Helvetia Mining DistrictArizona
While visiting Tucson we decided to do some rock-hounding and went out to the Helvetia mining area. We found various signs of mining such as mine dumps and shafts and old metal debris. The dirt track we took winded its way through the mountainous area. Once out of the truck we found chrysacola , azurite and pyrite specimens as well as other samples of unknown material. Climbing the steep hills we looked for the beautiful blue of azurite on chrysacola. I looked for material to make beads with. Some of the chysacola that I collected may be stable enough to use for beads, I'm not sure of that though. We collected around 50 lbs. of rock and mineral specimens. I took some time to take some pictures of the locals, which are some cows and a lot of different cacti. We had a great time and proved that a day of rock-hounding beats the pants off a day of work. |
