Understanding what brings and keeps people interested in rockhounding, mining history, and mineralogical study is as varied as the natural discoveries they make.
For Canada’s Jason White, one could say it dates back to his years as a Cub Scout in St. John’s, Newfoundland. During this time, a Scout leader presented him with a book about Newfoundland’s mineral deposits, written in the 1950s. Perhaps it was during the late 1990s when he staked his first claims, operating on little knowledge but a deep passion and excitement for what he may discover. It also could be when he was prospecting full-time and selling vegetables and herb transplants to afford money for fuel to get to the dig sites. Or, it could be each of these moments and many others that brought him to the place he is today, continuing to explore one of his most significant discoveries, amethyst from the La Manche mine.
LA MANCHE’S MINING LEGACY
The La Manche mine property consists of four claims on the western side of the Avalon Peninsula, which is adjacent to the former community of La Manche, in Newfoundland, Canada. In researching the mining and cultural history of the area, White, a technical writer, has mapped out a timeline of activity at the mine. As he explained, the La Manche mine was formally discovered in the 1850s, but the locals collected lead in the area for fishing weights long before that. There has been evidence of mining attempts dating to the 16th century in Placentia Bay (Basques, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and English were the first Europeans to explore the region).
This story is from the June 2021 edition of Rock&Gem Magazine.
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This story is from the June 2021 edition of Rock&Gem Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORGAN HILL POPPY JASPER
In California, there are very few places to collect semi-precious stones. Many locations from the past have been either exhausted of the material or the land has been developed.
THE ACORN
The briolette gemstone has the same design attributes of a regular gemstone, however, the pavilion is elongated and the crown is usually domed. This is perfect for an elegant pendant, earrings or a pendulum.
HOW TO PUT A PROTECTIVE CAP ON A CAB
To protect a specimen cab, often a cap is needed. In my case, I had a slab with the because of the color of the background and the pattern. This background had a more silicified consistency than most sandstones. It had no graininess like most sandstone, so I'm inclined to compare it to a jasper. The pattern was typical of a dendrite.
The Resilient Revival of Anne Brontë & Her Stones
For the first time, the Anne Brontë rock collection underwent complete description and identification, and along with Professor Hazel Hutchison of Leeds University and Dr. Enrique Lozano Diz at ELODIZ (a company specializing in spectroscopy analysis), an analysis of that collaboration, Anne Brontë and Geology: A Study of her Collection of Stones, was published in April 2022 in Volume 47, Issue 2 of the peer-reviewed journal, Brontë Studies & Gazette.\"
Amazing Women with Rock-Solid Careers
Explorers, Geologists, Educators & Jewelry Makers...
The Case of the Bleeding Glacier
It's a gory sight called Blood Falls. Ever since British geologist Thomas Griffith Taylor first noted it in 1911, it has been a mystery.
Asteroid Samples Are Said to Hold Invaluable Secrets
If Only Scientists Can Pop the Lid!
Paleontologists Embrace a New Method for Seeing Fossils within Rock
Fossil bone can be delicate. Attempts to remove it from a hard rock matrix by picking and scratching or etching with acids can be time-consuming and/or may end up obliterating that which you hope to study.
Need a Map of the Ocean Floor?
Call in the Seals!
A Step Closer to Hydrogen, the "Climate-Friendly Fuel"
As I reported last June, the world is racing to find sustainably renewable, nonpolluting sources of energy to replace our carbon-based reserves of coal, oil and gas.
