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Post by youp50 on Mar 9, 2017 14:07:58 GMT -5
I think I would add the rocks and fill to the brim with water and sit it over night. It would give the wedges time to swell. Drain and fill in the AM and let it rip. Best of luck
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Post by youp50 on Mar 9, 2017 5:42:15 GMT -5
Epidote, feldspar, calcite, basalt, and the native copper.
Education time on the copper country rocks. In the old mining days they did not have core drills to map the ore deposits. They followed the 'colors'. White is calcite, soft and forms real interesting crystals. Cubic, but leaned over like a fat man sat on one. Red is feldspar and green is the epidote. One of the pieces shows inclusions of feldspar in the bubbles of the basalt. There were/are pieces like that with copper in the bubbles. Sometimes copper or silver would flow info exceptionally neat spaces in the basalt. You really should get to the Seiman Museum to see the copper and silver fan shaped crystals. Next time I am there, I will be the bald guy sitting on a one legged stool, three foot long leg, staring at the silver crystals and drinking in the beauty of it.
Copper does suck to cut. There are rumored to be pieces of copper still in the mines that were too large to remove, they simply mined around them. Sometimes, they would have miners chisel the copper into small enough pieces to get out of the mine. Still weighing in the tons. I have a piece or two of the copper chips from that operation. Smooth on one side and lumpy on the other, about an inch wide. Packed away somewhere, when we get settled I will get an image or two here.
The nice heavy chunks of cooper found in the waste rock piles are from a disgruntled miner sticking it to the boss or company and pitched the good out with the bad. They would steal the silver and hide it. There was no life insurance. A miner died in the hole, his wife and kids had 30 days to vacate company housing. Silver gave her a better option than picking the least offensive bachelor that worked for the company. And they came calling soon after the body was cool, the widow beat the bachelor quarters. Or go work above the bar or bawdy house.
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Post by youp50 on Mar 7, 2017 12:33:47 GMT -5
While you are at the Pork, have the rangers at the Park headquarters direct you to the Nonsuch Mine sight.
Lots of nice water falls in the area. Typically not too spectacular in August, not enough water flowing.
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Post by youp50 on Mar 7, 2017 12:30:35 GMT -5
I am moving and unable to host the trip.
I wish I would have found this hobby and you people sooner.
Your trip needs to be scheduled around Redmetalminerals in Ontonagon MI. Find out when Richard is opening the mine for scavenging. Absolute world class copper colored porcelin looking datolite down there. Native copper also. Lots of epidotes and felspar too.
Base camp at the Porcupine Mountains State Park campground. Comb the beach west for agates chert and anything else that catches your eye. Bring your metal detectors and wander the trap rock hills between Bergland and Rockland looking for copper crystals.
The Adventure mine is ok in Mass City.
Stop and see Steve at the Rockland General store.
Head up to the McClain State park north of Houghton. Go to the Seiman Mineral Museum on Michigan Technological Museum campus. Your ticket will cover two days admission, use them both.
Spend the rest of the time you have allotted to check out the rich copper mining history the area has to offer. The Keeweenaw housing can get booked during weekends. Get reservations. There are quite a few Mom and Pop motels and bed and breakfasts in the area. If given a choice, do it in August when the rest of America is too hot. Lots of public access to the beaches. Hard to beat a sunset at the mouth of the Big Iron river near Silver City or the west side of the Keeweenaw. Take in the sunrises on the east side. Fires on the beach.
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Post by youp50 on Mar 6, 2017 20:54:32 GMT -5
The really neat pieces have quartz inclusions. I do not believe quartz exhibits positive meta physical effects on CRS. Personally speaking.
Stuff just lies around on the ground.
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Post by youp50 on Mar 6, 2017 16:30:00 GMT -5
What can one do with it?
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Post by youp50 on Mar 1, 2017 5:28:02 GMT -5
As a beach combing south shore of the real Lake Superior agate hunter, most 'Lake Superior agates' never saw the lake. The 'standard' red and blue bands are rarely found on the beach anymore.
My favorite find was also lost again, a beautiful yellow eye agate. The last great find was a white agate left laying on top of the beach, passed over by many other combers that Saturday. Big as my thumb. Most agate pickers want to find the beautiful red/blue banding they see in a gift shop, mined on the north shore, and don't know the real deal. I set back many small solid red agates.
All agates are beautiful to me. But I cannot describe how they are made. I do not believe the earth is billions of years old. I thank God for the beauty of his creation.
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Post by youp50 on Feb 25, 2017 18:46:35 GMT -5
The elephant tusks I got in Kenya years ago were carved from cow leg bone, so i was told.
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