Field Trip Report:

Sheepcliff Aquamarine Mine
Jackson County
Final Days of the Sheepcliff Mine
Spring and Summer 2003

by: Richard Jacquot

Over the next several weeks we visited the mine on a regular basis, often bringing new club members with us to collect.

Steve P., Mark Stearn, and R.J. Jacquot

Smoky quartz crystal

Dave Hillhouse, Steve P., and Rick J.

As the days wore on, the track hoe would routinely open deep trenches for us to work in, usually 15-30 feet long and 8 feet deep. It was amazing how much beryl was still in the dumps, every day, we would all go home with piles of small crystals and broken beryl pieces picked from the dumps, as well as numerous quality shelf specimens.

A days haul from the dumps, these are small beryl crystals and pieces I would pick from the dumps before I got started digging each day. Have you ever been on a dig with a machine and watched as it dug a hole and hoped to see a big nice specimen pop out right in front of you!, well that happened twice while digging the Sheepcliff. The first time, we were watching the track hoe dig a trench, I saw a brownish/gold object fall from the bucket into the pit, I got the machine to stop and jumped in to find a one pound gold beryl crystal laying at the bottom of the trench!

One pound gold beryl.

I got a call one evening from a couple visiting from out of town, they wanted to hire me to take them gem hunting while in town, they had already been burned at one of the local tourist traps, so I invited them to join us at our Sheepcliff dig.

Out of town Rockhounds Andi Carter and her husband. They visited our area at just the right time.

Andi's big multi colored beryl specimen that she found about 30 minutes after arriving at the mine, it was not gemmy, but it sure was big!

The path heading back into the woods to the mine before construction began.

Sheepcliff mine entrance filled with water.

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