[meteorite-list] European Tektite Forum 2011 - Moldavite find rate

From: Aubrey Whymark <tinbider_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2011 22:18:26 +0100 (BST)
Message-ID: <320621.32912.qm_at_web28509.mail.ukl.yahoo.com>

Hi

Re: Find rate of Moldavites

Well we were taken to the best spot! Milan has GPS coordinates of probably thousands of finds all plotted on Google Earth. An amazing database. Searching on the field I personally found 2 smallish specimens in maybe a couple of hours. Others found more. I guess maybe 30 mins per small Moldavite (1 hr for me). We went to another Moldavite location though and we all came up with nothing despite the gravels being evident in the soil and other collectors being around.

With regards the illegal mining operation the chap had been digging a few hours and I think he said he had found nothing. The previous day he had a matchbox full of say 10 smallish pieces. Then again a weeks work of another guy revealed a bag that maybe weighed a kilo I am guessing from another locality. It was very much luck of the draw - some days were bad, other days you would find a specimen worth hundreds or maybe, if very lucky, worth thousands of dollars.

The big difference between mining and picking from the field was that the unchipped large fragments are found by mining - chipped smaller pieces are found on the field.

One thing I can say - it takes a lot of effort to find even bad Moldavites and I will never again complain at paying a few hundred dollars for a Moldavite - it's cheap compared with the work put in!

Regards, Aubrey





--- On Mon, 25/4/11, Meteorite Mania! <meteoritemania at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Meteorite Mania! <meteoritemania at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] European Tektite Forum 2011 Photos
> To: "Aubrey Whymark" <tinbider at yahoo.co.uk>, meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Date: Monday, 25 April, 2011, 19:52
> Aubrey,
>
> Thanks for sharing the pictures, I look forward to the
> updates with
> captions.? What is the average number of hours
> searching before one
> will find any moldavite?
>
> Thanks Milan for showing your treasures, what a fantastic
> collection;
> I would be willing to bet that is the finest moldavite and
> tektite
> collection in the world.? Thanks for letting us get a
> glimpse.
>
> All the best,
>
> Ty
> Meteorite Mania
>
>
>
> On Sun, Apr 24, 2011 at 6:11 PM, Aubrey Whymark <tinbider at yahoo.co.uk>
> wrote:
> > Hi
> >
> > We had a great time at the European Tektite Forum 2011
> in Brno, Czech Republic, hosted by Milan Trnka.
> >
> > I have uploaded a load of unedited photos onto my site
> at http://www.tektites.co.uk/european-tektite-forum-2011.html
> >
> > I hope to edit the photos and add annotations and
> descriptions in the next 2-3 months so do check back!
> >
> > Regards, Aubrey
> > www.tektites.co.uk
> >
> > ______________________________________________
> > Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
> > Meteorite-list mailing list
> > Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
> >
> ______________________________________________
> Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>
Received on Mon 25 Apr 2011 05:18:26 PM PDT