Area 55 - Herkimer Diamond / Quartz Digging

Date: 9/16/2023 9:00 AM to 9/17/2023 8:00 PM

Type of trip:  Herkimer Diamond / quartz digging

Dates:  Sat Sept 16 and Sun Sept 17 (dig mid morning till dark, both days)

Times:  all day each day (exacts will be on Flyer)

Location:  Area 55 site property in Mohawk, NY (more details will be in Flyer)

Meet-up location to caravan from:  McDonalds parking Lot in Fonda, NY (details in Flyer)

Attendance:  60 people total MAX. (NoJMS and FM-NJ)

Ages allowed:  7 y.o. and up; kids 13 y.o. and under must ALWAYS be in close contact with and supervised by parents

 

FEES:  $100 p/p for Saturday  /  $150 p/p for Saturday + Sunday 

Kids under 13 yrs old get in for half price ($50 p/p on Saturday/$25 p/p on Sunday 

(75 $ p/p for both))

 

$50 extra to camp on site Sat to Sun / bring your own camping gear

$50 p/p extra to bring power tools.

*** CASH ONLY, PAY THE DAY OF ***

BRING YOUR OWN FOOD / DRINKS - NO FOOD PROVIDED (will be reminder in Flyer)

Fresh diggings will be made available via an excavator on site.

Ledge / tailings / easy digging all available.

Fee: FEES: $100 p/p for Saturday / $150 p/p for Saturday + Sunday Kids under 13 yrs old get in for half price ($50 p/p on Saturda

Post Event Write-Up:

Clubs in attend: FM-NJ, NoJMS
HOSTS: Shane and Sherry Moore and Tommy Greene, and the Area 55 site owners Attendees: Groundhog Dave, Ryan “Klock Man” Klockner, Ken Napolitano with family, Dave “Dude” Miller with Ehmkay Delaleu, Mik and Joanna Caporossi with Natalie; Arthur Finkelshteyn, Hayley and James Nalepa, Avery Federico, Brandon Tracey, Paul “Mr. Reveille” Radziewicz, Stephanie Apgar, Andy Silver, Kyle Kustka, Suzanne, Jarrath and Nate Shaw; the Rock ‘N Crypto folks (Aron and Joanna Paige)

This was an amazing trip!! We were afforded the opportunity to visit and collect at a very new, un-worked property in the Herkimer region to search for various forms of Herkimer quartz. We were shown distinct areas within the property that possessed series of ledges; and also a tailings pile area in the woods. The vast majority of our group flocked immediately to the very productive tailings piles area; and an excavator on site was even used to provide some even fresher material for us to dig through!

Some great finds were seen throughout both days. James Nalepa found a stellar “Tabby” 5 inch end-to-end tabular shaped Herkimer quartz piece. Tommy Greene found a monstrous 4 inch or so large bulky double terminated milky / skeletal quartz piece. Ehmkay Delaleu also found a similar sized piece the following day, in tailings piles.  Kyle Kustka came across some “Turgite” or similar iridescent Iron mineralization very similar to Turgite, while burrowing into a deep hole. Ken Napolitano and family found a number of exceptional 3 inch or so skeletal quartz pieces and some smaller pieces that contained Hematite staining in intricate patterns. Several folks found neat 1/2 inch or smaller, water clear quartz crystals, some with terminations. Ryan “Klock Man” Klockner, after many hours of digging into the ledge area, pulled out a “dumbbell” shaped Herkimer as well as 30 – 40 quartz xls up to 3 inches in size !!
A prize VERY large Herkimer Quartz piece was raffled off on Sat. afternoon and was won by Stephanie Apgar.

From start to finish, this was an exceptional trip and we cannot wait for future opportunities to re-visit!!