Agosto
2008
At
2am this morning the soldiers came and evacuated the residents of low lying
Calvillo, the rains
are still
coming hard and the dam is overflowing! Our miner amigos, just last week
went up into the mines one day and when they returned they were stopped
by a raging river that cut across the mountain trail - one miner said surprisingly,
"the new river was full of fish, there
hasn't been any flooding and never been any fish in the rivers here in
the last 40 years!??" So
with what few stones they were able to wade across with is time, is probably
all there will be
for awhile
- the mines are again innundated with water and collapsing.
If
there is a positive side to this, the miners
did catch alot of fish for their families,
which is a refreshing
addition to the nopales (cactus), beans and rice. Please say a prayer
for the miners of Calvillo and only buy fire
agate that is truly from the
miners - not the sharks and thieves that are
taking advantage of the current situation
and literally stealing from these amazing humble people.
Julio
2008
The
rains are back! A couple mines that were in the process of being cleaned
out have now filled with water. The Chispaso mine now is an 8 meter deep
swimming pool of mud. It has been a tough year for the miners, they need
the rains to assure the town of water throughout the year because the state
of Aguascalientes is always on drought alert. But, it financially hurts
the livelyhood of the miners and their families as well.
Junio
2008
Over
the past couple of months the Negrita, La Joya (La Trinidad) and the Las
Armarillas mines have become accessible as the miners dig through the dried
mud to
try and
get back to business. A new vein has opened up in the Negrita mine that
is producing small, yet very high quality multicolored fire agate nodes.
Our miner says you cannot see the fire until you crack them open and they
are alot
harder
to
crack than any other agates he has come across - he recommends that only
extremely experienced lapidarists try these new agates. We currently have
some of the new batches of rough available for sale on our fire
agate website - remember, half of all fire agate purchases go
directly to the miners and their families, as has been our agreement from
day one in negotiating
with our miner amigos for the best rough available on the mountain.
Febrero
2008
Things have been tough
for the miners these past few months... devastating rains have collapsed
and damaged all of the mines. The final storms were last September, but
there has been no access or mining going on since. Most mines are either
now filled with dried mud, or have tons of rocks and boulders blocking
the entrances. Heavy equipment is going to be needed to open
a few mines this
year (hopefully by this summer). Some mines could take years to get back
to the depths of agate that were being mined prior to July 2007.
Alot
of miners have started new businesses while waiting for the government
to help fund the miners in 2008. Some of Calvillo's best polishers
are currently growing guayaba fruit (Calvillo's number one export)
or nopali cactus, rough lots of fire agate and polished cabochons are
scarce! Some
miners still have small personal stashes from before the rains, but
are hesitant to part with them until the prospects in the Sierras start
to look better again.
Junio
2007
After two days of torrential rains in the Sierra Mountains above
and around Calvillo, the entrance to one of the major mines has collapsed. 'La
Trinidad' is no longer accessible, a
mudslide above the mine entrance has totally covered the area in deep mud and
rock. It may be a few months before it is safe to make a new opening, the miners
want to make sure the walls are stable first so they don't possibly lose the
entire
mine.
Mayo
2007
Waiting to get the machine back, venturing to
some of the higher up mines in the Sierras, the rains washed away part of some
mine floors and erroded the mouth of another, found some good multicolored and
purple
gems, a good week.
Abril
2007
Finally dry enough to dig, dug 12 feet into the mine floor at 'Armarillo'
- some amazing stones! The best we have seen in a year and a half, everybody
is excited.
Febrero 2007
Been raining heavy for 2 weeks... the digger is stuck at the mine - too
dangerous to go up, some mines are flooded, a couple are about
to collapse.
Febrero
2007
Finally received the digger from the government, we have one week before they
move the machine for another group of mineros to use.
C
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