If they had their druthers, Chris and Melissa Robak would probably be digging and scratching the ground at some secluded site.
But being surrounded by gemstones, minerals and other geological specimens — and rubbing shoulders with rockhounds from Alberta and beyond — might be the next best thing.
The owners of Silver Cove in Lacombe Centre Mall launched their third annual Gem and Mineral Show in the mall on Thursday. Continuing until March 4, the event has grown into what is probably the biggest of its kind in Western Canada, said Melissa.
This year, the displays fill Silver Cove’s 2,000-square-foot premises as well as another 1,000-square-foot bay in the mall and five kiosk sections.
“We have literally taken over,” said Melissa.
Most of the gems, minerals, fossils and other collectables at the show belong to the Robaks, who have been collecting for years.
“Rockhounding is our passion,” said Melissa. “From the May long weekend until the snow flies, we are out digging any chance we can get.”
Much of that digging occurs in Alberta, where common finds include angel wing quartz, chalcedony, agate and petrified wood.
The Robaks even recently secured a claim site for ammolite in Southern Alberta.
“We usually head up to the Northwest Territories once each year,” said Melissa, listing Ontario, New York State, Arizona and California as among the other places they’ve prospected.
Many pieces in their collection originated from much further afield: from fossilized lobsters from Australia to Bronze Age metal from Africa.
“We have stuff from all over the world,” said Melissa.
“We’ve actually got amber here with fossilized insects inside of them.”
They’ve obtained Roman coins and other artefacts, coal recovered from the Titanic, remnants of the Berlin Wall and trinitite — the glassy residue left on the desert floor in New Mexico after a nuclear bomb test there in 1945.
“We have some really rare items, but when we get them in quantities we will put some out for sale,” said Melissa.
In 2006, the Robaks began using a mobile unit to showcase their collection at such places as the Calgary Stampede and Capital EX.
“We did upward of 200 shows a year, so we were on the road non-stop. But we reached a point where people really wanted to find us when we weren’t at a show.”
That led to them setting up a shop in Lacombe Centre Mall in 2009. There, visitors can now find and buy raw stones, cut and polished gems, and finished jewelry.
“We have a full lapidary facility, so we can actually take it literally from rock to gem,” said Melissa.
Supplies and classes are available for do-it-yourselfers, and Silver Cove even organizes group and private rock hunting expeditions.
“You don’t have to go far to find some really unique stuff here,” said Melissa. “Being as Alberta is a glacier flow, you never really know what you’re going to find.
“On occasion you’ll find amethyst here, you’ll find snow quartz, you’ll find garnets in matrix and stuff like that.”
Chris made headlines last fall, when he and a group of Grade 3 students he was guiding discovered the fossilized remains of a snapping turtle near Blackfalds. The first such find in Alberta, and believed to be 60 millions years old, it’s now in the hands of the Royal Tyrrell Museum.
Rockhounding and gem processing were popular in the 1960s and 1970s, said Melissa, but then fell from public favour. They’ve made a comeback in recent years, with youngsters leading the surge.
“I’d say probably one out of every three kids is in love with rocks,” she said.
This renewed interest is evident at the Gem and Mineral Show, which draws people from Saskatchewan and British Columbia. The show also attracts a number of metaphysical practitioners, including those involved in jin shin jyutsu, ion foot cleansing, card readings, past life regression, hypnotherapy and reiki.
“You’ll see a lot of them working stones into their healings,” explained Melissa.
Metaphysical practitioners will be offering their services at the show. There will also be sessions devoted to geology and lapidary.
The Gem and Mineral Show continues at Lacombe Centre Mall until March 4, with its hours 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Silver Cove also stages a Rocktober Gem Show every fall.
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com