The Saline Mineral World of Trona
by Gloria Tomczyk 

My first clue about this annual dig was the sight of an oily green hexagonal crystal, for sale in Quartzsite, a few years back.  Hummm, “What is this?” I asked the vendor; he replied it was Hanksite, a saline mineral from Trona, near Death Valley.  It didn't appeal to me at the time, so I mentioned it to a friend, and he bought it!  Darn, upon closer examination of the crystal, I was sorry that I hadn't bought it myself, not knowing at the time what I would end up with two years later.  I was intrigued with this strange mineral, so I did some research on the Internet, and found that Searles Lake Gem & Mineral Society (SLG&MS) organizes an annual trip into the saline mineral world.  SLG&MS partners with IMC Chemicals, Incorporated, the mining company and landowners, to set up these trips onto the mine site.  SLG&MS’s website has all the information on their annual event, everything you could ever want to know: pictures, time schedule, maps, and hours of their “Gem-O-Rama” show.  Wow, I had to do this someday, I thought. That opportunity made itself available October 2004 as my club, the Roseville Rock Rollers, sponsored a Northern California "Co-Op" trip to this annual event.  

Instructions said to bring sacrificial clothing, so with tools, disposable clothes, camping supplies, buckets, gloves and a tank full of gas I headed down Highway 395, south to Trona.  The drive was long, but compensation for the miles came in the way of beautiful fall foliage.  Ravines and mountainsides were sprinkled with aspens in shades of light green, orange, yellow and red.  A perfect time to travel on the east side of the Sierras!  About seven hours later I had just passed Ridgecrest, nearing Trona.  Off in the distance, between Ridgecrest and Trona, is an unusual sight called the Trona Pinnacles.  These Pinnacles, now a National Natural Landmark, are noted to be the best examples of tufa towers in North America.  Definitely an interesting sight worthy of exploration, I thought.  The geology of this valley is amazing, and is another story in itself for a later date. 

Well, on into Trona. Here it was Friday afternoon, folks were pulling into the camping area with all their gear, setting up camp and making ready their rigs for the next day’s adventure.  Saturday morning has now arrived, and boy, has this small town come to life!  Well before sun-up, the good folks from the Trona Community Church put on a great pancake breakfast.  After a satisfying breakfast, off to the Gem Show to buy my field trip tickets, and to see what the vendors have to offer.   

It is nearing 8:00 AM and people by the hundreds are showing up.  As departure time for the “Mud Trip” rolls closer, it is announced that we should head to our cars and make ready to leave.  On this field trip, we can collect greenish-colored Hanksite, in barrel form and clusters, along with Trona (yes, a mineral), and Borax.  We are off!  Cars stretching for miles head out onto the dry saline lakebed.  What a sight to behold upon arrival – about an acre of thick black mud, spread all over the ground about 18 inches deep.  The first people to arrive have already jumped into the sticky mud, and started their quest for buried Hanksite crystals.  Information gathered later revealed that there were 263 cars on this trip, with an average of three persons per vehicle.  Try to imagine about 800 people rooting around, sitting in, and wearing the blackish mud.  Children and adults of all ages have their hands in the mud, searching for their perfect Hanksite crystal.  Others are lined up elbow to elbow, at the troughs, cleaning their crystals in the brine.  It is pretty plain to see this is where the sacrificial clothing comes into play, as there is no saving anything after stepping into this black, tar-like looking mud.   Unfortunately for some, they embark on a new search, not for crystals, but for their submerged shoes stuck in the black goop.   

After our allotted dig time of two and a half hours, the trip organizer informs us we must be "off the property."  With buckets fully loaded with awesome Hanksite crystals and a weight that was almost impossible to carry, I headed back to the car with my treasures.   Wow, what a time! Eight hundred-plus people slopping around in the mud for crystals – words cannot describe it! 

After a change of clothes, I am now ready for the "Blow Hole Trip.”  This trip offers an opportunity to obtain a different crystal form of Hanksite, Sulfohalite, and Borax.  Once again, a guided convoy of vehicles takes off onto dirt roads surrounding the salt-encrusted lakebed.  Visible on the salt deck as we arrive is a huge upside-down L-shaped pipe sticking out from the salt floor.  This by far is the cleanest trip, and is quite popular, as there were 318 cars present, with an estimated 1,000 people hunting these crystals on a sunny, hot Saturday.  In an effort to bring these crystals out from below the salt surface, explosive charges were detonated about 50 feet deep, a few days before we arrived.  Walking out onto the deck, we see many crystals which were blown out on the days before.  For our trip today, the charges have been previously detonated, and all that remains is the air that will force them out the pipe for us to collect.   

Daybreak brings another warm day for the basin, along with the pancake breakfast. This is the day we dig for Pink Halite in the brine pools.  These crystals are hopper in form, and reach their peak only at this time of year.  If conditions are right they can be plentiful and quite large, about one and a half inches square.  Again, in a convoy of vehicles we approach the collecting site. The entire site looks as if it were a frozen lake, not the hardened saline that it is.  Amazingly, over 300 vehicles turned out for this trip, well over 1,000 people.  As we all head out to dig, it is most entertaining to watch the various contraptions folks utilize in the transportation of their halite: wheelbarrows, stretchers, wagons, and dollies, along with a few homemade rigs.  It is quite common to walk over a quarter mile before a brine pool is found, so these transport vehicles are of great use.  Walking with tools and breaker bar in hand, I finally came across a dark magenta-colored pool of brine.  I begin to search underneath the ledge for the squared corners of the halite crystals that I hope will be present.  Standing in the brine pool and using the breaker bar, I have broken off hard chunks of Burkite, on which Halite forms.  Anticipation runs high each time I bring up a chunk of what I hoped would be a classic specimen from the bottom of the brine pool.  After using the breaker bar for a few hours and many halite samples later, I called it quits, met up with other members from our club, shared stories and called it a day.  With clean clothes on, it is time to head back home with my prizes.  This was a challenging, fun weekend – the logistics, the mud, the people, the show. Now the road home will offer thoughts of cleaning and preserving the treasures of my trip into the unique saline world of Trona.