Herkimer Crystal Mining

 

People can walk the mines and find these crystals by looking in the tailings left on the ground by more serious miners. Small hammers and chisels can be employed to probe and split small sections of exposed, crystal bearing, rock formations. Using a crack hammer weighing from one to four pounds, small rocks can be hit with the blunt force to crack them in half to reveal any crystals hiding inside, or cracking off chunks from a larger rock that has potential for containing crystals. A good sign is to look for the gray rocks with tiny sparkles throughout and riddled with black specks and pockets (vugs) containing black anthraxolite. Some people use a 1/8 or 1/4 inch mesh screen to sift through to find the crystals that are loose in the soil. You can even walk the grounds slowly, with the sun behind you, to catch the sparkle of a crystal that has had the layer of dirt washed off from a recent rain.
Herkimer crystal collecting usually occurs from April to November, depending on the locale and weather conditions. People have collected crystals over the years from Herkimer, Middleville, Little Falls, Salisbury, and Fairfield, to name a few towns within Herkimer County. Although they have become closely associated with Herkimer County, these crystals can be collected from many sites throughout the Mohawk Valley and beyond. Two popular collection sites in Montgomery County are in Fonda and St. Johnsville.


HERKIMER CRYSTAL MINING TRIPS
· Experience the thrill of finding your own herkimer quartz crystals in the open fields in a beautiful upstate New York setting.
· Enjoy the transformational energies possible by mining, camping, meditating, or just walking on land containing a rich herkimer quartz crystal deposit.
· Participate in talks and demonstrations about geological formation of the crystals, mining techniques, making specialty tools, cleaning and preparing specimens, jewelry making, and more!
· Learn and develop your natural psychic and spiritual abilities with metaphysical lectures and discussions covering crystal healing, intuitive development, using herkimer crystal pendulums, seeing auras, working with nature spirits, and Q&A.

Overnight accommodations can be arranged for either hotel or campgrounds.

Next Scheduled trip: Autumn 2004 Getaway - Metaphysics & Mining