Amethyst Ready For Rock Hounds

A nearly 100-pound amethyist retrived from the Pearl Lake Mine near Thunder Bay on the western shore of Lake Superior in Canada has been cleaned in preparation for this weekend's Gem, Rock and Mineral Show in Cedar Rapids.

This amethyst was mined by Jeff Groff of Cedar Rapids (left) who hoists it onto a table in his back yard and Dave Malm of Cedar Falls. For the past decade the two members of the sponsoring Cedar Valley Rocks & Mineral Society have ventured to Canada to hunt amethysts because of the quanity and quality of the finds there. (See today's Ramblin' column in the Gazette.)

Jeff, 57, became a rock hound as a kid and still loves to collect all sorts of rocks as evidenced by those on display in his home. His favorites, though, are the colorful purple amethysts formed and revealed by glaciers across North American thousands of years ago. This huge amethyst came from a 4-foot-deep pit that required the removal of nearly 200 gallons of water and the muck and clay that surrounded the treasured purple rock.

The Gem, Rock & Mineral Show, sponsored by the Cedar Valley Mineral Society, is being held at Teamsters Union Hall, 5000 J St. SW, Cedar Rapids on Saturday (8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Sunday 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

The show -- for more information click here -- features everything related to gems, rocks and minerals, from tumbling and bead making demonstrations to a silent auction for valuable geodes, crystals and the like.

If you're interested in hearing from Jeff and Dave about their amethyst hunting expeditions to Canada, particularly the one they took last August, their talks are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Saturday and 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Sunday.