Ambionik Universe is heading to Illinois for the Summer Camp Music and Arts festival to sell exotic minerals and gem crystals.

Day One Ace

 Working the mine, one can only dig by nonmechanical means.  That means no cobra drill or anything like neumatic tools (oh how we long for any kind of advantage against the hard dolomite stone).  I learned some basic mining terminology, such as to cape or chiseling out a 4"-6" hole in the rock.  At the Ace I am working along side miner 'steve' learning how to deal with the dolomite stone the old fashioned way.  By making large rocks into small rocks, we occassionally find Herkimer Diamonds.  We were working on part of the ledge where there are spuratic water clear crystals to be found, or possibly even a 'sub pocket' which can have several crystals in a cluster.  Or it can have calcite, or druzy quartz, and if you're just 'getting warmer' it will be filled with a substance called anthrailite which is what the Herkimer Diamonds were composed of several million years ago.   Day 1 we were seemingly working part of the mine that was 'dead' rock or rock that is not crystal bearing.  Two days of working that spot with no reward had use looking to relocate about 30 feet due southwest.

Woke up (early! lol!) at 8:30 a.m. to finish packing my van to go and set up shop at the Radisson Hotel for the Rochester Mineral Symposium.  I have my minerals on display in Room 437 along with Steve Cianciola of Higher Vibrations.  We'll be manning the room from 9 a.m. to Midnight or later!! The show is high spirits due to the hospitality room providing the visitors with free drinks and snacks.  I can only hope all the extra spirits in the mix will lead to an increase in consumer spending!! cha ching!  I am looking forward to tomorrow's lecture from the Mindat.org creator / curator.

With the conclusion of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show on Feb 17th 2009, A.M Bionik Universe is laying the ground work for an amazing year of gem and mineral shows (Rochester, NY, Springfield, MA, Maine Mineral Symposium, Denver, Co), music festivals (Phish Shows, Bonnarro, Rothbury, Orb) and traveling the world (Africa and South America) in search of fine minerals.

Check out the Events area for additional upcoming events.