BUTTE - In the Mining City they love to pull precious things from the ground, so you’re going to want to come to the Butte Civic Center to check out the Mineral and Gem Show, so follow me and I’ll give you a sneak peek.
So, this is the gem and mineral show. What’s the deal about this?
“I mean, where else are you going to find nature’s most incredible art all in one place?” Elisa Stamm said. “You think about this: Mother Earth made every single thing, every single rock in these cases.”
The event is hosted by the Butte Mineral and Gem Club, which has been around since the 1930s. This event includes about 40 displays and several vendors. Some of the displays focus on local gems and minerals.
WATCH: Butte Mineral & Gem show features local finds
“I think four or five cases of things that are found within 30 miles of Butte and they’re spectacular,” Butte Mineral and Gem Club member Pete Knudsen said.
Russ Hage found one of the most spectacular amethysts in the world at a mine just east of Butte.He spent two years trying to get to it.
“She was way back in a cavity, you could barely reach her,” Hage said. “I started quarrying from the surface, and all of the sudden, I opened up the cavity she was in, stuffed pillows under her and she fell out in my arms and I said ‘well hello Dolly’ and her name is Dolly.”
Some items are indeed unusual. Like a mineral that fused with wood deep inside a Butte mine.
“Chalcanthite and wood. Yeah, and it’s actually slightly toxic, so I try not to handle it too much,” Stamm said.“It’s fun, it makes them interesting.And my fingers are tingling a little bit from holding that one actually.“
The show runs May 16th through the17th, admission is $3 for adults and free for children under 12 years old.
