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CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia
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John Cornish




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PostPosted: Mar 07, 2013 15:56    Post subject: Re: CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia  

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From down low at this point, this is how the pocket appeared, beautiful, spectacular and…
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Tight!

There’d be no room for error here, everything would have to work perfectly if the madness I was envisioning was to be realized.
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This is the view behind the right hand pocket wall.

Wonderful, crazy and so full of possibilities!
 Viewed:  34484 Time(s)

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PostPosted: Mar 07, 2013 16:07    Post subject: Re: CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia  

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Having stoped this area open, removing the bulk of the rock from behind the pocket wall, I’ve left the wall more or less hanging and am getting more nervous, err, I mean closer to my goal of recovering this massive section of wall as a single monstrous crystal specimen!
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But only if everything goes right.

As with so many things in life, before the prize can be won, reality rears its ugly head! For me, this travesty took the form of that pesky crystal bridge I’d mentioned earlier, spanning the top of the lower pocket area. There, I had a lot of work to do *before* the pocket material below could be collected.

Ordinarily, this is a bad-bad-bad thing to do, working fragile specimens above fragile specimens, too many chances for something to go wrong, for something to fall.

And one thing’s for sure, crocoites don’t take damage well!

Still, it’s what I had to do to continue on.
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Thankfully, the shape of the bridge assisted and allowed me to recover some incredible specimens as during this process, the vast majority of my detritus fell from a sloping ledge to cascade impotently, safely away, from the pocket and its pristine crystalline contents.

Above the bridge, a million spikey orange crystals covered every surface.
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Joyous tidings, the Crocoite Super Highway has opened!

Congratulations Bruce, a fine, fine job and one which will make every day a whole lot easier. Hat’s off!
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Heck, it’s even getting spacious down here. Dare I say it…
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Roomy!

As it should be! There is much work which will be done in this hollowed out area and many a precious load will be hauled from here outward towards the surface.

Every inch of space gained is gratefully appreciated.

On the left, the entrance into the little raise which opens into the Red River Upper pocket zone. On the right, just out of sight beside the shovels, the wall is cut back another 4 feet (1.3 meters) creating an expansive work area.
 Viewed:  34429 Time(s)

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PostPosted: Mar 07, 2013 16:17    Post subject: Re: CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia  

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As I worked the area surrounding the bridge, I was rewarded as the edges of the plate started to define themselves. Boundary’s became more evident until eventually, I broke through and my line of separation began to form.
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Up top center, you can see the void I’ve opened and will continue to expand.

Note also the extreme angle that the wall resides, the top leaning frightfully forward towards the pocket’s interior. This creates an excessive amount of weight pushing forward and while I wasn’t staggered, I was concerned and would really have to pay attention and compensate for this factor.
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With progress going well above, and needing to clear out the hole of all the waste rock I’d dumped, I shifted to give myself a break and began mucking. With that task completed, it was time to begin undercutting the wall. To accomplish this, I had to dig the floor down about a foot (30 cm) beneath the plate’s base along its entire length.
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Digging out the floor of the pocket was fun and many delicate and showy specimens were recovered during this time satisfyingly. The backside of the wall was much less glamorous to excavate!
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In this photo, lower left, you can see the cut I’ve made under the wall defining the base of the specimen I hoped to recover. At this point the base of the wall is completely unsupported. Near the center of the photo, you can see where I’ve broken through into the pocket and have begun my upper cut separating the back-side of the wall from its host matrix. The faint lighter-colored scar rising above this area defines the cut I’ll be making.
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More detail and more progress.
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Things were going well, but always in the back of my mind was the fear of something going dreadfully wrong, of the plate collapsing, of it falling to destroy the pocket’s contents, etcetera. With these morbid thoughts warring in my mind, I felt it prudent to, one more time, take pictures of the pocket’s opposite wall while it was still pristine and perfect.

This was my fear factor.
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PostPosted: Mar 07, 2013 16:25    Post subject: Re: CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia  

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And in case I’d somehow forgotten, the space separating one pocket wall from the other, it was still tight, very-very tight!
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It’s difficult to make out in this photo but here, I’ve cut through and have completely separated the upper and lower parts of the bridge along its entire length. This leaves the top half of the bridge in-place, supported by the pockets opposite wall, when I remove the lower wall/specimen. It seems a bit precarious, read scary as Hell, but from all I can see, it’s a good mount and is supporting itself competently.
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Note how I’ve built a crib of miscellaneous timber beneath the plate to support it when I break it free from its host matrix. My goal is to have the plate settle and travel only a tiny, miniscule amount of distance after separation. I only need it to come free, that’s all. I’ll manage it from there.

No big moves. Slow and steady.
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Another view of the big plate just before the final work to free it is exerted.
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With Bruce’s help, I’ll have him support the plate while I delicately remove the last of the attaching matrix from behind the plate.

It all comes down to these next few minutes, will or won’t it work…
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Halloween 2012, how did you spend it? Did you get a trick or a treat? For us, we had our fingers crossed!
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PostPosted: Mar 09, 2013 10:59    Post subject: Re: CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia  

Yay, Treat!

It’s a shame I don’t have photos detailing our recovery of this treasure from off the wall but the truth is, Bruce and I, we were busy!

And in the end, the sweetest word of all… Success!

As I mentioned above, it’s a shame that I couldn’t take any photos of the Big Plates recovery off the wall, but maybe a close second…

This is an unedited excerpt direct from my Field Collecting Journal detailing the days adventure…

9:39 pm. Today was the day that 100% I was hoping for, today was a successful day and everything went perfect.

I’m exhausted as I write, and I’d taken a tiny snooze after I’d eaten and taken a shower (my sleep will likely suffer from it but no matter). Some cold cereal and here I am.

We got back early, around 4:00 pm. And even then, the release of the day’s tension, had me yawning and tired. That and one other thing, success!

At the mine, we each took several photos to document the scene prior to the Big Plate coming out. Then we did some video. With everything recorded to our satisfaction, and while the sunshine of a perfect Spring day made the outside a dream, we set to making our own dreams come true!

I’d left a small section of rock as an attachment supporting the Big Plate. Under the plate I’d made a wooden cradle to support the plate when it separated from its last support. Pointing these things out, I offered my ideas as to how we should proceed, cutting the support at its top and then move out the remaining material from the very last vertical support. This left a smaller and smaller attaching point to hold the plate and soon, as I supported the plates outer edge to hold it from collapsing into the pocket, Bruce worked his magic (prying at a point where two hard surfaces made perfect leverage points to * POP * the plate free).

It happened fast and slow all at the same time. One minute nothing, then the plate wiggles and then BINGO, the plate breaks free. It falls and settles and then its weight starts to shift, collapsing the plate towards total destruction, where I come in and counter its effect by gently pushing the plate back towards Bruce (as I do so, a chunk of matrix rips free in my hand and my heart slams in my chest as I drop it and re-grab the plate) who has settled in perfectly as we’d discussed, compressing his body against the plate and together we coerced the plate softly, gently, just like we’d planned, into a stable resting position, free-standing and Free-Free-Free and down!



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Propped up and sitting alongside the pocket, the plate was huge!
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Huge!
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With the plate removed, this is the open aspect of the pocket.

It’s just so far beyond impressive!!!

The left hand wall as shown here is a bit over 6 feet across on the horizontal by approximately 5 feet on the vertical I’d guess (1.1 by 1.2 meters).
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Staring back into the void of the pocket, deep into its crystalline maw.
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This is a close-up taken of the Big Plate showing the perfection of the crystals covering its surface.
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Detail of crystals along the edge of the plate. These multi-generational groups of crocoite are just over 4 inches tall (11 cm) and are as beautiful as they are fragile.
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Another view of crystals along the edge of the Big Plate.
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Glorious detail!
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PostPosted: Mar 09, 2013 11:21    Post subject: Re: CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia  

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 Description:
At the mine, Bruce and I needed a little help getting this big bugger out of the pocket area and down the drift and out of the mine. Friend, Bear, had an old block and tackle set-up that worked just fine and with his help, and with the additional assistance of visiting friends Sascha and Anna, we set to it…
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You can see the plate on its edge in the distance. It took hours and days to get the Big Plate out of the mine, a painfully slow process.
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After a full days efforts the day before, this was how we left the plate resting in the drift and how we found it safe the next morning.
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 Description:
Success, such a wonderful word and one better, sunshine!

After an unknown time, for the first time since its creation, this incredible treasure of Australian origin finally greets the light of day. This was a celebration moment and we snapped off lots of photos!
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Bruce posing with a magical grin and the Big Plate!
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On the bridge in the sunlight, the Big Plate and me!
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The smile of success!
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Bruce basking in the glory!
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Crystalline perfection!
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Me and the prize!
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After getting the Big Plate out of the mine and over the bridge and onto the landing. Our next efforts will see the Big Plate loaded onto the back of Bruce’s truck after hauling it down the length of the dump and over the little make-shift ramp we’ve created.
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In the truck and on its pallet base, we’ll next draw it further back into the truck and then we’ll secure it for its ride out.
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PostPosted: Mar 09, 2013 11:30    Post subject: Re: CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia  

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The Big Plate posing over the tumbling waters of the Dundas Rivulet and on its way to Zeehan.
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Detail of the crystals all glistening in the sunshine!

This was the last photo taken of the Big Plate while it was still the Big Plate. Remember my Halloween question, would it be a Trick or a Treat? Well, I’d been thrilled with my Treat when the plate came out, what I didn’t know was that the Trick was waiting…

Just after these last two water-side photos were taken, we continued our journey on the mine road towards town. Just before we hit the blacktop, disaster happened and the Big Plate broke, snapping right in two.

The scajillions of pot-holes in the road bed took their toll, and even though we were more than three quarters of the way out, what more could be said, that was that.

With our spirits crushed, the remainder of the ride out was sadly quiet.
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In Zeehan prior to being unloaded from the truck.
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Detail of the crack.
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Unloaded in Zeehan.

While a sadness and a disappointment, still, how incredible is this? It's still a monstrous and spectacular specimen, it'll just need a little love! The repair will mate the two surfaces together with very little issue if that's what's done... Who knows, maybe this just means we'll have to go after another one, a bigger, brighter and more sensational specimen yet!!
 Viewed:  34171 Time(s)

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PostPosted: Mar 10, 2013 10:32    Post subject: Re: CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia  

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 Description:
With the Big Plate behind me, it was time to get back at it and as if to compensate for the bad luck we’d just had, the pocket next kicked out a little zone with some unique specimens…
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It’s not the sparse coverage that makes these specimens so different from all the others…
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It’s the incredibly, insanely thin matrix that these specimens occur on. This was the first of two large specimens recovered from this small area.
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Here’s a close-up of the crystals on the one edge of the plate, bright and spectacular orange.
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Here’s Bruce holding the best large plate I pulled from this little hot-spot.
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This specimen was absolutely incredible with its beyond-bright orange crystals and its wonderfully interspersed forest-like crystal formations.
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A close-up showing the fantastical crocoite crystal coverage of the specimen.
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And like the other, it features a thin-thin-thin matrix, stable but way scary looking too!
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This pocket photo shows the gossan ledge these crocoites formed on. In a world of near vertical crocoite coverage, this perfectly flat horizontal ledge really stood out, not just for its position but for its spectacular specimens too.
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The ledge was easy to expose and collect once identified as it rested above a large soft, wet clay-filled area which was easily removed.
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 Description:
Here’s a couple of short collecting sequences. This first one as I’m going after a small corner fragment…
 Viewed:  33971 Time(s)

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PostPosted: Mar 10, 2013 10:45    Post subject: Re: CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia  

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Easy, pinch the matrix softly…
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Ah, a tiny little treasure.
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Another view.
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And now the next piece, careful…
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Ah, that sweet word again, success!
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DIRTY… This set of pictures offers a small glimpse into the romantic life of a miner... I’m tired and I’m dirty, dirty, dirty!

After each day’s session underground, our skin and clothes are stained with a tenacious grime of oxides. This Witches brew of elements marks us. The only way to remove one’s mine make-up is to use abundant soap and water combined with fierce exertion and enthusiasm, aided by a stout bristle brush, to scrub, scrub, scrub!
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...
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...
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PostPosted: Mar 11, 2013 10:52    Post subject: Re: CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia  

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 Description:
THE RED CARPET, THE CROCOITE WALKWAY…

Back at the mine, down near the entrance to the lower workings, one day while wandering about, I noted the ground thereabouts had a strange reddish color, very pronounced and out of place as compared to the other exposures surrounding, I went to explore…
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What I’d rediscovered was an area where masses of clay had been washed. Recovered from a crocoite pocket called the Clay Pocket, these masses were riddled with huge amounts of crocoite, often as fragmented, broken crystals.
 Viewed:  33701 Time(s)

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This is where the clay masses had been washed and littering the ground in this area were the left behind, discarded detritus, hundreds of thousands of crocoite crystal fragments.
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...
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...
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PostPosted: Mar 11, 2013 11:04    Post subject: Re: CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia  

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INSITU… Here is a small fun group of random photos, scenes from within and surrounding the pocket.
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COLLECTING SEQUENCES… This is the fun, this is the glory!

I love collecting crystals. It’s fun, intense, demanding and an experience absolutely precious to me. Sharing some of this good time, the following photos in this next set will let you come along and thrill, big smiles galore!

In this first photo, I’m driving a medium sized bar into the matrix behind the crystals lining the pocket. For the most part, within the pocket, the crocoite crystals have grown into an inter-locking crystal carpet covering all of the pockets surfaces.
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As such, with the coverage being so complete, I’m not really trying to “define” to the specimen I’m hoping to recover, rather I’m just trying to realize it without having it disintegrate and fall apart!

Well away from the crystals, I gently work to clear an area so that when the time is right…
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I can pry softly to create a break in the wall of the pocket from which I can separate out a hoped for beautiful specimen… just like this one!
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Magic. Heart-swelling magic!
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In my hand, treasure!
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PostPosted: Mar 11, 2013 11:16    Post subject: Re: CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia  

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This the magic, this is the glory!
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Staying on course, let’s try for one a bit larger…
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Find a “sweet spot” and work my way in…
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You can get a “feel” for the piece I’m after if you look close…
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I’ve worked under and behind it and am getting close to bringing it down off the wall. The box, a sturdy wooden affair, is set beneath it to act as a support if case of any surprises…
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With just a bit of effort, the specimen is down.

When the plate came loose, I gently cooperated with it so as to roll both it and the box into a flat stationary position where I could secure the specimen and then maneuver it out of the working area and into a flat for eventual transport out of the mine.

Note the large cloud of steam resulting from my (much relieved) exhaled breath once things had settled!
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Nice!
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Back at it, reference for the next extraction…
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PostPosted: Mar 12, 2013 10:26    Post subject: Re: CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia  

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Work behind the specimen until the time is right and then…
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Treasure!
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See the scirble hanging just off-center left? Let’s get it!
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Grasp it, hold it securely and then when you’re sure you’ve got it, lift it free…
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Sweet, an exquisite fan of crocoite splendor!
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This next collecting sequence documents a truly challenging time. Scary in the extreme but in the end, everywhere happy smiles surrounded!

This is a busy, hard to orient scene, but we’re above the last remaining section of The Bridge. In the photo, on the right about a third of the way up, the last edge of The Flats can be seen. Beneath me, I’ve cleared out everything on both sides of the pocket. I’m ready to begin extracting the specimens which rest on and above The Bridge. This is a difficult, nerve-screaming process in the extreme as everything is inter-connected. This material, which had fallen from above during some event in the geologic past, has accumulated on The Bridge, loose clods and chunks mainly, and all loosely cemented together by crystallizing crocoites.

A pretty jumble, but an insane one to try to collect without damaging a million crystals! I’ll be working, hopeful of opening, the upward tilting slot just to the left of center…
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Right from the get-go, the first piece I’d have to go after was a monster! Deftly I maneuvered through and around the crystalline barbs of the surrounding crocoites until I was able to find a finger hold. Once there, I flexed a bit and *POP* the piece breaks free of its crystal bonds. It’s still in-place, but it’s loose and that’s a big plus!
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With my fingers re-secured, and with me hoping nothing breaks, I next gently lifted and began wiggle-tilting the specimen between, over and around the hazards which surrounded it…
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Ohhhh, it’s getting close! Precariously balanced on my finger tips, it’s getting close!
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Easy, gentle, get another resting point for my left hand to hold it safe and…
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PostPosted: Mar 12, 2013 10:41    Post subject: Re: CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia  

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Success!
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No damage, crystals all a’ burr around its edges, this one’s nice!
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And smiles surround!
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This begins our last collecting sequence, easy pickings from the floor of the pocket…
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Just reach in…
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… and lift it…
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… out!
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RUINS AND THE WORST OF THINGS… This is an odd set of photos where something that is “bad”, may also offer another face if one’s perspective is changed…

The ruins of the old Dundas mill… For some, these concrete and rusting steel foundations in the midst of wild untamed forest may strike an ugly scene, for me, as we rounded the corner and they miraculously appeared out of nowhere, they immediately set my mind a-whirl as I imagined the scene hereabouts during an earlier time when the hills about me resounded with the squealing and grinding-roaring groans of surface trams, the mines, the men and the mill.
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Gorse... Gorse is a spiny European evergreen shrub that is a blight in the areas it has overtaken. It spreads rapidly and its aggressive nature results in the loss of local native plant habitat and life. Sharp, lethal spines abundantly adorn its branches making it a Devilish adversary when encountered. Its only grace is its brilliant yellow flowers which ignite the bush in a stellar bright cloak of color.
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Bruce beside a stream of contaminated water run-off from the South Comet Mine…
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Not typically a popular subject, but taken out of context, these unique toxic conditions created a healthy growing environment for these wispy plants, photographed as they gently swayed in the flowing currents…
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PostPosted: Mar 12, 2013 10:46    Post subject: Re: CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia  

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Now this, dumped trash out in the middle of nowhere, this was offensive!
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PostPosted: Mar 13, 2013 11:14    Post subject: Re: CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia  

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 Description:
NATURE… The photos in this next group represent different nature scenes which captured my attention during my stay. Most of these photos were taken just off of the Adelaide Mine road and on the Adelaide Mine lease. Enjoy…

A nice sweeping view of the Dundas area with its varied greenery of dense forest.
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Picturesque clutter found on the Adelaide Mine lease.
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Peering down between the rotten timbers, deep into the depths above a densely foliated abandoned subterranean opening where the previous mine leaser had mined crocoites vertically, straight up to the surface and daylight.
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Bright yellow Wattle flowers blossoming over the tumbling waters of Comet Creek.
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Peering into the depths of the wood, the lush greenery was enchanting. The luxuriant mosses and ferns made for such rich viewing experiences.
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And the crush of the vegetation quickly and completely seals the woods off from view.
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Blechnum nudum is a variety of fern found abundantly in the area of the Adelaide Mine.
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Exotic-seeming in the extreme, the Tasmanian Tree Fern, Dicksonia antarctica, is an easy thrill ride for the eyes.
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The gorgeous bursts of yellow flowers are a joy to see on this Wattle tree.
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Here, I found the wild combinations of colors and textures captivating.
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 Description:
Lichens, pretty in their own way, as seen on the Adelaide Mine lease.
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PostPosted: Mar 13, 2013 11:32    Post subject: Re: CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia  

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 Description:
Again, pretty textures and colors.
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I believe this is Native Laurel, Anopterus glandulosus.
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A common theme, textures and colors.
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Moss and Lichen.
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Bright and thriving in the sunlight.
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Native Laurel is my guess.
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 Description:
One of the most impressive and beautiful of the flowering plants I saw during my visit, the Tasmanian Waratah, Telopea truncata. Several of these flowered along the mine road during my stay and this one offered a good picture taking opportunity while we hauled out a fresh batch of crystal treasures!
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Six to nine feet (2 to 3 meters) of gorgeous bright red flowering awesomeness!
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The insanely-pretty, bright red-pink flower of the Tasmanian Waratah, Telopea truncata. Each flower is about 5 inches (13 cm) in diameter.
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Lining the highway in bright colorful clumps of flowers, the West Coast Flag Iris, Diplarrena latifolia, made a pretty sight.
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 Description:
Beyond pretty, the poof-ball blossoms of the Pink Flowering Gum Tree, Eucalyptus ficifolia, were my absolute favorite. Huge tracts were covered by this plant, all gloriously blooming in an absolute riot of color that was incredibly beautiful.
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 Description:
A last Nature view, this of the Indian Ocean as seen from the west coast of Tasmania near the small settlement of Trial Harbor.
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PostPosted: Mar 14, 2013 09:25    Post subject: Re: CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia  

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 Description:
SPECIMENS… Following is a random selection of specimens, sharing some of the treasures freshly collected from The Adelaide Mine…
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PostPosted: Mar 14, 2013 09:46    Post subject: Re: CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia  

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 Description:
The largest of the crocoites crystal plates Bruce and I recovered during my stay. A fourth plate was added to this group before I left and a fifth was staged to come off the wall just prior to my leaving.
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PostPosted: Mar 15, 2013 10:52    Post subject: Re: CROCOITE! A Huge New Pocket From The Adelaide Mine, Dundas, Tasmania, Australia  

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 Description:
I didn’t spend a lot of time gazing into the fairy land above me called the Red River Upper, there was just to much amazing ground right before me to be distracted, still before I left, I needed to snap off a couple of shots…

This is me in the cramped little raise leading up to the Red River Upper, it’s tight!
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 Description:
Looking approximately 21 feet (7 meters) into the treasure vault!

Note the hanging stalactite on the right hand wall up near where the pocket walls merge…
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 Description:
221 A bit closer…

But it’s still so far away! This incredible crystal covered feature hangs about 1 foot (30 cm) off of the wall. Its like has never been seen before! What other mysteries are still to be uncovered as this pocket and its story continues to unfold?
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 Description:
And then that was it, it was time for my last walk out of the mine…
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 Description:
Bruce was a great guy to work with…
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 Description:
… Always there with a grin…
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 Description:
… And a cheeky comment!

I couldn’t have asked for a better digging partner!
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 Description:
And so, that’s it. I’m tired and it’s been an awesome run, time to call this one good.
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 Description:
Like a dog peeing on a bush, I marked my territory…
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 Description:
So you’ll know I was here.
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I’ll leave Bruce working as diligently as usual and all too soon, that’ll be that.
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 Description:
I can’t thank Adam and the guys enough, Erika too. I had a great time visiting Tasmania and Australia for the first time and am one hundred percent hopeful of another return trip. The pocket continues and is definitely calling me back. The time I had, the people whose lives I shared, the Country with its varied and exotic plants and animals, all of these things and so many others all combined to create an experience I’m hungry to recreate and re-explore!

As long and as detailed as this report has been, there was so much more I could have shared. Hopefully, maybe someday, more of this story will be told…

Be well Everyone and thank you for taking the time to come along, sharing the incredible experience that is the Adelaide Mine’s Red River Pocket!

Sincerely, all the very best,

John

PS… For more information on The Adelaide Mine and the Red River pocket, I encourage you to see the November – December 2012 issue of the Mineralogical Record magazine for the feature article by Thomas P. Moore and Wendell E. Wilson; The BlueCap Productions, The Adelaide Mine, DVD by Bryan Swoboda; and finally, The website of Adam Wright and The Adelaide Mine Mining Company at…

http://www.theadelaidemine.com/
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