| We'll let Blue Sheppard lead the way through the
underground workings. Be sure to keep your hard hat on, and keep a close eye out for
any missed pockets! |
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The crossed pick and shovel represent the classic cartographic symbol for
a mine. This old pick and shovel, dug from the tailings piles of the Stewart Mine,
lie across a typical pocket formation. The zones of mineralization consist of a core
of pink montmorillinite clay going into lepidolite, quartz and clevelandite. These
in turn are surrounded by perthitic alteration which runs through this entire, 100-foot
thick dike system. |
| Chris French barely supressing his delight as he
inspects the famous "broken record pocket". The pocket was named because
the previous two pockets next to it were nearly identical in size and content, causing
Blue to exclaim, "This theme is repeating like a broken record!" His words
proved prophetic in a second sense, for shortly thereafter, the largest morganite on
record was extracted from the pocket. The pocket also contained four museum
specimens and over 35 pounds of faceting material. |
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Brilliant hues of color mark this pocket of mineralization along the
footwall of the enrichment zone. Blue calls these footwall intrusions of enriched
material "juice". Juice is most likely premature or incomplete formation
of the ingredients which would form a pocket if it occurred in the hanging wall under
proper conditions. These zones are not, as many would argue, etched or altered or
decomposed pockets. It is believed that these areas constitute examples of
incomplete crystallization, where minerals "tried" to crystallize but, because
of a lack of capture by the surrounding host rock, the proper heat and pressure
characteristics did not develop. |
| The degree of alteration decreases markedly in the lower
areas of the mine, away from the ore body. Note residual clay mineralization and
heavily fractured country rock. |
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