According to Fréttablaðið newspaper, a park ranger in Teigarhorn nature reserve, East Iceland, caught a family of three mining away for zeolite stones found within the reserve.
The family, a husband and wife and their ten year old son, had been collecting the precious stone for some time before being approached by the park ranger. They had in their possession a hammer, chisel and chemicals needed to analyse stones.
According to the park ranger the family, who are holidaying in Iceland, first tried to hide their booty and erase any traces of vandalism, but then proceded to tell her that the area was full of zeolite and they had only taken a little.
Natural zeolites form where volcanic rocks and ash layers react with alkaline groundwater and are found in abundance in the Teigarhorn nature reserve. However, it is against the law to remove stones from the area.
In 2009 a couple of million’s worth of zeolite was stolen from the Teigarhorn stone museum.
According to Fréttablaðið newspaper, a park ranger in Teigarhorn nature reserve, East Iceland, caught a family of three mining away for zeolite stones found within the reserve.
The family, a husband and wife and their ten year old son, had been collecting the precious stone for some time before being approached by the park ranger. They had in their possession a hammer, chisel and chemicals needed to analyse stones.
According to the park ranger the family, who are holidaying in Iceland, first tried to hide their booty and erase any traces of vandalism, but then proceded to tell her that the area was full of zeolite and they had only taken a little.
Natural zeolites form where volcanic rocks and ash layers react with alkaline groundwater and are found in abundance in the Teigarhorn nature reserve. However, it is against the law to remove stones from the area.
In 2009 a couple of million’s worth of zeolite was stolen from the Teigarhorn stone museum.
