The information provided within this Forum about localities is only given to allow reference to them. Any visit to any of the localities requires you to obtain full permission and relevant information prior to your visit. FMF is strictly against any illicit activities related to collecting minerals.
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
Posted: Sep 16, 2016 15:23 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa
Mike Wood wrote:
Thanks for showing your photo's Pierre, it looks a promising area you have found.
If your long wrecking bar was bent near the tip of the chisel end, you should be able to lift that quartz ledge. Maybe give the far side of the quartz ledge a few taps with a 2kg lumphammer in a line where you want the break to occur, hopefully!
Or drive in some (wooden?) wedges and see what gives.
Regards, Mike
Hi Mike. It is a pleasure! Here are a few of the small clusters that came out of these pockets; most are floaters. There where also a few larger plates, but mostly drusy small crystals. The specimens look far better in person.
P1190636.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
48 x 47 x 20 mm
Description:
Viewed:
28624 Time(s)
P1190642.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
37 x 28 x 09 mm
Description:
Viewed:
28612 Time(s)
P1190645.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
30 x 14 x 11 mm
Description:
Viewed:
28579 Time(s)
P1190662.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
22 x 13 x 04 mm
Description:
Viewed:
28582 Time(s)
P1190667.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
29 x 18 x 12 mm
Description:
Viewed:
28609 Time(s)
P1190678.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
31 x 20 x 08 mm
Description:
Viewed:
28659 Time(s)
P1190683.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
Posted: Sep 17, 2016 07:16 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa
A while ago, I mentioned a new area that I explored; well, on Thursday afternoon I drove out to the same area and explored a section to the right of where I was last. I enjoyed the variety of flowers, found a few bits of clear quartz here and there till I found a promising area. It is amazing how many pockets I found by just following up the smallest of leads. In this case it was a loose rock with nice crystals. A bit higher up, I found just a few loose crystals. Just as I was about to give up, I noticed a small hole at the foot of a large quartz boulder. The hole was partly covered by a small bush. When I enlarged the small hole, it opened up into a very generous pocket of quartz. I spent a few hours removing about half of the content; many of which were plates just with facets. There were also a lot of clusters and single crystals. We plan to visit this exciting pocket again some time in the future, to remove the rest of the crystals. May you enjoy this trip with me.
P1190542.JPG
Description:
Flowers on the way.
Viewed:
28592 Time(s)
P1190543.JPG
Description:
Flowers on the way. This flower always faces down, away from the sun.
Viewed:
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P1190552.JPG
Description:
Flowers.
Viewed:
28589 Time(s)
P1190554.JPG
Description:
The place of interest. New, unexplored area.
Viewed:
28547 Time(s)
P1190557.JPG
Description:
While ascending the steep outcrop, I could not help enjoying all the flowers. This strange plant/flower has always intrigued me.
Viewed:
28543 Time(s)
P1190560.JPG
Description:
Beautiful flowers. This type ranges in colours, white, pink, purple.
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
Posted: Sep 17, 2016 15:29 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa
Philippe Durand wrote:
nice flowers
it seems that you enjoyed your field trip
thanks for sharing
Hi Philippe. Indeed! This time of the year is when most flowers bloom; and then there was the big pocket of crystals! I tried to put this pocket in perspective and came to the conclusion that it was certainly one of the 20 best pockets I ever found. I, or my wife, still have to remove the rest of the pocket's contents. Here are some more photos of this trip and some of it's rewards. The crystals shown are partially cleaned. There are quite a few with light phantoms.
P1190591.JPG
Description:
When I started enlarging the hole, i removed this slab with crystals first.
Viewed:
28411 Time(s)
P1190593.JPG
Description:
At this stage, I was working at opening the entrance to the pocket.
Viewed:
28404 Time(s)
P1190594.JPG
Description:
I opened up the pocket and now I am ready to harvest.
Viewed:
28465 Time(s)
P1190721.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
Hands for size.
Description:
These crystals have only been partially cleaned.
Viewed:
28446 Time(s)
P1190727.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
Hands for size.
Description:
Viewed:
28407 Time(s)
P1190729.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
Hands for size.
Description:
Viewed:
28405 Time(s)
P1190733.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
Hands for size.
Description:
Viewed:
28383 Time(s)
P1190735.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
Hands for size.
Description:
Viewed:
28405 Time(s)
P1190597.JPG
Description:
Showing the pocket from a few metres away.
Viewed:
28439 Time(s)
P1190739.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
Hands for size.
Description:
Viewed:
28370 Time(s)
P1190743.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Dimensions:
Hands for size.
Description:
Viewed:
28372 Time(s)
P1190747.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
Hands for size.
Description:
Viewed:
28340 Time(s)
P1190753.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
Hands for size.
Description:
Viewed:
28403 Time(s)
P1190756.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Description:
I removed many plates like these and left most there.
Viewed:
28387 Time(s)
P1190759.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Joined: 10 Mar 2015
Posts: 55
Location: Port Elizabeth
Posted: Sep 19, 2016 00:48 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa
wow, beautiful stuff, looks like you two are going to remove quartz for days in this area. Can't wait to see some of the best from this pocket once they are completely cleaned up. :)
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
Posted: Sep 19, 2016 01:55 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa
Reinhardt van Vuuren wrote:
wow, beautiful stuff, looks like you two are going to remove quartz for days in this area. Can't wait to see some of the best from this pocket once they are completely cleaned up. :)
Thank you Reinhardt. It will be a while before we visit this area again, as we have a lot to do at the moment. All the best. _________________ Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
Posted: Oct 01, 2016 08:44 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa
Yesterday, Thursday the 29th/Sept, Riana and I arrived at about 9:30 am at the place where I found the last pocket. We ascended the rather steep hill and had to search to find the well camouflaged pocket (even though I marked it with a plastic bag tied to a nearby bush). I put Riana to work (not that she minded), while I checked the area for more pockets. About 15 meters to the right, I found a few crystals lying on the ground and started searching at the foot of a big rock for the source. Finding nothing, I stood up and noticed a hole in the rock, just above eye level. When I peeked inside, I saw many crystals and started removing some of the loose ones. I put a flat rock at the bottom, so Riana could reach the pocket, and called her as the contents looked promising. Later on, I enlarged the mouth of the pocket up a bit more with a chisel and hammer. She spent a good few hours removing many fine crystals from this pocket. By the time we left, there where some more left with the pocket getting deep and difficult to reach. While she was busy with her pleasurable task, I resumed working on the other pocket. Even though there were still a lot of crystals in the pocket, it was getting more difficult to remove them. I damaged a number of fine crystals, as it was very difficult to remove one without damaging the other. I had to work in an awkward position, which did not help either. At about 4:30 pm, I had enough. My body could not take it anymore. There were still a lot of crystals left; hopefully for another day. I stayed with Riana while she kept getting more crystals. At a certain point we stopped and battled down the steep decline with tools and about 20 kg of crystals. This was arguably one of our best days ever in the Western Cape area, but at a price. Today I am feeling like a real old man. When we have rested sufficiently, we will attempt to sort out the best specimens for cleaning.
P1200280.JPG
Description:
Some specimens from the pockets.
Viewed:
27762 Time(s)
P1200282.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
Fingers for size
Description:
Viewed:
27681 Time(s)
P1200285.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
Fingers for size
Description:
Viewed:
27654 Time(s)
P1200286.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
Fingers for size
Description:
Viewed:
27632 Time(s)
P1200287.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
Fingers for size
Description:
Viewed:
27674 Time(s)
P1200288.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
Fingers for size
Description:
Viewed:
27704 Time(s)
P1200289.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
Fingers for size
Description:
Viewed:
27661 Time(s)
P1200290.JPG
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
Fingers for size
Description:
Viewed:
27725 Time(s)
P1200291.JPG
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Description:
This was mostly what Riana removed from the smaller pocket.
Viewed:
27715 Time(s)
P1200292.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
Fingers for size
Description:
Quartz from smaller pocket.
Viewed:
27704 Time(s)
P1200293.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
Fingers for size
Description:
Viewed:
27676 Time(s)
P1200294.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Dimensions:
Fingers for size
Description:
Viewed:
27636 Time(s)
P1200295.JPG
Mineral:
Quartz
Locality:
Ceres, Warmbokkeveld Valley, Ceres, Valle Warmbokkeveld, Witzenberg, Cape Winelands, Western Cape Province, South Africa
Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 29
Location: Alexander County, NC
Posted: Oct 01, 2016 23:07 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa
I love your field collecting trip reports Pierre.. A great many of the best days of my life have been spent collecting. There is just nothing else like being the first to see the earth's awesome creations emerge into light.
I shall endeavor to make a greater effort to post some of my own with your inspiration. Thanks.
Mark
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
Posted: Oct 02, 2016 02:20 Post subject: Re: Quartz collecting outings in South Africa
Mark Randle wrote:
I love your field collecting trip reports Pierre.. A great many of the best days of my life have been spent collecting. There is just nothing else like being the first to see the earth's awesome creations emerge into light.
I shall endeavor to make a greater effort to post some of my own with your inspiration. Thanks.
Mark
Hi Mark. Thank you. I am glad you enjoy our endeavours! I am, very much, looking forward to your posts. Best regards. _________________ Pierre Joubert
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