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| Beryl pit mine |
Something about the smell in the air, the sparse bug population and the ability to put in work without turning into a one maned sauna is always kinda nice. Being that Id be away all day and this was kind of a special occasion for me, I decided to bring a little treat to toast off the fall season. A local brewed citrus ale accompanied me in my journey adding to the celebration and spice of harvest time.
The day did not disappoint, and from what Ive learned now, I wasnt even where the REALLY good stuff is. Turns out, I was walking on it. Here I am, crawling up the side of the cliff face looking in crevices and hacking at the wall when it turns out, I could have just sat on the ground? YUP.
There you can find feldspar, ( some radioactive stuff too ) amazonite, mica, fluorite, tourmaline and the thing everyone comes here for
*Drum roll*.......... ? BERYL ?
When you go, expect a bit of a hike to get in, I kept thinking to myself a combination of,
{why did you bring the sledgehammer?} and {just a little bit further, its just around the corner}. I highly suggest a backpack for tools and a bucket for your rocks, a palanquin with 6 able bodies and your journey to the new world awaits!. Ok, ok, Im over-exaggerating the walk in, its not that bad compared to other mines. Im just saying, After a day of digging rocks, who doesnt dream of being brought out on a palanquin from time to time?.
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| Beryl pit mine walk |
Being that its fall, it was one of the nicest jaunts to a mine Ive been through. I have heard that in the summer months this walk is a feeding frenzy of bugs tho. Personally, I dont believe in bug spray. Im the guy in the bug hat whos been eating raw garlic and hasnt showered for 2 days in preparation for the trip *grin* *wink* ( Tip from caver461- best geo/caving/mineral Ontario channel on youtube) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEcWqnK5ufQ3sUonColo2Tw
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| Beryl pit mine info stand |
When you arrive, there are a few display stands giving you some sample specimens to look over and information on other mineral collecting spots in the area. There are quite a few mines around so this place does have traffic from collectors. But, from what I can make out, it looks like the owners move things around, adding to the pile and open things up ( the dumps ) every so often. So theres PLENTY to be found. There was some broken beryl in the dumps, along with large smokey quartz and clear quartz, Cleavlandite, amazonite, garnet, and I personally found some very nice black tourmaline specimens just lying on the ground. The blue in some of the amazonite here is brilliant. The amazonite is mostly comprised of the pinkish/blue type, but if you look hard enough there are chunks of bright baby blue beauties to be found.
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| Beryl Pit Mine |
This is where I found the decaying radioactive feldspar. It would be around the dark area. Cant remember But I think this where the smokey quartz is?. Its really all over the place. Impressed.
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| Beryl Pit mine- Ontario |
Climbing. Finding the sweet spot. Relax. Bliss.
Decomposing radioactive feldspar?
Amazonite ?
Cleavlandite ?
Black Tourmaline ?
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| Beryl pit mine rock specimens |
A little bit of what I collected at the beryl pit
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| Beryl Pit mine stand |
