[Rockhounds] fluorspar district update

[Tim Jokela Jr.]

Alan, it's great to hear that you guys are succeeding, the museum finances 
are improving, and things are getting bigger and better every year!

This is exactly the type of thing we need to keep the hobby alive and well.

Congratulations!

Tim Jokela Jr., tjokela at execulink.com
Business: http://www.element51.com
Pleasure: http://www.ontariominerals.com



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alan Goldstein" <deepskyspy at insightbb.com>
To: <rockhounds at lists.drizzle.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2007 10:08 PM
Subject: [Rockhounds] fluorspar district update


I've organized a few trips to the KY side of the IL-KY fluorspar district 
via this list serve over the past  several years. The Clement Museum is now 
handling all the arrangements and have groups several weekends per month 
from late March ending with deer hunting season in early November. Because 
of the success of this program, the museum is not having the financial 
difficulties it was in several years ago. I want to thank everyone who has 
supported those digs - and had fun in the process!  A group from Evansville 
is scheduled to dig this weekend and towards the end of the month a very 
large group from Georgia is coming up.

Bill Frazer & I checked out another possible collecting area yesterday, on 
the Big Four fault system. I'm not optimistic that it will pan out. I picked 
up some 'gravel spar' (crystalline fluorite on the surface), but that 
doesn't always mean ground crystals are just below.

Bill showed me some work he has done at the Columbia mine. He had the 
fluorescent mineral dump turned yesterday and I pointed out an overgrown 
rock pile that has been very productive for me over the past five years at 
the Eureka. (One miniature specimen can have goods crystals of fluorite, 
quartz, calcite, sphalerite and smithsonite on it!) We also determined that 
some dumps on the fault associated with the Mary Belle mine are on his 
property and that he will dig into them. The Mary Belle is not on his land. 
(He showed me an open shaft dug in the 1940's. Judging from the time it 
takes the rock to hit the bottom of the shaft, it is about 50' deep. No 
water. Needless to say, he doesn't want anyone wandering up the hill any 
more!)

I was down there to pick up a dump truck load of material from the old 
Ozark-Mahoning dumps in Rosiclare. It is nice having access to a dual axle 
dump truck! We now have 15 tons of material for the Fossil Festival at the 
Falls of the Ohio State Park on the 15th & 16th of this month. For the 
diehard mineral collector, it may not be worth looking at, but for our 
typical festival attendee the yellow and purple fluorite, barite, calcite 
and sphalerite will be very popular. I anticipate the pile will be as 
popular as the fossil piles. We have water there so people can wash off the 
material. In addition, the rock is generally small enough that the use of 
rock hammers isn't necessary. For liability reasons, we do not let people 
use rock hammers on the piles during the event. There are too many people 
packed in!

The best fluorite is at Hastie Quarry. Unfortunately it is still OFF-LIMITS 
to collectors. However, I talked to them and they are willing to sell a 
quantity of low grade ore (the bedding replaced limestone with crystal vugs) 
which can be trucked over to the grounds of the museum for collectors to 
split. It will prboably cost about as much as it did to rent the track hoe. 
The material can be very nice because the purple and yellow crystals are 
fresh, clean and often lustrous. They aren't big (typically under 1 cm 
wide). I am working with Bill so that we can organize a dig at the museum 
with Hastie fluorite.  Just a reminder for those visiting the Illinois side 
of the district, don't bother asking at Hastie Quarry - that just irritates 
them! Trespassing is worse and is the main reason why they closed all access 
to their property.

I'll be down there again in mid October to do more collecting.

Alan G.

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