Murraylands Gem and Mineral Club Inc. (MGMC)
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MURRAYLANDS GEM AND MINERAL CLUB INC. WELCOMES YOU
Murraylands Gem and Mineral Club Inc. at a Glance
Our Goal
Hello and welcome to the Murraylands Gem and Mineral Club website.
Our club welcomes new members and seeks to promote the fossicking hobby as well as fostering an interest in the lapidary, silversmithing, and faceting crafts.
At this site we endeavour to provide informative and useful information that benefits not only our members but anyone interested in our wonderful hobby.
Potential members are welcome to join us at several meetings / activities to get a feel for the club before committing to a membership. (See membership details section).
About Us
The Murraylands Gem & Mineral Club began as the Murray Bridge & Districts Gem & Mineral Club Inc., but we changed its name when we moved into our own clubrooms that we built at Collier Park, Palmer, South Australia, 5237.
We have members from across the Murraylands Region and attract others from further-a-field such as Noarlunga, Andamooka, Adelaide and places in between.
We meet at 7.30 pm on the second Wednesday of every month at our clubrooms in Collier Park, adjacent to the Palmer Oval. Other activities include lapidary, silversmithing and faceting workshops which are held on the third Saturday monthly, and the occasional field trip.
Each year, over the first weekend in May, we run our Palmer Rockarama "Crystal & Craft Fair" which also includes the South Australian Metal Detecting Championships on the Sunday.
Field Trips
Fossicking
South Australia has a rich history of exploitable mineralisation, particularly with its iron and copper deposits. Also, the Adelaide hills are a good source for quartz; and its quarries a good source for finding quartz crystals.
The mines and quarries extracting these materials (whether currently active or inactive) have been a good source for gem and mineral clubs to organise access for mineral and crystal fossicking field trips. This is no longer the case, owing to a concern for personal safety issues at dangerous sites, mining and quarrying regulations, and the site owner's risk of liability.
Nevertheless, entry permission to fossick can be obtained from time-to-time from sites of minimal risk; and regulated and disciplined clubs can sometimes achieve this.
Other Australian states have designated fossicking areas (requiring fossickers to have a current licence) which makes it a bit easier for clubs wanting to conduct fossicking field trips.
MGMC will support a fossicking field trip for its members when a deemed safe opportunity arises and permission is granted by the landholder.
Workshops
Lapidary, Silversmithing, and Faceting.
At the MGMC clubrooms, we have a well equipped workshop and a small team of dedicated members to support other members wishing to learn about and get involved in one or more of the following crafts: lapidary, silversmithing, and faceting. One day workshops are held each month.
To the club's credit, Brad, a past member of MGMC, who learnt the basics at the club workshops, went on to teach himself the skill and discipline required to become a national Australian Gemboree competitor and an ongoing winner in gemstone faceting competitions.
Metal Detecting
Competition and Field Trips
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“One is not always happy when one is good; but one is always good when one is happy”
Oscar Wilde
