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INDEX
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Collecting Majuba Hill Chalcophyllite and Scorodite -- A Review of Scott Kleine's Video
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Deep underground, lit by a miner's light, we look at a rockface and peer into a cavity that has just been uncovered: it is filled with rich green crystals of chalcophyllite amid black sulfides. This is the opening to Scott Kleine's candid video of his
trip to the Majuba Hill Mine. Not a slick presentation, but a hands-on look at a serious mineral collector in action!
As Scott's voice tells us, we are looking at a "spectacular vug" with 2-4 mm transparent, freestanding hexagonal plates. Occasionally moving a finger or hand into view for scale, he describes one magnificent specimen after another. Mining sounds echo as
a backdrop to the view of the intense green crystals. Scott is breathless as he explains how he is about to open another pocket. He points out how the green crystals among the adularia are getting larger as he gets nearer to the pocket.
Then, there is a short diversion: we are outside, with a panorama of the mountainous terrain above ground. The whistling of the wind, the clear blue of the sky, the stern rock outcrops made me want to turn off the video, grab some tools and run for the
hills! If you cannot get out into the field yourself, these few moments give you an incredible sense of what it is like to actually be there.
And then, just as suddenly, we are back in the mine, looking into the just opened pocket. It is everything Scott hoped for, amazing chalcophyllite, with powder-blue, crystallized balls of scorodite, and centimeter large crystals of adularia. Scott moves
to the side of an overhead slab he is working on. We see the crack widening and then it comes crashing down! The downed slab reveals a mother lode of vugs filled with green crystals. Scott steps back to show some of the debris, including what he
casually refers to as a "one-tonner." An excellent illustration of why the ordinary rockhound should stay out of underground places!
But in this place, with an expert's knowledge and approach, we can rejoice with him as he delights in the beauty and perfection he has just uncovered. And we can only agree with his final words, "Superb, superb."
For more information about chalcophyllite specimens or to obtain a copy of the video, please contact:
Scott Kleine - Great Basin Minerals
skleine@scs.unr.edu
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Copyright, 1997 by Carol J. Bova
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Scott Kleine recently graduated with a BS in Geology from the Mackay School of Mines, in Reno, Nevada. Over the last six years, he has developed a strong expertise in Great Basin minerals, with emphasis on Nevada. He just started Great Basin
Minerals, which is a home-based, show and mail order-focussed business supplying fine and unusual mineral specimens. He aims not only to collect and supply fine minerals to his clientele, but even more important, to share experiences with and
educate/enlighten those with interests in the exciting field of mineralogy, both at the amateur and professional levels.
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