Petaca Fine Minerals | Points of Interest

Little Gem Mine, Boulder Batholith, Montana USA

I met the owner of the Little Gem Mine, Russ Hage, at the Riverpark Inn, in Tucson 2010. I purchased two incredible scepters from him and sold one of them immediately to a German collector. I was invited to visit the mine later that summer.
This pegmatite has produced distinctive amethyst on smoky quartz scepters for over one hundred years. The former owner of the mine, Jerry Gray, developed an impressive underground mine and produced a steady trickle of specimens over the past 50 years. Today, Russ is implementing heavy equipment and a more comprehensive approach to mining the pegmatite.
He has unearthed multiple pockets over the past couple of years and he is just getting started.
The day my son Jack and I visited the mine we were joined by the faceter, John Rhoads and his wife Donna. I want to thank Donna and everyone for watching out for my son as he explored the tailings. (See group photo)
Jack and I hit two pockets in the underground workings that day. Words cannot express our excitement as I was armpit deep in a pocket and pulling out crystal after crystal. My arm was cut up and bleeding and I could not have cared less.
The pockets being discovered by Russ continue to surprise and confound. The stepped face terminations, complex growth, parallel crystal groups, zoning and differing degrees of saturation in the amethyst all allow one to imagine the entire pegmatite body and it�s different stages of emplacement.
Two particular oddities come to mind. A doubly terminated smoky quartz scepter that we assume fractured in the pocket and turned over before the amethyst cap formed. There were a few scepters found that have pyrite inclusions in the amethyst caps.
I am very fortunate to be part of this exciting time at the Little Gem Mine. Who knows what will come out next? Get a Little Gem scepter. Visit the Little Gem page in the Mineral Gallery.

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Mine owner, Russ Hage.

6yr. old miner, Jack Tiegler.

An unforgetable day at LG.(left to right) Jack and Tom Tiegler, Russ Hage, Donna and John Rhoads

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Attending in 2012
April 27-29
Houston Fine Mineral Show
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2911 Sage Rd. Houston, TX

Opening December 2011
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at Sanbusco Market Center
500 Montezuma Ave.
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