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Never Again Thundereggs NeverAgain Mine, Florida Mtns, Luna Co., New Mexico |
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There is a very amusing story behind
the Neveragain Mine discovered and opened by Paul "GeodeKid" Calburn. The
mine is known for its very large thundereggs and it happens to be located
on the western steep part of the Little Florida Mountains (just south of
Rockhound State Park). So the first trek to the mine proved to be very
difficult for Paul Calhoun and it's even harder for him to bring the thundereggs
down to his truck that he had to let some roll down the slope. Too many
of them ended up in the patches of picky pear cactus and a really big one
barely missed his truck. He wasn't keen about finding out what would happen
to his truck if it gets hit by a big thunderegg rolling down the steep
slope. When he finally finished his first digging trek, he shouted
"Never Again!" and that's how the mine got its name, and he had came back
to that mine several times until he became too old to climb the stope.
It is very tiring trek even for me to climb to the mine and I can bring down only 30 to 40 pounds of thundereggs (I tend to ignore any big ones) at a time so not to be hard on my back while doing down the stope. What makes it worth to go back to that mine? The mine is one of very few places in the world where the "Tillage Agates" can be found and the "Tillage Agate" refers to the fact the "Waterline" bands are not parallel to each other as a result of its formation being interrupted by tectonic activities (faulting) making it an excellent tool in geological studies. Most thundereggs tend to be hollow and lined with chalcedony but those filled with solid white to gray agates (rarely colorful opal) have been found and I have seen large and impressive thundereggs coming from that mine. |
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| Very Sought Classic 2-Event "Tillage" Thunderggs
Has a calcite crystal just below the cut surface of one thundergg March 2007 |
Rare 3-Event "Tillage" Thundergg!
March 2006 |
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| Very rare colorful "Tillage" Agate
March 2007 |
Typical "Tillage" Thunderegg,
March 2006 |
2-Event "Tillage" Thundergg
Obtained from Paul "GeodeKid" Calburn
Very large thunderegg with outstanding "Tillage" Agate & opal.
Obtained from a trade with Paul "GeodeKid" Calburn.
There are more large thundereggs at the mine, but they are too big
for me to carry and cut.