Fieldtrip Report:
Fieldtrip Report:
Jackson
Crossroads Amethyst
Wilkes County, Georgia
September 23rd and 24th, 2006
photos and text by: Steve Barr
Our fieldtrip to JXR started on Friday night, with several members clustered around a nice campfire. It was a clear night, and I got to watch several spectacular "shooting stars" streak across the evening sky.
Rodney "shakes up" the dump piles.
In the morning, Rodney arrived and began "shaking up" the tailings piles for us. While I was watching him move earth around, a nice fist-sized amethyst crystal popped out of the mud. Unfortunately, the photo of that one didn't turn out. After he moved the dump piles around, JXR's owner began clearing debris in the bottom of the main pit to give us better access to the rocks below. Reid Miner and several of our members broke off into small groups and took turns using the jackhammer to begin dismantling rocks that looked like they might be hiding some nice pockets of amethyst.
Reid Miner and Warren begin to dismantle rocks with the jackhammer.
A nice crystal jutting out of a rock from the tailings piles.
Every time Becky looked over to have her picture taken, "claim jumpers" snuck into her digging area.
As is usual with MAGMA folks, the groups agreed to share anything they found while using the jackhammer. Every now and then a small pocket would open up, but no large plates were found during the first day. A few lucky searchers hit small deposits of purple crystals and loaded them into their buckets. New members Ed and Catharine Stamey joined us for their first rockhounding trip. They're experienced gold hunters from northern Georgia, and had decided to give gem hunting a try. They fit right in with our group, and those of us who had the opportunity to meet them are looking forward to seeing them at many more digs in the future. They shared great stories about their adventures collecting gold with us around the fires each evening.
New M.A.G.M.A. member Ed went home with this nice plate of amethyst crystals running down the center of a rock covered with drusies.
On Sunday, everyone threw themselves into the search, working hard in the hot Georgia sun to find more amethyst.
Everyone fans out to search the pit for any signs of purple.
A "plate" of amethyst.
Romin sorting through some of his crew's discoveries at the end of the day.
This little girl was on her first rockhounding trip ever, and uncovered a very nice, facet grade crystal in the dump piles.
Although several people went home with some nice specimens, we were all surprised that none of those infamous big purple plates was uncovered. As the day drew to an end, Becky began uncovering single crystals and small clusters in the wall of the pit. I found a few as well. The crews divvied up their finds, and everyone headed for home just before a tremendous thunderstorm rolled through the area.
And "old timer" Warren Falcone walked away with this amazing gem!
