Thursday - November 19, 2009
Hi Ho, Hi Ho; It's into the Mine We Go
Student Argonaut Maria Marquez
Yesterday was a day to remember. We started early in the morning at 6:45. We drove south towards Richmond, Virginia, and then west to the Amelia Pegmatite District. Here, we would find one of the most amazing places we have ever seen -- the Morefield Mine.
When we arrived, we really didn’t know what to expect. The only thing we knew was that we were going down a ladder about 45 ft. below the surface.
Before going into the mine, Sam gave us our safety precautions. That really worried me. I had no idea about all the hazards that we might face in the mine -- like carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, treacherous ladders, and falling rocks. I really admire the people who do that.
We had to wear hard-toed shoes and mining helmets, and carry a breathing device, just in case the mine flooded with CO gas. The shoes that Sam handed us were huge -- they were about three times the size of my feet! I didn’t know how I was going to go down a ladder, especially when I found out we were going down not one ladder, but four. Oh well, an Argonaut has to do what an Argonaut has to do!
And so, the four Argos and Host Researcher Dr. Mike Wise headed down into the mine. The ladders were not actually that bad; everyone did a great job.
Once we were down in the mine, we discovered a whole new and fascinating world. I couldn’t believe my eyes, seeing all of those beautiful minerals that we'd been talking about in the last couple of days. Some of the minerals we found were quartz, mica, topaz, white and green feldspar (amazonite), tantalite, and garnet. It was really awesome to learn about their formation; their characteristics and properties; and how they are used. Dr. Wise talked to us about pegmatite – a course-grained, igneous rock that contains all of those beautiful minerals. We learned that pegmatite grows from the outside inward. Water plays an important role in the formation of this rock. The intensity of color in the amazonite is due to the different quantities of water.
Also in the mine, we collected a few specimens of rocks to take back to the labs at the Smithsonian Institution. We are looking forward to finding out what minerals they contain today!
Before going out of the mine, we went down another level, so we made it down to about 67 ft. total. The amazonite over there was amazing. The dark blue green crystals were huge.
We were in the mine for over 5 hours, but it felt like no time at all. You completely lose track of time when looking at the beautiful minerals. None of us even had to go to the bathroom the whole time! By the time we came the surface, we were surprised to find it was already nighttime, and completely dark.
Hungry, dirty, and singing songs, we headed off to have some dinner with Dr. Wise before going back to our hotels.
Adios, los veo el sabado!
Marifer