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[Philip Simmons]

We spent about 5 years (2007-2011) collecting the areas with the large cleaves until those areas became inaccessible due to mine convergence. With these areas no longer available, we had to find somewhere else to collect.

Several exploration trips in mid 2011 led to another location that had potential about 400-500 meters away in another stoped out area (Area 2). This stope (or "panel" as it is called in a room and pillar mine) had once been mined to over 2 meters in height, but after 30 years of convergence, had been reduced to less than 1 meter tall in many places. It did not have the large cleaved crystals, but a few smaller ones were evident in the ribs (walls) of the drifts. Most of the crystals had been cut in half by the previous mining, but smaller crystals meant better chances of surviving without being damaged. A couple of more trips were required to find a good area to collect, but when we did, the experience was a field collectors dream.

On the far side of the panel, the miners had cut through two pure sylvite seams ranging from a few centimeters to about a meter thick which contained numerous halite crystals encased in the sylvite. In what was to become known as the "Blue Ice" and Frozen Blue" seams, large sections of the ribs (walls) had spalled off of the main rock and had fallen down in the drifts. After crawling through a 40 cm pinch point during the discovery trip, I began to notice dark blue cubes frozen in the ribs and the fallen segments of the spalled rock. The second thing I noticed was that there were blue crystals lying all over the ground! The first few trips to these two seams we barely had to use collecting tools at all: all we had to do was walk (or in many cases crawl) along the drifts and pick loose specimens off of the floor and wrap them up for safekeeping. I'm sure collectors have often heard or dreamed of finding a locality for the first time where specimens were just lying everywhere waiting to be collected. This discovery was a realization of that dream!

Not only were the specimens plentiful at first, but the quality of the crystals were many orders of magnitude better than anything found previously. Many of the cubes less than an inch had survived the convergence pressures, and were associated with a nice contrast of white or colorless sylvite. In exceptional cases, crystals as large as 25 cm were collected without damage. Even after the easy material had been collected, most of our collecting time was spent crawling along the drifts and breaking apart the spalls to find the crystals inside. In my 30+ years of field collecting, this was my most exciting, memorable and productive adventures ever. The panel continued to produce exceptional specimens until 2014 when the whole blue halite area became inaccessible with mine convergence. Unfortunately, no specimens will ever be collected here again, but I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to collect so many great specimens while the chance was still present.

[Philip Simmons]

I will start with early photos and progress to the later specimens after the Blue Ice and Frozen Blue seams were discovered.

[Philip Simmons]

Now for some photos of many of the great specimens we found.

[Philip Simmons]

Not only were we able to collect blue halite, we also found a good number of other types of halite along with some rare evaporite minerals at the Kerr McGee mine.

[KJ Seraph]

Very beautiful! Are you going to keep it for display only?

[Tobi]

Thanks again, Philip, I have never seen so many superb halite specimens! Really awesome!!!