WEST PARIS – In mineral-rich Oxford County, avid rockhounds Zoltan, Jody and Tristan Matolcsy and geologist Jim Clanin struck pay dirt last month.

Not with a mine, but rather, a business venture: Western Maine Mineral Adventures, which is located on Route 26 beside Mollyockett Motel, a mile north of Trap Corner.

For a per bucket fee, customers can screen trucked-in mine-pocket tailings – rocks and dirt laden with green, black, blue, pink and watermelon tourmaline crystals; purplish lepidolite; smoky, white and pink quartz; garnet; beryl and more.

“This is higher grade material than you normally find on mine dumps. You’ll find more color here,” Zoltan Matolcsy said recently.

“There are some astounding pieces coming out of here. One 4.84-carat gemstone is being cut into jewelry in Bethel. And we’ve already been frequented by the Midnight Bucket Bandito,” he added, speaking about a thief who carried off some of the rocks.

Jody Matolcsy (pronounced Ma-toll-chi), Zoltan’s wife, also takes customers on educational excursions to several now-closed but nearby gem mines. Their 10-year-old son, Tristan, helps customers identify their finds and demonstrates how to sift and wash the material to reveal the color.

“We knew this would fly, regardless of what the financial institutions said,” Zoltan Matolcsy said.

Tim and Fran Buck, who own and operate the Mollyockett Motel and Swim Spa, let the Matolcsys set up their business in a lot next to the motel.

“They’ve just been phenomenally incredible, gracious and giving,” Zoltan Matolcsy said.

Unable to get financing and permits to construct a lodge at the Matolcsy mine on Ryerson Hill in Paris and Buckfield, build a facility and classrooms, the Matolcsys and Clanin started growing their crystal dream on a shoestring budget.

“Operating out of a storage container is kind of humbling, but, this is just the beginning. I feel this is going to get big,” Zoltan Matolcsy said.

Likewise, added Debbie Sprouse, their first customer, who has returned four times since.

“I’ve collected rocks and minerals from all over the world and I’ve been coast to coast, but compared to tourmaline in California and North and South Carolina, this place beats them hands down. And, there’s some decent minerals in here,” said Sprouse, a customer service manager for a computer consulting company who flew to Maine from her Maryland home just to experience Western Maine Mineral Adventures.

On July 27, material being sifted came from Gary Freeman’s Mount Mica mine in Paris, where Jody Matolcsy once worked a season. It was trucked in by Zoltan Matolcsy’s longtime schoolmate, Keith Hadley, of Hadley’s Excavation next door.

The Matolcsys, who have gotten material primarily from Freeman’s mine, said they also expect to get amethyst tailings from the “Fourth of July” amethyst discovery in 1993 at the Intergalactic Gem Pit on Deer Hill in Stow, and tailings from other area mines.

The business is creating a ripple economic effect as customers take their gem finds to jewelers and gem cutters from Bethel to Waterford to craft into rings, necklaces, pendants and more or they visit Perham’s just down the road to get rock tumblers and tools

“Our business is going very well,” Jody Matolcsy said. “People coming here are comparing us to shows they’ve seen on the Discovery Channel. They say, ‘You have a goldmine here.’ This is going better than I ever imagined. It’s just a blast and, the joy of it is seeing other people find the treasures.”

“Rock collecting teaches you how to stop looking and begin seeing, to slow down and get back in touch with nature,” her husband added.

For more information, visit http://www.diggems.com/ or call 743-6286, or stop by, they’re open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, rain or shine.