Wood's Chrome Mine, Lancaster County, Pa

[gronkus]

Hey All,

While you were all wasting time at Crabtree last weekend, our club had a dig/picnic at the Wood's Chrome Mine ( you all DO know I'm kidding, right!? I'm so jealous that NC is just too far away for a weekend getaway).

Anyway, they brought in a back hoe and dug some trenches. While we didn't find anything TOO spectacular, it was a fun day despite the oppressive heat

The real prize there is to find some Kammererite (Chromium Clinochlore). There is also a bunch of other purple/pinkish stuff of the serpentine family to confuse the picture (Antigorite). While I know I have a few smaller pieces of the serpentine, I did find a couple very small pieces that have purple that is somewhat in a crystal form (although small and not well-formed)...


What I did find more of (despite the massive amounts of (green) serpentine and chromite) was Zaratite. Some of this looks like a bright, almost neonish, green coating until you get close up when you can see the crystals...


I also cracked open a piece of greenish serpentine and inside where some very thin, white crystal "strands" that someone identified as Hydromagnesite (it also fluoresces). I don't have a pic of that yet

Anyway, check out the pics I do have at home.comcast.net/~gronkus/woods.htm

And enjoy those emeralds!!

Dave

[lee]

Dave:

We wish you could have been with us at the Crabtree this past weekend; but is sure looks as though you had a good time collecting nice material. Thanks for posting the pictures for all of to enjoy. Were these from an active mine or quarry or from old spoil piles? Let us know a little about your trip if you don't mind. It is always nice to have a story with the pictures.

Have a great day and come see us during the roundup.

Lee

[gronkus]

Rick,
It's the first time I visited the mine. Honestly, there wasn't much "spectacular" that we found, but I know that's the way it goes with these digs - some days you get lucky and other days not. It certainly isn't a place I'd make a long trip to see, but what helped make it a good day for me is my kids were there and all 3 of them, not only were super as far as not whining, but actually seemed to enjoy themselves (especially my youngest Erica).

Lee,
I just can't wait to see more pics that I'm sure will be posted over time from the Crabtree dig! But even though Woods is in no way comparable to there, it was still a good day! The place is down a little dirt road that runs next to a house that sits on a pretty minor country road. Driving down this road is a REAL trip - kinda reminded me of Crabtree in fact. And then it shoots into heavy forest area. You would never find it if you weren't guided.

A guy in a back hoe then started bashing down shrubs and small trees to clear out some areas for digging. Then he dug some trenches at various spots. I don't think the guys who knew that area ever thought we "found it" that day.

It was probably mid-90's as we were just starting a heat wave and later, just when we left, the sky opened and it really dumped! So our timing was perfect.

There were the old mine shafts and open pits there, but we were warned to stay away and I didn't get too close. But the days of it being worked are long gone.

Driving there a few guys said they saw a Bald Eagle who makes his home somewhere in the area. Someone else also saw a snake which sounded like it might be a milk snake.

Definately the Kammererite was the prize most were searching for, and I don't know of anyone who actually found any decent piece of it (if at all, including my questionable stuff).
The chromite is really cool as I started relying on feel to locate potential "good stuff" as everything was pretty dirty. A solid piece of chromite is so surprisingly heavy for its size it just takes you by surprise when you pick it up! It isn't the "prettiest" of stuff, but heck, we can't all have emeralds laying around, you know? ;-)

Well, those are the highlights. I'm hoping to make a personal trip soon to New Jersey to try and find the old New Street quarry and do some collecting at Montclair University.

Oh, does anyone here belong to the "mineral of the month" club? I just joined and received a package with the first 7 months of 2006 worth of specimens. I never was really in to getting minerals that I didn't collect, but I guess I'm realizing there are so many neat things that I know I will likely never get the opportunity to find and seeing these minerals is just amazing! Especially a specimen from India that had a cluster of cavansite crystals! The cobalt blue sparkly color is just incredible!

Well, hope you all continue to have fun down there and keep finding cool things! And I'll do my best to make it down there.

Dave