Welcome to opalholicsanonymous.com where opal season lasts forever.

Yahoo I didnt win in the markets again, LOL. Thanks for starting the thread, now off to being tired and sore on a dreary day. Cant figure out what it wants to do, but then again they say the climate sorts itself out at the extreme latitudes. Erosion is in my tool box.

SwordfishMining wrote:Erosion is in my tool box.

Yes, it is Cool - should say cold - and cloudy here up north, too. All the damp is producing a bumper crop of cheat grass and other flammables. May turn out to be a scary summer - if it ever arrives.

Big congrats to our winners, and thanks so much for the fun r2d. As I said, I hated to see it end because the pics everyone posted were so much fun to see. It was a great idea.

Ohh thank you very much.
Got busy over the past couple of weeks with school-year ending and preparing cabin for multiple overnight stays. And dully forgot about this contest.....

KJ, just send me a note on FB, so thank you for the reminder.

I took some shots of the specimens r2d sent me, and I invite y'all to do the same and show us what you got from him. I figure showing them in the thread that started it all is the best place to put them, so here are the ones he sent me. Thank again r2d!!




This gypsum from the Red River Floodway in Winnepeg, Manitoba, is so big the camera couldn't focus on it and the description at the same time.





This one has copper in it, but I can't find where he said it came from, although for some reason I thought he did. But no matter, it's a beautiful specimen, and like all the others except the gypsum, they're all new to my collection.


This one is garden quartz from Brazil. I wish you could see it full size because you can look deeply into the garden of inclusions, which is way cool.



This one didn't photograph very well being white on white.


And my favorite, a 24ct light pink apatite from Pakistan. I caught a small rainbow in the shot so I hope you can see it almost dead center.


Thanks for looking, and much thanks to r2d.

WOW, some very nice pieces in that assortment.
Will follow suit when things get here.

Does this mean we're snowflakes for getting participation gifts? Thank you Rd2 for the great rocks

PinkDiamond wrote:This one has copper in it, but I can't find where he said it came from, although for some reason I thought he did. But no matter, it's a beautiful specimen, and like all the others except the gypsum, they're all new to my collection.

Sorry about that! That is a copper replacement agate from one of the mines around Kearsarge, Calumet Township, Houghton County, Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan. Copper replacement agate only occurs in that area, and I've yet to read a satisfying explanation as to how it formed. You wouldn't think pure metallic copper could get into agate bands, particularly as the surrounding host matrix (dense basalt) seems to be poorer in native copper.

crazy8s wrote:Does this mean we're snowflakes for getting participation gifts? Thank you Rd2 for the great rocks

Well, it was more a game of chance than a matter of merit. You'll note that I will NOT be giving out prizes to those who didn't enter (fair warning to all if anyone posts any future contests: ya gotta submit an entry to get a crack at winning)
It was my pleasure.

Well. Mine came yesterday, at least i picked it up then, and surprised me with your generosity. I will actually open more than the outside box and take some pictures soon. Summer is the busy season around here and this year the Drs want a bit more of my time and energy than before. Thanks again for sponsoring









The Flamingos at Opal Negra approved. Rock from the Heart of Virgin Valley Claim AKA sold as Owyhee Rose previously.
The table top is one of the few slabs that was left by the saw. Then it was re-sawn into dimension stone blocks. The loose material is what is claimed for carving and decoration. $200 a ton, less than a dime a pound + S&H.

I'm giving this thread a bump because John edited his post above, and added pics of the rocks he got from r2d, so scroll up to see them. Nice stuff!