Exploring the Dwyer Fluorite Mine, Wilberforce

By: Michal Adamowicz, Rockhound
Explored Date: May 1, 2008

Hello all Rock hounds!

Here is a short record of my mineral collecting activities at the Dwyer Fluorite Mine.

I decide to explore this locality because, unlike many location this one was located very near to a main road and should be easy to find. Luckily for me and all other collectors this proved true. The mine is located 0.7 km on Mumford Road from highway 648 going north east. Before you reach the Dwyer Mine you will see an entrance to the Richardson (Fission) Mine at 0.5km from highway 648. You will be heading along this road till you see a ridge on your right (south) thought the trees. It will be hard to mistaken the cut at the ridge as anything but a mine. To get to the mine you should park on the road near the mine then walk up the slope for about 50 meters. Just park near the shoulder as much as possible but note that the side is a ditch, so not too close. Getting to the mine is easy, just cross the ditch at the road & walk up the steep hill to the mine. Be careful thought, it is quite steep and dangerous when wet. When you reach the mine you will notice that there are 2 components to it. First is the open cut near the hill top, and second is an adit/tunnel left & bottom of the main cut. The open cut has the majority of sample locating possibilities as numerous cuts & small pits have been cut into the rock.

The majority of minerals found here are:
- (massive samples & amounts) of amphibole group
- (minor amounts) of pyroxene group
- (acceptable amounts, up to 4cm long) of yellow/red Apatite
- (large & massive amounts) of weathered calcite
- (bands in calcite, or free fragments, decent amounts) of purple Fluorite

Most minerals can be collected along the slope on the way to the open cut, there are few samples that can be removed from the walls thought. There are some nice patches of calcite with wavy bands of purple fluorite and some amphibole crystals in the walls. They would look great cut & polished.

The second location is the adit/tunnel left and bottom of the open cut. This tunnel is unfortunately covered up by a cement brick wall. There is a small cut in the brick where you can hear & see water dripping in the distance. Using a flashlight I can see the other side right behind the wall open to a small chamber, there is also what looks like a smaller thinner tunnel still continuing into the abyss of the mine.

There is a nice view from the mine, and there is a large abundance of decent & large specimens scattered around. It looks like the mine receives very little rockhound traffic & therefore is a good locality to explore if you are in the area.


Here are some advantages & disadvantages to the locality:

Advantages:
1). Easy to locate
2.) Close to a main road, no long hike required
3.) Low rockhound traffic
4.) Decent sample of white Calcite with purple Fluorite, yellow/red Apatite, &
Amphibole can be found easily
5.) Located near other sites: Richardson (Fission) Mine, Shickler Fluorite Occurrence,
& Trip (Nu-Age) Mine


Disadvantages:
1.) The location can be far if not searching in the Wilberforce area
2.) Small Locality, can be hard to find samples if locality receives heavy traffic
3.) Most samples are weathered & located in the dirt covered with leaves, dirt, and debris. Samples can be hard to find, careful searching is required.

Despite of the disadvantages this is still a very good location & is a very good location to begin your searching adventure since you won’t waste any time getting to the mine from your car. A lot of time can be saved in the hike. This is a good site with easy to find sample. I highly recommend that any of you interested give it a look. Look under my Mindat pictures of the site & some minerals I found at the Dwyer Mine to get some idea of if the locality to peak your interest. Thanks for reading. Rockhound safe & with determination.

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