2009-Jan 14th-continued

Since we are close to ending our time here, the mine owner promised we could look through his personal collection of minerals. After our lunch break, we met him at the sorting tables where he laid out his collection. Here we had daylight – and it was brutal, so we placed ourselves under the canopy to avoid direct sunlight.

Michael (the jeweler from Bern Switzerland-shown below), and I were the first to review his rough. There was a greater range of minerals than I had anticipated seeing. We first worked our way through red Garnets. He had kilos of small goods in the one half to 2 gram sizes. Of no interest to me, but may work for others. Next was a parcel of larger Garnets in the 5 to 10 gram sizes. Even though these were the premium sizes, I did not take any, as they were a little dark for me and this was something I have surplus of in my cutting shop. Michael is weighing up his selection.

And here, are two massive examples of Sphene. I reveiwed several of what I thought were larger pieces in Madagascar last summer, but these two put them to shame. Too bad they are not transparent enough to be faceted!

The review of the owner’s rough came to an end in mid afternoon. It was time for a short rest, shower, and then prepare for the camp party this evening. Everyone who had contributed in any way during the week was welcome and encouraged to come. In the late afternoon, as daylight came to an end, two goats were slaughtered, prepared and barbecued. Other food items were brought to the party for all to enjoy as well as beer and soft drinks.