Some pictures from the recent Tucson show. These African stone carvings are amazing.

This was a most bizarre rock shop visit ever.
I was confused by this article here.
It is 2006 and people are gathering near the city of Nothing rock shop to have a rockhounding trip:

This is a location of non-existing, empty Nothing, don’t be fooled:

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Here is a floor layout with the list of Calgary Gem & Mineral Show 2011 exhibitors: click here

Just in time for the show got a new cool UV Lamp. Bring your rocks to the Calgary Gem & Mineral show to check them under short and long ultra violet light if they are fluoresce. By the way it is awesome willemite-calcite-franklenite (green-orange-black) under the short wave.

As I promised in the previous post, here is a picture of fluorite crystals plate that was sitting in my Rock Candy mine vug:

And these are a few barite crystals from Bob Jackson’s lucky vug. All these specimens can be seeing in my booth at the Calgary Gem & Mineral Show next week.

This is a quick overview of the mine site. Check it out in HD

These are a few clips with Bob Jackson working on his newly found barite vug. I was so excited by this find, that was not able to stop myself from recording his work, so these are quite a long movies. All in HD.

In July I visited the Rock Candy mine near Grand Forks, BC

There is a photo report. Don’t forget to click on the picture to see some more on the topic

Bob Jackson, the current owner of the mine, explaining the deposit

Me, posing in front of my vug

My fluorite vug. The chisel is pointing to the fluorite cluster that I will publish in the next post.

Very cool vug with quartz druzes on top of green fluorite. If the quartz druze is thin enough, it conducts the colour of the fluorite matrix, giving to the specimen tender greenish hint. Awesome!

This guy was working out the quartz vug. This was his first rockhounding trip and he collected absolutely awesome specimens. Newbie luck.

Working on the fluorite vugs. This man went out with this bucket full of fluorite crystals

Bob Jackson found a barite vug, full of incredible clusters. He just spotted a small barite crystal in the mud. He started to wander around, trying to match the mud from crystal with something near by. It is unbelievable, but he found the source! He started digging, and exposed the vug. When he began to take out one stunning specimen after the other in front of me, I had lost my tongue. I was working a whole day just a few meters away from this spot. I’ve got my cool fluorites, but nothing close to this fortune. This is a classic example of real experienced field collectors work.

Bob taking out the barites from the pocket. All these muddy lumps around him are high-end lustrous barite clusters. I will post some pictures of them later.

The Rock Candy mine hut at the base of the mountain.

In the next post I will publish some videos of Bob working on the fresh barite pocket and a few pictures of the specimens I collected on this trip.

All these specimens can be seeing live at the upcoming Calgary Gem & Minerals show that starts next week!

I just finished watching two new episodes of The New Crystal Hunters series filmed by Blue Cap Production.
Enjoyed this so much! These educational rockhound movies will be donated to the first 100 kids at the Show doors.

I am excited to announce that all visitors of upcoming show will have a chance to try their luck and skills panning for gold. Thanks to Alberta Gold Prospectors Association that will run the gold panning booth.

Here is a chance to save on admission fee.
Present this coupon at the show doors and get $2 off.

Regular admission fees:

Adults: one-day ticket – $7 , three-day ticket – $10
Seniors/Students: one-day ticket – $5 , three-day ticket – $7
Children under 12 free (with adults)
Tickets will be available at the Show doors.
Cash only.

At the previous show in 2010 we donated 50 DVDs with the first episode from gem mines of Pala. Improving this old good tradition, this time it is going to be 100 free rockhound DVDs for the first 100 families with kids.

The New Crystal Hunters takes kids on the adventure of a lifetime as they travel across the USA digging for real mineral treasures.

Blue Cap production filmed two new episodes and they will be given as a gifts at the show doors.

Episode “Arkansas”: Mark, Damien and Max travel with filming group to the state of Arkansas where they visit the Crater of Diamonds State Park and Ron Coleman’s Quartz Mine in the search for crystal treasures.

Episode “Smokey Hawk”: Nora, Lo and Lauren head off to Colorado to look for Amazonite and Smoky Quartz at the Smoky Hawk Claim owned by Joe Dorris of Pinacle 5 Minerals.
These are some pieces they uncovered during the filming:

The future of the mineral collecting hobby lies in the hands of kids just like the ones featured in these films. Donating these DVDs, Calgary Gem & Mineral Show is hoping to show other kids how exciting, rewarding and educating mineral collecting can be.