Ivey Farm Amethyst Mine, Warrenton, GA
October 16-17, 2004

We got up early Saturday to a cool, crisp morning of 44 degrees without a cloud in the sky.  Only three of us showed up on Saturday from the Jacksonville Gem and Mineral Society due to a trip scheduled to Glendon, NC for pyrite.   Most of Saturday morning was used to surface collect to find all the crystals visible after the rain on Thursday night.  The rest of the day was used to try and find a good spot to dig.  Temperatures only reached 72 with a nice breeze all day.  I would give it a "10" for a day to collect.  I had good luck on Saturday and decided to stay for Sunday when a few other members from our club would arrive at the Ivey Farm.  I decided to sleep late on Sunday and didn't get to the Ivey Farm until 9:30am.   Sunday morning was slightly warmer, but still an absolutlely beautiful day.  My spot was still open when I arrived, so I jumped in to work.   I was happy with my finds on Saturday, but with a good night'sleep, I would do even better on Sunday.

Everyone digging for amethyst.
Water filled pit.
Gary, Lory and Gena looking for amethyst.
Mickey is in his spot.
Everyone in our group was finding some nice crystals, and when someone would say, "Alright, I found one!", it would give everyone the motivation to dig even harder to hopefully find another.  I had found several nice crystals on Sunday and was getting ready to call it a day due to the long drive back to Florida.  Giving my hole one last check before leaving, I dislodged a huge cluster from the top right side.  When it rolled into the bottom of my hole, I was amazed at the size of the crystal face that I saw staring back at me.  The crystal face covered about 1/3 of the rock and at first I assumed the rest was mud or matrix.   When I picked it up and rubbed some of the mud off, I realized the whole rock was amethyst.  Everyone at the time had taken a break, but they all came back to when I said "ALRIGHT".  Figuring that I had my luck for the day, I decided to pack up.  Thanks go to Rodney Moore for the opportunity to have a wonderful weekend, digging and finding some wonderful amethyst crystals at the Ivey Farm.  Check out Rodney Moore's web site at Dixie Euhedrals.
Saturday's amethyst finds
2.0" x 1.75" small cluster
2.25" x 1.25" double terminated crystal
3.0" x 2.0" single crystal
Sunday's amethyst finds
3.0" x 3.0" double crystal cluster
3.0" x 2.5" triple crystal cluster
8.5" x 5.5" big cluster

Read about the Ivey Farm Amethyst Mine.
Ramblin' with Rodney: Ivey Farm Amethyst by Rodney Moore