Minor part of major find

BURNS LAKE -- Most of Canada's best miners started out the way Darien Price has.

Since before he could remember, Price has been in love with rocks and fossils. The Grade 6 student at Francois Lake elementary has a certain advantage - he is the honorary godson of the entire Lakes District Rock and Gem Club. He is also the son of Doug Price, who's known for discovering the biggest single chunk of ultra-rare North American Collinsite.

"Collinsite was found at Francois Lake and nowhere else in Canada," said Richard Brown, one of the Central Interior's most active rockhounds.

"In Europe there are some findings of it, and only a few rocks have been found recently in the United States that are shown to be Collinsite," said Ernie Olinyk, another veteran prospector from the Lakes District. "It was first discovered in 1937 by a surveyor and geologist named William H. Collins on the Brown Road at Francois Lake."

The Price find has since cracked into two pieces, but both chunks are individually still the record setters. They were on display at the Minerals North 2012 conference this week.

When Doug found it not far from his home near Shaeffer Lake, not far from the original Collins find, Darien was still so young that he rode on his dad's shoulders and the big stone - then about the size of a medicine ball - was carried home by Doug.

So important was this find to amateur geologists that the joke became that if the Collinsite was any bulkier, Doug would have had to leave Darien behind.

The boy was too young to remember the incident, but he says he now knows the rare rock "is awesome" and has always understood the value of it to rockhounds.

He is not just a token kid among the elders who make up the Lakes District Rock and Gem Club. He is a frequent participant in their rock seeking activities. He also studies rocks, gems and minerals of the area, and considers it a favourite pastime.

A steady stream of school children visited the booths at Minerals North 2012, learning about the mining industry and rock collecting.

"I knew about mining gold, but I learned there was a lot of other stuff the miners look for," said Anastasia Troy, 10, of William Konkin Elementary. "We got to go out to a pit and find our own rocks. I got one called a three-in-one. That was neat."

Rock and gem club members are hoping to see an introductory geology course being offered at the Burns Lake campus of CNC in the near future. That, they said, will be a big next step in turning enthusiasts like Darien Price into prospectors and the leaders of the mining industry of the future.