An ammonite mining company is offering a reward after a fossil worth thousands of dollars was stolen in broad daylight Thursday.
Workers at the mine near Lethbridge, Alta., were taking a lunch break when they noticed a couple men at the opposite end of the open pit mine.
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One man stuffed the fossil from an ancient, coiled shellfish into his backpack and took off.
The miners chased the thief but backed off when he threatened them with a pickaxe.
The man escaped in a pickup truck which was later spotted from the air parked by another ammonite mine.
Mine owner Tom Chant says the fossil could be worth $50,000 when finished and polished.