Lapidaryforum.net
Let's Rock => Rockhounding Tips, Maps, Trips Etc. => Topic started by: Jhon P on June 03, 2016, 09:04:28 AM
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I made a trip out to the old Minnesota Iron mine by Yerington Nevada to collect material for spheres. I was after Verde Antique. It was all boulders, all of the smaller stuff has been picked up years ago. So it sledge hammer time. I got a truck load, but not sure how good it will be. There is a lot of grey in with the green. I did pick up some iron ore full of pryrite crystals. I did a quick polish on a chip and it looks like hematite.
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More pictures verde antique I cut for a sphere
magnetite that I did a quick polish to see if I can make a sphere, its so meltallic that it is hard to see all of the pryrite
and a boulder that was to big to break, but I did try
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I'm curious, you mentioned this is an old Minn mine, but that it's near Nevada..I'm confused, so these rock samples were taken from Nevada or Minn.?
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"Minnesota Iron Mine" is the name of the mine. Sorry I don't have the history of why it was named that. It is near the town of Yerington. (where the Anaconda copper mine is, I think it was closed in the 70's) It is the only iron skarn in Nevada that I am aware of. A lot of the magnetite was used for making concrete for ballast in large ocean ships. There is a lot of different minerals there for specimen collectors, lots of small pyrite crystals. I found some around 1" but broke them when I broke the rock open. A number of rock clubs have made field trips there.
Next week end it's off to northern California. Friends of mine have invited me to go with them and the Antioch club to the Spider Rhodonite mine that is owned by the San Francisco club. It will be a fee dig. I think that they were looking for a volunteer to swing a sledge hammer, the rhodonite is in the middle of boulders that have to be broken to get to.
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That should turn out great. Good colors. Post when finished.
Sandsave