we were about to start back for the shop, of
course, I spied another smaller piece (about the size of a
walnut) that had some lovely reds and oranges in it. I decided
that would make a good necklace pendant. When we got back to the
gift shop we met the owners, Linda and Dennis Searggant, and told
them we were going to do a story on their mining operations.
Well, Linda took my small piece of stone and said she would
polish it up for me. She did, and we were able to find a mount
and chain for it. It turned out really pretty. I liked the fact
that I found it, in the rough, and was able to see it became a
piece of jewelry I could wear. While Linda was doing this Dennis
took the large rock out to the workshop where he cut a large
piece of it off. It is fascinating to watch the steps that 
take
place between a rough stone and a finished product. First he cut
a slice off the stone, then he polished the stone using six
different grades of grinders. Then the finishing touch was done
with a leather belt that has diamond chips imbedded in it.
Truthfully, I was a little nervous watching Dennis work because
his hands were so close to the belt, but he explained that the
belt was especially constructed to cut rocks not people. Well, by
the time he had gotten finished the results were fantastic!
Between my choice and his artistry it came out really lovely.
While I was waiting for Dennis to work his artistry on my rock I
started looking around found a perfect piece of cut and polished
Agate in an 
Oval shape for Bob to imbed in one of his
walking sticks. We found out that currently they ship out about 100 lbs of agate a week to places and people all over the world. A good bit of what they mine is processed on site at the little workshop adjacent to the gift shop. The large rocks they bring in are broken up into workable pieces, cut up, polished and/or tumbled, until they have salable items, such as clocks, pen stands, various pieces of jewelry and just lovely polished pieces of agate. We found out from Linda and Dennis that they had just finished the largest work they had ever done. It was the profile of an Indian. Dennis did most of the work himself, which took him a full
summer (1999). He finished it in May of this
year and it was transported some 40 miles east to a small town
called Dorion and put in place on the wall of a canyon. Not even
considering the amount of work he had to do, just the
transporting and placing of the Indian was a tremendous
undertaking. Fortunately, everything went according to plans and
they were able to stand back and look on it with a great deal of
pride.If you ever get to Thunder Bay you have to be sure and stop at the Thunder Bay Agate Mine. If you would like to take a look at their website and see what items they have to offer, stop by at: http://www.agatemine.com.
