Symposium

The Friends of Mineralogy Colorado Chapter is pleased to announce that our symposium will be returning in 2025 from June 12th – 16th, at the Mines Museum of Earth Science & Hill Hall at Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. The symposium theme will be “Specimen Mines of the United States.”

Preliminary Schedule:

Thursday June 12

  • Behind the Scenes Tour at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science; 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm; tour the rock, mineral, and fossil collections; limited to 12 people; free registration with general symposium registration

Friday June 13

  • Behind the Scenes Tour at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science; 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm; tour the rock, mineral, and fossil collections; limited to 12 people; free registration with general symposium registration
  • Mineral Specimen Prep Demo at The Collectors Edge; 10am and 2pm; Each demo will last ~1.5 hrs; Limited to 12 people on each; $10 on top of general symposium registration
  • Smoky Hawk / Sky Hawk (Pinnacle5 claims, the Pikes Peak Batholith) tour and collecting trip; 9am start time; $15 on top of symposium registration; limited to 25 people (additional details below)
  • Opening Reception at the Mines Museum of Earth Science; 5:00 to 8:00 pm (beverages and light food included); Includes a silent and live auction.

Saturday June 14

Symposium proceedings (Hill Hall room 202):

8:50 – 9:00 AM Opening Remarks
9:00 – 9:45 AM Levi Gregory: History and Production of the Little Three Gem Mine
9:50 – 10:35 AM Dave Varabioff: Gold Specimens
10:40 – 11 AM MORNING BREAK
11:00 – 11:45 AM Karly and Don Litchfield: The Mineralogy, Paleontology and Geology of Elk Creek, South Dakota.
LUNCH BREAK
1:30 – 2:15 PM Jerry Fuller: Utah Red Beryl
2:20 – 3:05 PM Robert Nacarato & Walt Gaylord: Elmwood
3:10 – 3:30 PM AFTERNOON BREAK
3:30 – 4:15 PM Les Presmyk: The Brushy Creek Mine – A specimen collecting project
4:20 – 5:05 PM Graham Sutton: A brief history of 40 years of digging in the dirt

Sunday June 15

Symposium proceedings (Hill Hall room 202):

9:00 – 9:45 AM Joe Dorris: Artisanal mineral specimen mining, Smoky Hawk Pegmatite Group, Teller Co., Colorado
9:50 – 10:35 AM Mary Freeman: Trophies from Mount Mica, Paris, Maine
10:40 – 11:00 AM MORNING BREAK
11:00 – 11:45 AM TBD
11:50 AM – 12:00 PM Concluding Remarks

1:30 – 4:00 PM Micromineral Summit (GRL201, room across the hall from the Mines Museum)

===

Pinnacle5 tour info:

  • The field trip is limited to twenty-five people. 
  • Attendees must complete safety release form on the Pinnacle 5 Minerals web site.
  • Meet at 9am at 2124 Trail Creek Dr, Florissant, CO 80816. It’s about an hour fifteen from Manitou Springs.
  • 4WD low is recommended for the drive to the claim. If you don’t have a suitable vehicle, you can carpool from the house, which is about a mile from the claim. Attendees can also park at bottom of hill and carpool up or walk (steep 1/3 mile walk).
  • Bring personal items, including water and a lunch, sunscreen, proper clothing, sturdy shoes (steel toe preferred but not necessary). I will have some hardhats if people wish to rotate into the excavation (or bring your own.) 
  • A canopy is the only protection on the claim site. There is a portable restroom. 
  • There will be a tour tour of the claim with some explanation of mineralogy and a focus on small specimen mining operations. Attendees can go on the dumps to search for loose material or walk about on the open areas of the claims. Light digging tools are all that’s needed. On open ground, a small Estwing Pick is good, and a geologist hammer is ideal on the dumps. They will attempt to have an open pocket that attendees can examine (but not collect).
  • Weather is iffy this time of year and afternoon thunderstorms are highly likely.