The Snow Lake Mining Museum held their ninth-annual Rock Doctor Day on the afternoon of Aug. 9; there were 97 people in attendance, 41 of whom were children.
For those unaccustomed to the term, a geologist is what locals, and mining folk in general, refer to as a rock doctor. The Rock Doctor Day is an afternoon of celebration at the local museum. In addition to some interesting games such as Toss the Copper in the Hopper and Toss the Zinc in the Sink, patrons could visit Treasure Island, where they could guess various minerals and mining items to win prizes. However the most popular event of the day revolved around the rock doctor table.
This is where geologists Karen Calitis, Ernie Guiboche, Bill Salahub Jr., Dennis Merber, Sean Bawden and Jeremy Deyholos were set up, loupes at hand, waiting to diagnose the bounty local children and adults brought up to their table. This year’s even boasted an added attraction with the addition of an x-ray analyzer to confirm the docs’ conclusion!
I have attended this event several times in the past, but this time, thought ahead a bit and brought my own rock for one of the docs to look at. I grabbed it off my bookshelf before leaving home and promptly plopped it down in front of Ernie Guiboche upon arrival at the museum.
Guiboche, for those who are unaware, has plied his trade in many of the mines of Northern Manitoba. A self-taught practitioner who was intricately involved in the discovery of Thompson’s Birchtree Mine, he has likely forgotten more than most geos will ever know. On this day, I thought he might have forgotten a little more, as his words to me as I handed over my rock were: “That’s a black rock.” Then, with a smile that lit up his face and a bit of a wink, he put the loupe to his eye and gave the rock a cursory look. He noted that it was sphalerite (zinc) with traces of pyrite, adding that it was very coarse grained, so likely high grade.
I thanked Ernie and walked over to a table that misters Bawden and Deyholos had the XRF analyzer set up on. Deyholos popped open the lid and placed my rock inside. The analyzer worked its magic for about a minute and Bawden read out its breakdown. My rock was indeed what Guiboche had stated it was: 46 per cent zinc, 34 per cent sulphur, and 11 per cent iron oxide. By the way, the sample came from first ore at Snow Lake’s Lalor Mine.
Museum board chairperson Paul Hawman advised that this ninth-annual Rock Doctor Day was the best one ever, with the highest attendance since the event started in 2009. “Curator Dori Forsyth went above and beyond to bring an interesting, educational, and fun-filled event to kids young and old, who, by any measure, had an absolute blast,” he said. In addition to his praise for Ms. Forsyth and volunteers Bob Forsyth, Sandy Hawman, Kaylee Forsyth, and Tony Kuleza, Hawman expressed appreciation to Hudbay Minerals for allowing their employees (geologists) to attend during working hours and for the use of their analyzer.
The door prize winners were: first prize Adelle Barnabe, second prize Yanik Barnabe and third prize Lizzy Rolles.
In other news, my wife and I took a quick trip into Flin Flon to check out their first annual Blueberry Jam Festival, on the evening of Friday, Aug. 10. It was well worth traveling over the pothole that doubles as a highway coming out of Snow Lake! We caught four hours of main stage acts before braving the return trip. It was impressive! The highlight was Alan (Krazz) Krassilowsky and Friends … Krazz is the singer from Flin Flon’s Blue Monday, which I recall seeing (can’t remember where) in the early ‘70s. Their performance took me back! It was a great weekend for many and an excellent idea and follow-through by the organizers!
Finally, I noted in last week’s column that I would have results from the mud bog that was held the weekend of Aug. 3. Sorry, organizer Chris Chell advises that someone accidentally disposed of his time/winner sheets after the event … sorry about that!
