By Mary Drew at Pasty Central (Mdrew) on Tuesday, August 25, 2015 - 10:31 pm:
What do Geologists do on vacation you might ask? Well, I don't know about all Geologists, but Capt. Paul and Dr. Nat (Paul and Nathalie Brandes enjoy exploring the shores of Lake Superior and checking out local rock swaps. In today's photos they visited the Quincy Mine Mineral Swap, which was held during the week long mineral festivities put on by Michigan Tech. Paul said for the first time in a few years, the weather was absolutely perfect for the event. He adds a description of the photos as follows:
Quincy Swap: Looking across the parking lot at the vendors that attended.
Agate Guys: These are the same guys that were at Ishpeming selling their agates; as you can see, they are a popular stop!
Bin Of Agates: One of the many bins of beautiful agates for purchase from the “Agate Guys” booth.
Copper Ingots: To me, the most interesting items at the Swap that night!!! These are some of the famous copper ingots that were recovered from the steamer S.S. Pewabic which sank in Thunder Bay off Alpena in calm seas on August 9, 1865. The inscriptions on the ingots, which weigh about 12 lbs. each, signify the mining company #Pewabic (PW#/Franklin #F#/Hancock #H# Mining Company #MC#) and shipped by Lake Superior Transit Company #LS and the T of the anchor).
UW Copper: Some specimens of native copper crystals that were recovered from the bottom of Lake Superior along a copper vein that extends out from the Peninsula. Divers recover these from the bottom not too far from where the 17 ton copper boulder was found.
Antique Lamps: A vendor selling some very nice antique mining lamps used by miners as well as blasting cap tins and what looked to be flasks.
I think I found the Copper Ingots the most interesting, along with the Antique Lamps, which are pretty neat to see those actual mining artifacts from back in the day. And of course the agates! Those are always amazing to see the beauty in just a few simple rocks.
