Improving Mindat.org : Veracruz Mexico (original) (raw)

I just saw this thread and thought I could clear up a few things

Piedra Parada (standing rock) is a small village situated on a ridgeback. The terrain falls off steeply there. It is eleven miles of bad road across a huge valley from Las Vigas. It used to be a four hike for the miners to carry specimens out. GPS coordinates are 19° 43' 30" North, 97° 1' 30" West.

The Mineralogical Record Special Issue III, Nov.-Dec. 2003, Volume 34, No. 6 is a great source for more information on this locale.

Associated minerals are, epidote (to 1mm), laumontite (to 2.5cm), calcite (brushy scalenohedrons to 10cm), lepidocrocite inclusions (to 1mm), barite (thin white crystals to 5cm and thicker ones to 10cm+), analcime (to 6mm), and an unidentified garnet (2mm). In the skarns below the andesite flows are some beautiful demantoid (1cm).

In 2003, a large walk in pocket 15 meters long was discovered. This was in the area known as Las Cascadas or the Cruz mine. It is located by a large waterfall. As with all of these claims there is a dispute over the rightful ownership. The pieces are characterized by deep purple, double terminated crystals to 5cm associated with calcite. Thousands of groups came out including some very large groups. This got a lot of miners working.

In 2005, a series of pockets in the Epimenio mine began to produce groups associated with epidote. This culminated in December 2005 with an extraordinary pocket with some large plates. This mine is now considered to be mined out, but this year a new digging in the area produced a few very nice combos. These deep colored crystals have thin scepter necks and many broke off matrix.

Last year in March, another digging produced some beautiful lighter colored scepters. They are stout and lustrous with fensters.

This year has had very little production. The Mexican army controls all explosives. It is almost impossible for small scale miners to legally obtain fuse and caps. Electric SDS hammer drills and generators are now used to drill parallel holes to remove larger groups than were possible in the past.

Specimens are then packed in sawdust and moss to prevent damage as they are carried on their backs up and out. Powdered soap in clear boxes is used later to safely transport and comply with new US regulations that prohibit using sawdust (bugs).

The conditions are very dangerous and some miners have the wheeze of silicosis. They follow yellow stringers to find the infrequent pockets. The lots are sold complete (the good, the bad and the ugly) in Las Vigas. No one wants to be high graded. It would be almost impossible for the miners to make the investment, obtain the visas, pass all the checkpoints in Mexico, comply with US and Mexican customs, travel the four thousand miles and find a good venue in someplace like Tucson. Then, what would they do with what was left.

Still the hope remains that more incredible finds will be coming out.