I’ll tell you, but I have to go back a bit. The last detailed update posted on the website was in May of 2020. There had been some personnel changes, the weather was rough, there was still tons of rock to move, though hopes were high after the last two pocket discoveries.
Then…nothing. Work continued daily, driving back into the mountain towards the target zones, only to find that mother nature can be pretty wily with which way a crack goes when rocks are moved around.
Two years pass… nothing of significance is recovered.
Halfway through October, as hopes are beginning to flag, the news spreads like wildfire through the office – there’s red!
Yes! Once again, the Detroit City Portal is producing amazing, beautiful rhombs of rhodochrosite, some with gorgeous fluorite dusted on the surface. So far, the major producing pockets have been the 22-02 and 22-03 pockets, which contained a fantastic range of small rhomb clusters to specimens almost 2” across.
There have been some major setbacks however – running a mine is not easy, or cheap! Keeping the roads passable at ~12,000’ (3658 meters) elevation during winter is an undertaking by itself and even though redundant equipment is kept at hand at all times, things sometimes break down.
So! Here’s the deal:
- Yes! There is new rhodo coming out of the Detroit City Portal!
- Progress is slow, but steady!
- Several pockets have been opened, some empty, some full.
We will keep on keeping on!
