New Mexico Mineral Symposium — Abstracts

High in the Colorado Mosquito Mountain range, near Alma, in Park County is located the Sweet Home mine. The Sweet Home, while a very poor silver producer, has produced the largest and finest rhodochrosite crystals, as well as some 30 other minerals.

When Bryan Lees of Collector's Edge reopened the old mine in 1991, Jack Murphy said he wished for and dreamed of a rhodochrosite vug, or pocket, recreated in the museum. This came closer to reality in September 1994, when we received telephone calls to come take a look, as well as take some photos.

Three years later, made possible by a grant from the Adolph Coors Foundation, the pocket stands as "The Wall" in the Mineral Hall's mine tunnel.

The slide presentation will show photos of mining and specimen removal, cleaning and layout, reconstitution and assembly, remodeling and installation. It will also show photos of other minerals found in the Sweet Home mine. From 11,000 ft high and thousands of feet under Mt. Bross, the Sweet Home mine and "The Wall" have become a collector's and curator's dream.