> Trotter collecting 2001

Collecting on the Trotter Dump - April 28, 2001

Introduction

The Delaware Valley Earth Science Society (DVESS) for a third time organized a special one-day collecting trip to the Trotter dump in Franklin, NJ. It was held on Saturday April 28th, and lasted well into the night to allow for prospecting under ultraviolet light.

Collector pausing at night on the Trotter dump. Calcite (red) and willemite (green) glowing under short-wave ultraviolet. Photo courtesy of Terry Wilson © and the DVESS.

Among recent finds was a fine hand-sized specimen of brightly fluorescent barite, specimens of radiating Franklin willemite, hydrozincite, and even some esperite.

Special thanks to Don Halterman and the DVESS, and property owner Steve Phillips, for making this unique event possible and for arranging the author's access. A few photos from 2001 appear below. 

For more photos, visit the DVESS website.

exposure

Franklin ore exposure. View of excavated area near the northern boundary of the Trotter dump, where the Franklin orebody is currently exposed (far left background, partly in shadow). Also see an ultraviolet-lit night view taken nearby.

A wall of color. Portion of wall at left in previous photo, lit by Don Halterman's Triplebright display lamp at night. Calcite and willemite. Field width ~3 meters.
Don Halterman with custom cart for field deployment of his Triplebright UV display lamp.

A fine Franklin barite specimen. Barite (white) and calcite (red) fluorescing under short-wave UV light. Unidentified collector's leg and boot for scale. Note glowing sand, which is present on much of the Trotter dump.

Collectors working in bright sunshine on freshly trenched ground on the main section of the Trotter dump.

Dramatic wall of Franklin ore with seams of secondary willemite, looking to the southwest, glowing at night on the Trotter dump. Calcite (red) and willemite (green) fluorescing under short-wave UV. Field width ~2 meters.

Collectors busy at work along an embankment. Note the handy 5-gallon pails for hauling heavy specimens.

Outcrop of ore at Trotter. View of a large (>1 meter wide) section of glowing ore. Calcite (red) and willemite (green), lit by short-wave ultraviolet.

Truck rented as a portable dark room, here being setup by Chris & Pete Gillis and John Dymond for collectors  on Trotter Day.

Large (>1 meter) boulder of willemite ore. Calcite (red), willemite (green), glowing under short-wave ultraviolet. 

An inevitable sight : fluorescent collector briefly escaping the sun's rays to check for glowing treasure.

Brightly glowing hand-sized samples of calcite and willemite sitting in fluorescent sand. Trotter dump, Franklin NJ.
At left, two well-prepared collectors -- replete with walkie-talkies; on right, collectors at work on various levels of the outcrop.

 

With luck, and the efforts of the DVESS, collectors may be able to return once again next year. Stay tuned..

night view

The west limb of the Franklin orebody. Viewed looking north/north-east under an early evening sky, and illuminated by shortwave ultraviolet. Calcite (red) and willemite (green) glowing under short-wave ultraviolet. Photo courtesy of Terry Wilson © and the DVESS. Compare with a daylight photo below, showing Don Halterman working near the outcrop's top in preparation for night collecting.

For information on the April 27 & 28 2002 event, click here.

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