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Eureka!
Mar 3, 2008 21:31:36 GMT -5
Post by Michael John on Mar 3, 2008 21:31:36 GMT -5
Sometimes good things happen when you least expect them. The other day, when I was out cutting some Chrysocolla from the new vein, I saw two chunks that looked "different". They were too big for my saw so I gave them a whack ... Gem Silica! Finally! Here are pics of one of the pieces. The first two are dry, the third one is wet.
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Eureka!
Mar 3, 2008 22:54:47 GMT -5
Post by beefjello on Mar 3, 2008 22:54:47 GMT -5
That's some tasty lookin' stuff Michael! Good things happen to good people
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Eureka!
Mar 3, 2008 23:53:46 GMT -5
Post by catmandewe on Mar 3, 2008 23:53:46 GMT -5
WoooHooooooo!!
I am excited for ya!!
Nice stuff......................Tony
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Post by larrywyland3 on Mar 4, 2008 7:14:40 GMT -5
Sweat. That is some gemmy material.
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Post by Titania on Mar 4, 2008 8:09:22 GMT -5
Congrats, Michaeljohn!!!! That is just gorgeous!!!
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181lizard
Cave Dweller
Still lurking :)
Member since December 2005
Posts: 2,171
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Eureka!
Mar 4, 2008 13:21:25 GMT -5
Post by 181lizard on Mar 4, 2008 13:21:25 GMT -5
Beeeutiful!
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Eureka!
Mar 4, 2008 14:58:00 GMT -5
Post by Michael John on Mar 4, 2008 14:58:00 GMT -5
I take it as a good sign. I hadn't found any gem silica in the other veins, then I find some in the new vein the first time I dig into it.
I'm going back up to the mine in about 15 minutes with James, my girlfriend's son. He's good for 2 or 3 trips up and down the mountain! The gameplan is to thoroughly explore the new vein, and sample the best-looking parts of it. I'll be taking home the big druzy-covered specimen that I mined on the last trip.
I'm definately going to do some cover-up work on tailings. The more BRIGHT BLUE that I expose, the more likely that it might be seen by someone who may be wandering around out by there. We're carrying-up a couple of gallons of water. I'll use it to clean-off chunks that I mine, and then use the rest of it to mix-up mud, which I'm going to lightly spread on as much of the exposed vein as I can, for a little camouflage. It's imperative that I keep things under wraps, or eventually the whole top of the mountain would be bright blue.
Here's the part that all my peeps here are going to like ... I'm taking my camera as far as the base of the mountain. I'm going to shoot various cool things going up the wash, and the little box canyon that Zak and I discovered during our last adventure.
See ya!
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huffstuff
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since August 2007
Posts: 1,222
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Eureka!
Mar 4, 2008 18:02:41 GMT -5
Post by huffstuff on Mar 4, 2008 18:02:41 GMT -5
I didn't realize the relationship between chrysocolla and gem silica.... very cool "Eureka!" you got there.
Wow, that would be a sight to see - a blue mountain! Good luck with your mining, and your "cover-up" work. Hope you get the huge hunk of rose quartz, too (am I remembering correctly?)
Thanks in advance for trying to take pictures at the base. Hope you have a safe trip and return!
Amy
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Eureka!
Mar 4, 2008 21:03:10 GMT -5
Post by texaswoodie on Mar 4, 2008 21:03:10 GMT -5
Excellent! Go get 'em!
Curt
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Post by Michael John on Mar 5, 2008 1:52:41 GMT -5
Well, today's excursion was a bitter disappointment. It turns out that the only good part of The Zakker Vein was the part I mined last week. I spent the afternoon sampling the rest of the vein and it's all crap.
The huge chunk which was big enough to make a bowling bal sized sphere was junk. The piece which I had thought to have all the druzy on it ... I didn't look close enough at it. When I cleaned it with water, it was just covered in flaky Chrysocolla. When I busted it open, it was also junk.
By the time I had checked everything out, it was too late to do much more. I got a little bit of decent stuff from the area I mined last week, but the sun wasn't waiting any longer for us, so we had to high-tail it down the mountain. I only got about 20 pounds today. I did find one pretty little specimen, but it's nothing to write home about.
I did take the pics, as promised, but they didn't come out too good either. I'll go ahead and post them in a new thread anyway.
So, it's back to the primary vein. The excitement of something new was cool while it lasted.
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Eureka!
Mar 5, 2008 10:33:16 GMT -5
Post by Tonyterner on Mar 5, 2008 10:33:16 GMT -5
Dang sorry to hear that the new vein didn't work out for you. That piece of gem silica is sweet though. You are still fortunate to be able to go out and rockhound and bring back nice stuff.
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Post by Michael John on Mar 7, 2008 2:39:19 GMT -5
James and I went back up to the mine today and hit the primary vein hard. I don't have the energy left to empty the packs and clean all of the stones, but I think we got a pretty nice load. I'd say we got close to 100 pounds. The highlight is a real nice specimen with lots of druzy. I also decided to bring home some nice little chunks of pure Chrysocolla. They'll need to be stabilized for lapidary use, but they're really sweet, and would be worth the trouble. All in all, a good day.
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one80mike
freely admits to licking rocks
@(-_-)@ Princess Leia!
Member since February 2007
Posts: 908
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Post by one80mike on Mar 7, 2008 3:01:13 GMT -5
I'm sure looking forward to some photos of the load you just bought home. You sure have been busy in the last few weeks. You must be one fit dude.
Mike
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Post by Michael John on Mar 7, 2008 3:27:21 GMT -5
Pics of the whole load??? That would take all day, Mate! After I get it all cleaned-up tomorrow, I'll take some pics of the highlights.
We'll be making a lot of trips up there for the next couple of months. The winter months ran me down to almost nothing, so I have to get my stock built back up. I have a lot of ideas for new ways to sell it, but I need to have a lot of stock to ensure that I can always meet demand. I'm sick of the nickel/dime business, and I have to "kick it up a notch" ... or two or three. Selling in small quantities takes too much of my time. I either have to go BIGGER or quit, and I'm NOT a quitter.
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one80mike
freely admits to licking rocks
@(-_-)@ Princess Leia!
Member since February 2007
Posts: 908
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Eureka!
Mar 7, 2008 18:30:17 GMT -5
Post by one80mike on Mar 7, 2008 18:30:17 GMT -5
Just a group shot. Pile 'em up, wet 'em down and...click. Something we can all really drool over.
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Zethus
starting to shine!
Member since February 2008
Posts: 30
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Eureka!
Mar 7, 2008 19:08:08 GMT -5
Post by Zethus on Mar 7, 2008 19:08:08 GMT -5
mmmmmmmm a big pile of wet rocks nothing better
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Eureka!
Mar 7, 2008 19:51:03 GMT -5
Post by Cher on Mar 7, 2008 19:51:03 GMT -5
Wow is that stuff pretty, nice find!
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