A Year in the Life of Artisanal Miners

  • March 22, 2025 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

  • Rice NW Museum of Rocks & Minerals

    26385 Northwest Groveland Drive
    Hillsboro, Oregon 97124
Ticket Price $5.72-$22.13 Register Now
Description

Holly Rust and Brendan Traw will share the thrill of artisanally extracting world-class mineral specimens from Pacific Northwest localities, such as Spruce Ridge in King County Washington, and then preparing them to join the collections of mineral enthusiasts world-wide. Through a photographic narrative, they will share a year's worth of activities involved in this process!

Coffee, tea, and dessert served at 4pm. Lecture to begin at 4:30pm.


Holly Rust

A Pacific Northwest native and lifelong mineral collector, Holly Rust is following in the footsteps of her parents.  Today she is an artisanal miner with mining operations in Washington (Spruce Ridge and Green Ridge) and Nevada (Hallelujah Junction).  As a licensed blaster, equipment operator, mineral specimen preparer/restorer and dealer, she brings beautiful specimens from her mines and other projects to customers worldwide.

Brendan Traw

Brendan Traw's passion for mining museum-quality specimens was ignited as a youth, collecting rocks and going on rockhounding road trips with his parents. One of his favorite localities is Spruce Ridge, where he mined alongside Bob Jackson for 20 years and honed his techniques.  He plans to continue mining for the rest of his years.

Date & Time

Sat, Mar 22, 2025 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Venue Details

Rice NW Museum of Rocks & Minerals

26385 Northwest Groveland Drive
Hillsboro, Oregon 97124 Rice NW Museum of Rocks & Minerals
Rice NW Museum

The Rice Museum of Rocks and Minerals houses a world-class collection recognized as the finest in the Pacific Northwest and one of the best in the nation. Located just west of Portland, Oregon, in Hillsboro, the Museum showcases not only fine rocks and minerals, but also fossils, meteorites, lapidary art, and gemstones from both the Pacific Northwest and all around the world. The Museum is listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its unique architectural style, natural stonework, and the extraordinary native Oregon woodwork found throughout the building.  

 

Our mission is to engage, inspire, and educate on the wonder and complexity of our earth. 


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