turnoff, you’ll reach an iron pipe gate, at which the gravel road turns to dirt. The site notes that, while the road has been improved to the point that a passenger car can make the trip, a high-clearance vehicle is recommended.

Turn left onto an unnamed road. In 2.6 miles, turn right. In 0.3 mile, take another right. This road will take you the rest of the way to the Jetty. Explore the area for the gray clay soil.

Travel time from Salt Lake City to the Spiral Jetty is 2.5 hours. As you would on any rockhounding trip, make sure your vehicle is in good condition, have plenty of gas, and bring food and water. These remote sites do not have reliable cell phone service.

Any public-access area around the Great Salt Lake would be worth checking out. The east side of the Great Salt Lake has the most development and easiest access. Antelope Island is northwest of Salt Lake City. Take I-15 north from Salt Lake City for 28.5 miles to Exit 332 (Antelope Drive/state Route 127). Drive six miles west on Antelope Drive to the Great Salt Lake. Park on the shoulder of the road and start looking at the water’s edge. Do not continue on the causeway to the island. Antelope Island is a state-owned park with an entrance fee, and collecting is not allowed there.

Another public-access area to explore, right on the water’s edge, is off state Route 39. About 35 minutes north of Salt Lake City, take the I-15/I-84 Exit 344 at Marriott-Slaterville and head west on state Route 39/W 1100 S Street for about 5.5 miles. Where S 5900 W Street Ts off to the north, the road name changes to W 900 S. Keep going west for approximately three miles.

At 900 South Road and S 8300 W Street, the pavement ends and W 900 S becomes a gravel road. Go approximately two miles, and just after S 9300 W, which heads northwest, watch for a road going south. Take this unnamed road for a half-mile. It will turn into a gravel road that parallels the railroad tracks. As you follow this road west, the lake will become visible to the south. Park along this road and explore the lakeshore for signs of the gray clay and glittering crystals.

Additional Opportunity to Explore

Back on the west side of the Great Salt Lake, another site to explore is off I-80 Exit 77. Follow Rowley Road west and then north to West Stansbury Causeway Road. Follow it east four miles to the water’s edge.

The dirty diamonds can range in size from 2 cm to 25 cm. Most crystals have the included gray clay, but you can find some that are translucent. Once you find the dirty diamonds, handle them with care; they are fragile and will peel apart easily, something like mica does. The bigger the crystal, the more easily it will break, but don’t shy away from collecting the broken ones. The fresh face of the crystal can be quite vitreous (glassy) to pearly in luster. A little bit of glue will bring the pieces back together if you want to restore them.

Some crystals have another crystal or two growing out from them. Sometimes, these can form clusters of crystals known as “desert flowers”. It won’t take long to fill your buckets with these fun crystals no matter what shape you find them in.

Once you get the dirty diamonds home, rinse them off with fresh water and let them dry. Avoid soap and detergent, as they can enter the cracks and crevices of a crystal and ruin its luster. Hunting for dirty diamonds is a fun activity for adults and children.

The post Utah’s “Dirty Diamonds” first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.