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First Place

Kids are enjoying summer creatively thanks to the summer activity program at Fernie Heritage Library.

More photos on page 12 Photo by Mike Bull

Crafty kids

Miner’s jurassic fossil findBy Rebecca EdwardsFree Press Staff

The largest moveable ammon-ite fossil ever found in Canada was unearthed by a miner at

Coal Mountain six years ago – but it is so heavy, no museum has ever displayed it.

Structural engineers said the 5,500 lb fossil could damage the floors at Courtenay Museum on Vancouver Island if it was displayed there.

But now two lightweight exact replicas have been made so the fossil can be examined up close.

The 150 million year old, 1.5 metre diameter, 5,500 lb fossil has been sit-ting out of sight in the loading area of the paleantology centre since it was donated by mine owners Teck in 2006.

Hydraulic shovel operator Richard Budd noticed the unusual rock among his shovel load during a night shift in winter 2004, and set it aside for geologists.

Speaking to The Free Press this week, Budd, of Hosmer, said he was pleased to hear the fossil could finally be displayed.

He added: “I picked it up and

right away I knew it was different from the ridges on the rock. I moved it out to the side and a load operator came and picked it up.

“When the geologists saw it in the morning, they were pretty excited about it.”

Nic Milligan of Teck said this week that one of the replicas may be moved to the company head-quarters in Vancouver, but another replica may be commissioned to go on display in Sparwood.

The other replica will be dis-played at the paleantology centre in Courtenay.

Milligan added: “It is not uncom-mon to find fossils at the mines although nothing of this scale.

“The beauty of it is that it com-pletes the picture of where the coal came from and how it formed.”

The ammonite is the second lar-gest of its kind found in Canada. The largest is located near Coal Creek in Fernie and is so heavy and delicate it cannot be extracted from the mountain.

The mold and replicas of the Coal Mountain fossil have been made by a company called Palcoprep based in Drumheller. The polyurethane

replicas have now been cast and are being painted. They weigh less than 150 lbs.

Company president Frank Hadfield said the ammonite was a sea creature similar to a squid or octopus that would have had tentacles emerging from its coiled shell and an eating apparatus like a

parrot’s beak.Hadfield said ammonites became

extinct at the same time as dino-saurs, but this ammonite dates fromearlier in the Jurassic period.

He added: “There haven’t beenmany fossils of that size found –most ammonites are the size of adinner plate.”

The 1.5 metre ammonite, which was discovered by Coal Mountain mine

worker Richard Budd in 2004. Photo by Palcoprep