WGS Members were invited by Bill Schoenfuss to dig for Moonstone in Marathon County at a private location. It was a farmers field and surface collecting yielded and deeper digs yielded some good results.
Moonstone is actually a mineral called anorthoclase feldspar.
The unique properties of this feldspar is that it has a schiller when light strikes it at certain angles and it gives off a blue hue thus the name Moonstone.
The bedrock where the moonstone is located is a pyroxene syenite (PSY) which is part of the Wausau Intrusive Complex that dates to approximately 1.6 billion years ago when a large body of magma intruded beneath the Wausau area. This section of a geologic map of Marathon County shows the locations of the pyroxene syenite (PSY). It is all located on private land.
The field of moonstone collectors.
WGS Club Members enjoyed getting dirty and digging for moonstone.
There were lots of great finds that looked even better once they were washed and cleaned.
If this type of collecting interests you, think about joining our club. We will be digging next year as well as visiting another quarry.