News and Pictures (last updated October 31, 2009)               LMSCC Home page

October 31, 2009 - Thirteen diggers braved potential rain (that held off) and were rewarded with warm but blustery weather and an abundance of beryl.  Most digging was done at the  No. 1 quarry dump; in the swale for the former tram that lead out of the quarry into the largest dump, and also within that dump.  Many beryls were unearthed, mostly small ones in matrix or loose fragments, colored from yellow to blue.  A few exceptional deeper aquamarines, partly gemmy and with good hexagonal shape, were found that measured a couple inches across or so.  Several pieces of iron tram wheels and rail spikes were found in the swale.  A few small columbite-(Fe) fragments turned up in the No. 1 dump, along with small patches of the bismuth mineral suite.  But two well-formed columbite crystals were found lying on the surface of the No. 3 dump, rain having washed them clean and made them visible against the background of light pegmatite fragments.  One is tabular and 0.75 by 1.25 inches tall, the other is thicker and 0.6 inches tall with a bundle of smaller, sub-parallel crystal terminations on each side.  Both have a single domed termination and nice iridescence.  Many beryl fragments of all colors were found at No.3 as well, plus a 3-inch, massive piece of pale green-gray apatite-(CaF) (on smoky quartz), partly gemmy, showing very nice yellow fluorescence under short-wave ultraviolet light.  A 0.25-inch bundle of brown, terminated, elongated zircon crystals is hiding in the quartz of this specimen.

October 26, 2009 - Members at the Monday meeting informed me that it appears that the Old Mine Plaza site in Trumbull is finally undergoing development into a Home Depot.  Trailers are on-site and collectors have been asked to leave, this follows recent surveying activity.  Please respect their wishes.

August 29, 2009 - RAIN!  Well, I don't know if anyone made it out to CCC quarry, but I stayed home due to all-day tropical rainstorm.  We'll go another day!

May 30, 2009 - There was a good turnout for Clark Hill.  Most folks worked the Nathan Hall quarry dumps, but there were some beryls found at the prospect near the parking area.  Beryls were found by many, including a nice yellow beryl a few inches long.  Small garnets and schorls were found in the surrounding schist, no doubt a metasomatic reaction with the nearby pegmatitic intrusion.  A nice thumbnail columbite turned up and and a nice crystal was shattered by overzealous hammering.  A nice piece with several "bull's-eyes" of secondary uranium minerals surrounding uraninite that fluoresces very nicely in SW UV.  It also had tiny zircons crystals.  Two cabinet specimens of subhedral muscovite crystals in parallel arrangement were easily knocked out of the enclosing quartz. As stated here before, these crystals are rooted in pegmatite matrix but have excellent crystal edges where they project in the quartz core.  They are usually in large groups with crystals on the scale of inches. All in all a good trip.  Photos here.

April 18, 2009 - We had great weather and a good turnout for our first field trip of 2009.  Plenty of good beryl was unearthed by members young and old from the Simpson Quarry.  The best stuff came from deeper down in the dump and in the deep, black quartz matrix (including a 4-inch one penetrating a 7-inch-long yellow beryl, green fluorescent and turquoise colored hyalite, and plenty of uraninite/autinite/torbernite associations.  Also found were good microlite crystals, pseudomorphs of mica after tourmaline, pale apatite, and small but well-formed garnets. Right in front of the big microcline crystal in the found in the western prospect is a microlite-rich vein in the ledge, the microlite was found very close to or in thick clusters of mica books. They have been ranging in size from small (1/8 inch or so) to much bigger (1/4 inch is pretty common, with clusters > 1/2 inch). Most have very sharp crystal features. At the end of the day a strange, bar-shaped and heavy metallic crystal about 1.5 or 2 inches long was found that had a substantial yellow-white coating.  At first we thought it was columbite due to the weight, but none of its other properties seemed right. Another mystery mineral was found on a sliver of feldspar roughly 2 by 1/2 by 1/2 with a blue-gray thin coating. No, it's not hyalite. It's also easily scratched by a knife, so it's not hard like a silicate. No fluorescence.  Stay tuned for more info on these mystery minerals. Photos here.

April 11, 2009 - Last month's show was a great success and thanks go to all who pitched in to help! Click here for a few photos.  We have a bunch of new members (welcome!!) and we will have to expand the regular meetings into the cafeteria!  For those new members unfamiliar with the auction, there will be auction slips in the May newsletter.  You can submit 4 mineral/gem related items for sale and can bid on any others.  There are always a variety of things and great deals at the auction, so hope to see you there.

October 5, 2008 - Sorry for the late updates.  Only three collectors came to the Nathan Hall quarry at Clark Hill, East Hampton on Sept. 20, 2008.  Good beryls were a bit scarce but one small boulder was broken open to reveal a 5-inch crystal with pale color.  A 1.5-inch garnet crystal on a hunk of massive garnet was found by going through the rain-washed rubble.  Note to collectors, always break open any rock at Nathan Hall with massive garnet showing on the outside!.  A few small columbites were found and some massive yellow-fluorescing apatite-(CaF).  At the end of the day a small boulder of massive smoky quartz with a few muscovites showing on the outside was just tapped with a small crack hammer.  The quartz just poured off revealing a 2-hand-sized group of at least 8 muscovite crystals up to 5 inches across radiating from feldspar, one of the best ever found. A few large loose crystals were found also.

 July 14, 2008 - FW from a member of Bristol as well as several New Hampshire clubs who saw the proposed trip listed in the bulletin....Unless we had specific permission from the owner for our date, we are out of luck.- The Stoddard Mine is Closed to Collecting
Due to over zealous collecting by groups who have not respected the owner's property, the Stoddard Mine is now, or will shortly, be posted. I have been in frequent contact with the owner and she has asked me to spread the word. The owner, on a routine inspection of the lower pit, was surprised by the degree of devastation and to find a large group collecting there who had not contacted her. Also, their cars presented a hazard parked precariously along Poocham Road. How long the moratorium will be is not known at this time. The owner may consider limited written permission at some juncture; however, once again, please do not go there until a decision has been made.

April 5, 2008 - Another successful Clark Hill dig.  Many beryls turned up at Nathan Hall Quarry, ranging from blue-green to yellow and up to 3 inches long, plus a probable 2-inch garnet (it was still partly covered by matrix - but looked promising) and a 1-inch columbite (also in matrix).  Smaller columbites were in evidence as was abundant massive fluorapatite and a well-shaped mica after schorl pseudomorph. The usual subhedral muscovites embedded in the quartz core turned up, one with 5 nice crystals.  An old drill bit and a piece of pottery were among the artifacts found that may help date the age of operations at this not well documented quarry.  Digging and probing the soil at the upper part of the State Forest Quarry Number 1 did not yield much, sadly, but one crude 2-inch bluish beryl was dug up.