Field Trip and Fossil Fun

It was field trip fun for a group of nine, including members from the Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society (OGMS), Conejo Gem & Mineral Club (CGMC), and the Ventura Gem & Mineral Society (VGMS), in early February with an adventure at the Nuevo Silica Mine, according to a report by David Springer, Field Trip Chair for VGMS, published in a recent issue of the club’s Rockhound Rambling newsletter.

- Antoinette Rahn

As Springer stated in his report, the mine, located in Perris, California, “was worked for feldspar and silica from 1916 through 1918. The mine is a quartz-feldspar pegmatite, exposed in Mesozoic diorite, forming three zones. The outer zone is a graphic granite, featuring large biotite crystals; the intermediate zone is a coarse-grained mixture of quartz, feldspar, and black tourmaline; the central zone was primarily quartz, and was mostly removed during mining.”

While the weather was a beautiful combination of sun and warmth, the group faced a few challenges accessing the site, due to previous rains washing gullies into the mine roads. However, the group patiently and successfully reached the mine and were rewarded with a variety of treasures, as well as many amazing views. Springer describes one such section of the mine, “A huge smoky quartz crystal—at least 2 feet long—was embedded in a wall of feldspar about 25 feet off the quarry floor. It was closely guarded by a beehive.”