Japanese Film Crew Covers Mt. Ida World Championship Crystal Dig
October 11, 2009 8:33 AM
Zoie Clift
A Japanese film crew from Nihon
TV covered The World Championship Quartz Crystal Dig in Mount Ida this weekend.
The footage is expected to be viewed by 15 million Japanese TV viewers. The
event is held annually the second weekend in October. A Gem & Mineral show
as well as a Quilt show is also held over the weekend. During the dig,
contestants compete for cash and trophies and can keep all the crystals they
mine during the contest. Due to rain the crystal fields were quite muddy but
that didn’t stop competitors from digging in.
Dig sites this year included Sweet Surrender, Arrowhead, and Fiddler’s
Ridge (Bear Mountain).
The Mount
Ida area has been identified as one of the major deposits of quartz crystal in
the state and makes up a major “quartz belt” within the Ouachita
Mountains.
For more information visit www.mtidachamber.com.
I had a blast.
Entry By: Bruce ORourke
Date: 11/23/2009