Hewitt Gem Mine

Date:

Location: 202 Turkey Hill Rd., Haddam, CT 06424

Type of trip:  Pegmatite digging, in active worked pits and tailings

Location:  Hewitt Gem Mine site (Haddam, CT)  (more details will be in Flyer)

Meet-up location : Site itself parking areas

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

LUNCH DONATION: $ 10 p/p payable that morning.  Tony will provide LUNCH and DRINKS for us.  Typically, burgers and dogs, chips, cookies, waters / soft drinks and occasionally additional side like pasta salad etc.  

 

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

The crew at Hewitt GM have still been doing some occasional excavating of their main pits and more replenishing of tailings, so more new material should be available.

 

AS WITH ALL TRIPS, YOU MUST BE A CURRENT FM-NJ MEMBER TO BE ELIGIBLE TO ATTEND TRIPS.

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, AS ALWAYS, SIGN-UP WITH GROUNDHOG DAVE.  TEXT, CALL OR EMAIL.  732-939-4476 cell.

Event URL: https://www.mindat.org/loc-23091.html

Fee: 30 $ p/p, 40 $ p/p if you bring generator / power equipment / tools (16 and under free)

Safety Information: Hard Hat NOT Required. Proper safety gear is required on ALL trips. (Glasses, sturdy footwear, Gloves) Hardhat SUGGESTED if planning to use EQUIPMENT (jackhammer/saws). Attendees will be required to sign Hold Harmless Agreement / Attendance Sheet prior to the trip.

Tools: WATER, rock hammer, chisels, sledges, pry bars, shovel, buckets, newspaper, FOOD + DRINK, backpack, (if desired – Jackhammer / Saw)

Max Number of Attendees: 35

Post Event Write-Up:

Attendees:  Groundhog Dave, Yu Lin with Jailee Lin; Kevin "Coop" Cooper, Will "Billy boy" and John Pazik, LaRonda Davis, Scott Smith, Pat Brown and Tom Davidson; "Uncle" Giuseppe Liberti, Jenn and Joey Strauss; Jean Savage with Steve Cavanaugh; Robyn Abrams, Anthony Jerussi

We had another excellent day of digging at the ever popular Hewitt Gem Mine.  This time with one added wrinkle - a partial NIGHT DIG! The weather was clear and crisp and not too nippy.  On schedule "as promised", just about 4:30 pm, the sun really started to set, and by 5:30 it was pretty much dark.  

The day of digging was productive as always, with numerous attendees finding various Beryls and pegmatite minerals.  Notable finds included:

 

- Pat Brown - 3 - 4 mm Microlite xl in Feldspar

- Jenn Strauss - ~ 2 mm Microlite xl with Spessartine Garnet, in Feldspar

- Will "Billy boy" Pazik - 2.5 - 3 inch light aqua Beryl in Feldspar with smoky Quartz

- Kevin "Coop" Cooper and Anthony Jerussi - 1 cm Spessartine Garnet xls, single or double terminated

- Robyn Abrams - small pegmatite rock with considerable meta-Torbernite coverage

- Kevin "Coop" Cooper - few small rocks with lavender Schernikite mica crystal coatings

- "Uncle" Giuseppe Liberti and Jenn Strauss - 1 cm or larger greenish Apatite xls in Feldspar

Other folks found nice examples of Schorl Tourmaline, various Micas and Spessartine and Almandine Garnets; and smoky Quartz.  ALso a few small pieces of Goshenite Beryl were found here and there. 

The night dig portion proved to not be too productive overall, yielding some colorful bright yellow Apatite xls and some reddish Feldspar fluorescence; but not much else.  Several coatings of powdery blue and bright yellow were found, but we couldn't determine their identities.  On top of the full day of digging, the night dig was challenging for folks who attended (roughly 9 -10) who already expended much energy digging in the daytime. 

The provided lunch was a notch or 2 below what the norm has been.  The burgers were excellent, however Hot Dogs never wound up making the grill for whatever reason.  Chips and plenty of Water and drinks were as always, provided. 

All in all, another great outing at Hewitt !!