Mineral Collecting, Crystal Digging, and Fossil Hunting in NY & PA
Tag: mineral collecting
An exceptional locality specimen , fossil clam with calcite crystals from Ruck’s pit in Okeechobee, FL. These clams were buried under a tidal wave and are incredibly preserved. The mine is closed, but the owner stockpiled a bunch of material. you can make a reservation to dig there, they bring out sand with a Bobcat and dump it in piles. Hess are provided and the collector merely has to rinse the sand off the rocks to find these amazing fossils.
Are Bismuth crystals natural or man-made? Bismuth crystals can actually be made at home in the kitchen. Most of what you see for sale is made in a laboratory or twelve in Europe. Many people think they are naturally formed, but they are not.
Rockhounding a rain gullet after heavy rains at Paradise Falls Herkimer Diamond locality in Middleville, NY, U.S.A. Many of these crystals are alluvial, and wash out of the dirt after rainy weather. Not many(if any) Herkimer Diamond localities have such abundant surface finds as Paradise Falls does.
Here’s a slide show of McAdoo/Tresckow quartz crystal specimens, as well as some shots of crystal collecting the locality. McAdoo is just south of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, and quartz crystals of up to 20+ LBS can be found in the abandoned strippin pit there, which locals nicknamed The Echo.
Collecting black drusy quartz crystals and herkimer diamonds at the Area 51 Claim, Diamond Acres/Hastings Farm, Fonda NY. the Area 51 Claim has produced some incredible specimens in the last couple seasons.
Some fluorescent calcite/willemite mineral specimens from The Sterling Hill Mining Museum’s 2018 night dig, as well as fluorescent zincite and {?} from the Palmerton, Pennsylvania slag locality. Shown under the DRK Light shortwave UV lamp.
Surface collecting Herkimer Diamond quartz crystals at the Russell Family Mine in Little Falls, NY. Scepters are known to be found at this locality. Most crystals here found just laying on the surface on and in the dirt. This is Grayson’s 2nd dig at 6 months old.