GMS April Field Trips


Standard Mineral Company Glendon, NC Saturday, April 28, 2007 8:00 AM till Noon Trip: The Georgia Mineral Society has again been invited to participate in one of the best and most interesting field trip opportunities in the southeast. The Glendon pyrophylite mine is an open pit quarry that has produced many perfect pyrite crystals up to 4 inches on a side and 6 inches long! Generally, you can find a cube reaching 2 inches or so and a bunch of others in all shapes and sizes up to one inch or more. If you are after matrix material and loose large cubes, you will need to locate the pyrite seams down a foot or less in the bottom of the quarry floor. Using ANY kind of a metal detector makes this process less of a hit or miss proposition! Using a GOOD metal detector makes the hunt a "no brainer"! Also, if it hasn't rained for some time, the light gray pyrophylite soil seems to coat everything with a gray goop that makes it difficult to identify the pyrite crystals on the surface. Using a metal detector gives you a hint at where to scratch or dig! Now, having said all that, a metal detector is not mandatory for success. When I was there a number of years ago, the largest cubes were not found by anyone with a detector but that year they bull dozed the quarry floor! Don't count on it this time! You may also find small green fluorite crystals in crevices on some of the larger boulders strewn about the quarry floor. Collecting: pyrite cubes, pyrite cubes in matrix, green fluorite, and micro-minerals. Bring: You will need hard rock equipment for mining the quarry floor. Bring a shovel, pick, rock hammer, small sledge, chisels, eye protection, buckets, etc. Surface collecting with scratching tools and a small pick can be just as productive and a lot easier. Don't forget your gloves, sturdy shoes or rubber boots, hat, sun screen, something to munch on and plenty of fluids. This quarry, with its very white pyrophyllite soil, can be warm in April! Best advice for success! - METAL DETECTOR (if you have one). A wheeled cart can be useful for moving HEAVY buckets of pyrite cubes back to your vehicle so long as it's not muddy! Travel Time: A little over six hours and 342 miles from the I-85/I-285 North interchange in Atlanta. George Libby, GMS Field Trip Chair Graves Mountain "Rock Swap and Dig" for 2006 8 am to 6 pm, Friday, April 28, 2006 8 am to 6 pm, Saturday, April 29, 2006 8 am to 6 pm, Sunday, April 30, 2006 The SFMS Field Trip Committee has been in contact with the caretaker in charge of Graves Mountain, Clarence Norman Jr., in regard to his plans to hold two separate three day digs and rock swaps on the Mountain during April 28, 29, & 30, 2006 and during October 6, 7, & 8, 2006. He will have the mountain open to collecting from 8 am to 6 pm each day. All participants must stop at the welcome table in the Hospitality tent to sign a liability release and make a small contribution to defray the cost of opening the mountain and providing port-o-lets. There will be several golf cart type, four wheeled vehicles available to transport those participants who have trouble walking long distances. The dig will cease and everyone is expected to be off the mountain by around 6 pm each day. Participants will be allowed to park in a designated area on the mountain. Rock Swap and Hot Food/Drinks: Junior will set aside an area in the upper parking lot for tables to be setup for daily rock swaps. Anyone who would like to setup a table(s), please contact Junior at the phone numbers listed below. Hot food cooked on the grill, cold drinks and chips will be available for purchase on the mountain during all three days of these events. Don't forget to bring some extra money to buy the special "Graves Mountain Rock Swap and Dig" T-shirt! An Official Field Trip of The Cotton Indian Gem and Mineral Society (HOST) An Official Field Trip of the GEORGIA MINERAL SOCIETY Saturday April 21, 2007 Girard, Burke County, GA 10:00 AM "Savannah River Agate" WHERE: The River road outside of Girard, GA. WHEN: Saturday April 21, 2007 TIME: 10:00 A.M. at the Girard city Post Office on Hwy. 23 Children: Children are welcome but need to be supervised as we will be hunting on a dirt road. Pets: Same as above. Trip: Beautiful Savannah River Agate has been collected at this location for years. I have been told that there is as much material here today as there ever was. Collecting: We will be collecting Savannah River Agate, fossils and micro minerals. This material is actually a conglomeration of agate, jasper, chert, and opalite all mixed together to form a layered specimen that will tumble or cab into beautiful display pieces. This rock occurs as black and brown mottled agate and in a large range of pastel colors from greens to yellows to violets. The fossils you may find are from 30-35 million years old Oligocene age deposits. The micro minerals are located in vugs of the agate/chert rock. Special Conditions: We will be hunting in the roadway and road cuts only. Do Not leave the road cuts. Please stay off of private property. Bring: You will need to bring a rock hammer and scratching tool to collect the agate. You can dig if you want but make sure you fill in your holes after your finished. If you plan to look for microminerals by busting the larger agate/chert specimens, you will also need some chisels and a sledge. More importantly you NEED eye protection (face shield would be best) and long heavy pants as this agate can act like shrapnel when cracked with a rock hammer or sledge! As always, bring your lunch, plenty of fluids, some bug spray, sun screen, a hat, gloves, sturdy shoes and lots of 5 gal. Buckets (Trust me - you will need them!). Where to meet: We will meet at the Girard city Post Office on Hwy. 23. Directions: From I-20 take Hwy. 520 (west of Augusta) south to Hwy. 56 and travel south. Go through McBean (do not take Hwy. 56 Spur). Turn left on Hwy. 23 to Girard and meet at the Post Office at 10 AM. Drive time: From Atlanta 3 to 3 1/2 hours.