Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 22/01) - Prospectors, miners, geologists and the reason they came to Yellowknife will be showcased within a six-sided quartz crystal.

"I don't get a lot of opportunity to do this kind of work," said Danny Weremczuk, the carpenter who is building a display case.

Carpenter Danny Weremczuk ponders the six-sided display case he is building at the Yellowknife airport. - Thorunn Howatt/NNSL photo

The crystal is actually made of maple and inside it are the rocks and minerals that help make up Yellowknife's history.

Weremczuk was contracted to build the unit by a group of Yellowknifers who call themselves Spirit YK. Funding also came from the Walter A. Gibbons Memorial Fund.

"The case is dedicated to the memory of Walter and to all the other geologists, prospectors and mineral lovers who have worked in the North," said prospector Walt Humphries.

He hopes the display will bring a sense of Northern mining history to more than 350,000 visitors to the city's airport.

The project took about three months to complete and gave Weremczuk a chance to strut his stuff.

"There are lots of carpenters around but they are busy building houses and we wanted someone who could do the finer work," said Humphries.