~ Rockhounding 101: Getting Started in Rock and Mineral Collecting ~

In order to begin any type of collection the first step necessary is to obtain a guide or catalogue so that we can identify the pieces that will be part of our collection. Get a book that has clear, color pictures and detailed descriptions. You need to be able to recognize and to classify your specimens. You may want to invest in a "field guide" with more concise information and smaller pictures that you can easily take with you on collection expeditions and a more complete guide to keep at home.  

There is the basic equipment necessary for collecting specimens in the field:

Personal and Safety Equipment

• Use the buddy system whenever possible. If you go collecting alone, make sue that someone knows where you are going and when you are expected back.
• A cell phone can't hurt but make sure that it is fully charged and if you have a car charger for it make sure it is in the vehicle you are taking. Also realize that the phone may not have reception where you are going so again, make sure someone knows where you are and when you will return.
• Appropriate shoes and clothing for your collecting area. Foot wear with ankle support, lug soles, and steel toes are highly recommended.
• A hat to provide protection from the sun.
• Sunscreen
• A hard hat if you are collecting in areas with overhanging and falling rocks. Many quarries and all mines require hard hats be worn by all collectors.
• Polarized sunglasses to protect eyes and help you identify specimens by blocking glare.
• Protective goggles to wear when using hammer and chisels. 
• Heavy gloves for protection.
• A basic first aid kit.
• Water for drinking, washing specimens, and to fill an overheated radiator in an emergency.
• A good map of the areas you are traveling through and in on your collection trip.

Navigation and Recording

• Permission to collect
• Maps and guidebooks for the area
• Bearing compass and altimeter. A good GPS unit can be an alternative.
• A notepad and a pencil to write down the date, the place, comments on the trip and the mineral samples found. 
• An easy way is to number each found sample and make a corresponding card with all the information for it.
• Camera to record site locations.

Tools for Specimen Identification

• Field guides for identification
• A 10X loupe or magnifying glass to observe smaller details and help with identification.
• A small magnet to help identify meteorites and iron-bearing rocks
• A small container of vinegar to identify carbonate rocks
• A streak plate to help distinguish between similar-appearing minerals. An unglazed porcelain tile (like the back of a bathroom tile) can substitute for standard streak plate.
• Moh's hardness scale and test items.
• UV light and viewing bag to identify fluorescent minerals.

Tools for Collecting
Make sure that all tools have been inspected and are in good condition. A hammer with loose head is a weapon!

• A Crack hammer, 2, 3, or 4 lb., or breaking medium-sized rocks and for driving your chisels. Choose the largest hammer you can comfortably handle.
• A Crowbar or pry bar. 22" pry bars are good basic tools, although 30" and larger are needed for really heavy work.
• A set of hand chisels either wide-ended or pointed. Carbide-tipped ones will make your work easier, although they are more expensive than steel ones
• Geologist's pick (hammer/pick combination) also commonly called a rock hammer. The pick end is for  prying and the flat end for breaking rocks. It is often used for scale in photographs. A belt or sheath makes it easy to carry.
• Sledge hammer (12 to 16 lb) or Mason's hammer (6 to 8 lb) for breaking big rocks. Again, go with the largest you can comfortably handle (and haul). A sledge hammer may be more effective if you cut the handle off at 18".
• Pocket tools to use to extract specimens from deep pockets and crevices. You can use a commercial pocket tool, an 18" screwdriver, an ice pick, or a modified garden claw.
• Paintbrush, whiskbroom, and toothbrush to clean and help evaluate specimens.
• Tools for fine work like spatulas, surgical knife, palette knife, sieve, dental picks, geologist's trim hammer.

Tools for Transporting Specimens

• Field bag or internal-frame backpack. If you anticipate carrying a very heavy load, a properly adjusted internal-frame backpack will make it easier.
• Newspaper, paper toweling or similar to wrap your specimens in and protect them until you return home. (note: do not use newspaper for fluorescent specimens unless you wrap in plastic first!)
• Cloth bags, boxes, tubes, egg cartons, etc. for holding fragile specimens.
• A bucket can be used inside a pack to protect the fabric from your tools and to carry specimens.

It Can't Hurt to Bring This Along

• Extra change of clothes. Collecting can be dirty and wet.
• Rain gear
• Snacks
• Knee Pads
• Mask or Respirator as some rock dusts are hazardous to your lungs.

Starting Your Collecting
You can start your collection by takings some filed trips to well-known deposits. Before you begin, always ask permission to hunt rocks on land that you do not own and always observe the "rock collectors code of ethics". An excellent way to field collect is join an area rockhound or lapidary club and go out with experienced collectors.  You can find a listing of local clubs on our link or at the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies (AFMS) website. At this time you may or may not know what you want to collect. Some collectors focus on a particular family or group of minerals. Others collect only one type of mineral in all its different colors, forms and locations. Most of us start by collecting rocks and minerals that just appeal to us and refine the collection as it and our knowledge grows.

You can also begin your collection by acquiring a mineral box already prepared with a set of samples of the most common minerals. These appear identified with their names which can help us learn to identify them in the field. Another advantage of this type of collection is that it is easily expandable by acquiring other boxes that contain different samples of minerals or by acquiring additional minerals individually from other collectors, lapidary stores, rock and gems shows, and similar sources. In fact It is very common to find in the minerals stores and shops samples in the typical small 4x4 cm. cardboard boxes which allow us to increase the variety of minerals in our collection very economically.

Storage and Conservation of Your Collection
Once you identify the rock type or mineral you will want to make sure and label it. It is customary to put not only the name of the specimen but the location it was obtained from. As you identify and add to your collection you will naturally start sorting it to organize it more. How you sort is entirely up to you: by color, mineral family, location found, etc. Now is also the time to consider how to store and and conservation of your specimens. As your collection grows in number and variety of specimens you will need to find suitable storage. What you choose will depend on the characteristics of each specimen and where you are going to display or store your collection.

Plastic boxes are a great solution in those cases that we have delicate minerals or crystals that are susceptible to be deteriorate or to be broken. They make it easy to observe the piece from all angles without having to touch it directly. These boxes are available in square or rectangular form, with white or black bases, and in a variety of sizes.

Special supports are available for exhibition of minerals in display cabinets, bookcases and tables. They show the specimens in a position that facilitates observation, to emphasize prettier details, and at the same time provide a support base that assures stability. There are many different types of supports, many dedicated specially to the support a particular type of specimen. For example rings used to display mineral eggs and spheres.

Display Cabinets are a way to to show off and to admire the pieces of your collection. As the collection grows you will find not only an increasing in the number of specimens but also the size of the minerals that we like to collect. It is common at this stage to construct or acquire a display cabinet or bookcase.

What to Do with Your Collection
There are other things you can do with your specimens other than put them on display:

• Turn them into jewelry by taking a lapidary cabochon making or faceting class.
• Try your hand at stone carving
• Try Suiseki, the Japanese art of natural stone selection and appreciation.
• Create a rock garden
• Display at a local library or show.

Advanced Collecting
There are many different places to go to look for minerals. However the best sources are not always near our homes and often not accessible due to restrictions, extraction techniques, ownership rights, etc. The collection goal then becomes about having the best possible specimen. That means acquiring them from their better deposits. At this point you may look to a professional mineral retailer. Many times these minerals have their own support with name and source deposit. As you increase your contacts in the lapidary world you may also encounter other expert collectors with good specimens for sale or trade at shows, swaps, their owns stores or through websites.

After years and years of collecting you will have acquired a wide knowledge of mineralogy and related areas. It is often at this stage that the collector pursues the specialization of the collection. They decide on collecting just fluorescent minerals or micromounts or create a systematic collection from a particular area. Some collectors focus on the various forms of a single mineral or collecting samples fro deposits around the world.

Article sources: Mineral Town; Mt. Clements Gem and Lapidary Society