Overview: A deserted quarrying area on the south side of SR 443 has recently become known as a site to find abundant small quartz crystals. I decided to visit it myself recently (June 2020) and I very quickly was able to open several pockets of quartz. It’s a great spot to learn how to find and collect quartz in Pennsylvania and is far less traveled than the Echo Pit in McAdoo.
Dropped pin showing the area where quartz crystals can be found.
Getting There: This location is located behind the Pizza Hut on SR 443 in Lehighton. Access is uncertain but it is not posted and I was not bothered for the two hours I spent there. Park at the Pizza Hut and walk through the grass to the location. There is a lower level and a higher level, both with quartz. The lower level is better for working veins in the rock while the higher is where you can ground score small crystals and plates.
Geology and Collecting: This locality is hosted in the Devonian age Marcellus formation, a black shale. Quartz formed in hydrothermal veins that shoot through the shale. Fossils are rare at this site, but they are common nearby. This shale has good cleavage and breaks nicely with a chisel.
Chasing a quartz crystal vein into the rock.
Notice the white bits of quartz stuck in brown mud.
I managed to locate a quartz vein on the cliff face in the lower level of the quarry. These veins won’t look bright white, but are often filled with a little brown sticky pocket mud which covers the crystals making them hard to see. Follow the scraps of quartz stuck to the wall down to where it leads into the rock. Use a flat chisel and prybar to remove the shale surrounding the vein. The quartz crystals won’t look all bright and sparkly until you wash them off later.
Crystals at this locality are typically not large, but they are abundant. I did find one crystal slightly over an inch, but 95% of them are under one half inch long. They are colorless, often quite clear and have a very typical quartz form. I have not seen any inclusions or found any quartz with color at this location.
A large crystal from a vein in the front, lower portion of the locality right after extraction.
A quartz cluster after extraction.
Conclusion: This is a great, low key spot for beginners looking to find their own quartz crystals. Not only is it close to the car and very easy to get to, it provides an opportunity to either work the hard rock or chill out and groundscore. For the more advanced collector, there is definitely potential for some larger, higher quality quartz in the area. Perhaps if a lot of effort was put into this site, something could open up. I have also found other quartz veins nearby. Who knows what’s really out there. Maybe something fantastic!
Overview: Specimens of smoky quartz forming in granite are commonly seen from Colorado, California, Montana, or New Hampshire and not associated with Wisconsin! Surprisingly, there have been quite a few nice specimens of smoky quartz and feldspar found in Wausau County, approximately around the Rib Mountain area. Known mostly among locals, this area hasn’t gained much popularity among collectors, but has the potential for many future great finds.
Smoky quartz from the Nine Mile Pluton in Wausau County, Wisconsin. 9cm field of view! Photo by Al Falster : https://wgnhs.wisc.edu/minerals/quartz/
A beautiful, gemmy beryl from the Nine Mile Pluton in Wausau County, Wisconsin. Tiny crystal. 2cm field of view. https://wgnhs.wisc.edu/minerals/beryl/
Prospecting: Even though most of the locations that yielded the specimens above are likely private, there are probably plenty of other areas one could find to dig crystals since specimens are recorded as coming from a variety of spots within the area. See Mindat for more info: https://www.mindat.org/loc-24286.html
Localities in Marathon County recorded to mindat.org
Viewing the image above, one can see there is a huge amount of localities in this area. Looking at the mineral list and description on Mindat, the location is known for extremely old rocks and nice exposures of them- “ Marathon County displays some of the best outcrops of Precambrian rock in the state. Many of the rock occurrences are of interest to the mineral enthusiast.”
Many of the ancient intrusions that blasted through the complex igneous and metamorphic country rock are of unusual compositions. Additionally, they are extremely weathered and “rotten” meaning they are very easy to dig through.
Granite when unweathered tends to be one of the most difficult rocks to work, and hard rock mining it is a laborious task. Due to the fact that that the granite has been decomposed to the point where it falls apart means no hammer or chisel would be needed to dig them. Perhaps just a shovel or pickaxe!
Notice how this granite is just falling apart into pebbles. At this particulat quarry, the Beilke Quarry, a variety of minerals were found including Microcline, Smoky Quartz, and Phenakite. This location is private and reclaimed.
It seems like the rotten granite occurs around Wausau. I would try to find some sort of public land you could freely prospect, or contact someone with interesting rotten granite or an abandoned quarry on their land. Crystals may be loose in the dirt, or may be clustered up and held together with clay within the weathered granite. Minerals found in the boulders are also reported. Weathering and alteration often left “cores” of more resistant rock.
This granite is “miarolitic” meaning as it rose when it was injected into the continent, gases dissolved within it bubbled out as it depressurized. These bubbles often were trapped in the solidifying rock before they could diffuse, and crystals grew inside as the rock cooled and vapors interacted with quartz, feldspars, and micas.
The premier location in the area appears to be the Bielke Quarry in Wausau, which unfortunately is reclaimed and off limits, but yielded beautiful specimens of amazonite that are of notable quality for the US. See: https://www.mindat.org/gallery.php?loc=24286&min=2704
Rib Mountain, contained within Rib Mountain State Park may be a good area to start learning about the local geology. Mineral collecting is likely not allowed in the park, but one could look around for crystals to understand the geology, but leave them be. Crystals have been reported as coming from Rib Mountain, so searching for pockets in granitic rocks exposed there may be a good place to understanding how to find them where you could regularly dig for them.
Searching around, I found a local talk about finding a large pocket of fine smoky quartz in his back yard. Props to this guy for having some nice collecting he can do so easily!
As you can see, a gorgeous smoky. Check his other Wisconsin minerals out here! http://huntforgems.com/minerals/wi.html
He states he found 32 crystals so far and they were embedded in a red clay. Interesting to note what he found them in.
Tools: Unlike some miarolitic granites which are very hard, these Wisconsin granites are often weathered to the point where you would expect to use a shovel, pickaxe, or hoe to move material. Use a screwdriver, chopstick, or bamboo skewer as a probe when you see anything that looks like a pocket. Wooden pocket tools are the safest for removing the crystals undamaged.
Unweathered granite is present in Marathon County too, and this can be mineralized. For this kind of rock, crack hammers, chisels, wedges, and prybars are likely your tools of choice.
There are a diverse array of minerals in this area of Wisconsin, so you will need to be creative and adaptable.
Conclusion: Considering the abundance of specimens of Smoky Quartz and Feldspar from Colorado, other locations with the same kinds of minerals are frequently overlooked. This example of such an overlooked area with similar mineralization deserves more attention, as it seems to be slipping into obscurity. This article serves as a guide to get the mental juices flowing, to help perhaps inspire a collector to make an exciting, beautiful find in this area.
Background:
The iconic New Hampshire locality, Moat Mountain has been popular for its gorgeous smoky quartz and microcline specimens for decades. New Hampshire is known as “The Granite State” so it is fitting that specimens at its signature locality occur in a granite. In many ways, these specimens bear resemblance to other granitic quartz and feldspars from throughout the US, such as those from Colorado and Montana. The association of smoky quartz and feldspar is very typical in a miarolitic granite. More about how exactly these crystals form later.
One of the few if only free, open to the public dig sites in New England where pocket smoky quartz crystals can be found, this location is maintained by the National Parks Service and is accessible from mid spring to early autumn. The severe winter weather in the area makes collecting during that time impossible. Nearly the entire mountain has various mineral locations for smoky quartz, amethyst, microcline, and fluorite, but please respect where the parks service allows and doesn’t allow digging.
Geology and Minerals:
This locality occurs in miarolitic granite and these crystals are over 200 million years old. The minerals at this location formed at the contact between the Conway granite and the Moat Mountain volcanics. These volcanic rocks were part of a very active ancient volcano. As they rose and depressurized, gasses escaping from them were trapped by the surrounding Conway granite, forming the smoky quartz, microcline, and other minerals. The chemistry of the gasses was pretty simple, but enriched in fluorine which gave rise to some of the rarer, highly collectible minerals at the site.
Minerals:
Smoky Quartz: Commonly found in miarolitic pockets. Gemmy, very lustrous smoky quartzes are abundant. Usually they are an inch or less, but crystals to over a foot have been found. Some of the Moat Mountain pockets have been massive. It is still possible to find large pockets here, but it requires a lot of both work and luck.
Some fantastic examples on Mindat of smokies collected at Moat. Note the red mud on the freshly pulled piece. These gorgeous specimens are proof good finds at Moat can still be made.
Fine Smoky Quartz Crystal from the Granite of New Hampshire
Microcline: Blocky crystals of microcline provide the matrix for many smoky specimens. They represent the walls of the miarolitic cavities. Often overlooked, these microclines make fine specimens on their own. Beautiful blue green amazonite and Baveno twinned crystals have been found on occasion.
Old school specimen of smoky and amazonite from Moat Mountain
Topaz and Fluorite: The ultimate Moat Mountain specimen is a fine topaz, however this mineral is extremely rare here. When found, it is known to produce gorgeous gem quality champagne, pale blue, or colorless crystals that are sometimes slightly etched. Specimens can exceed five centimeters.
Fluorite crystals to several centimeters in diameter have been found on Moat Mountain. Also a rarity, they are quite sought after. Fluorite is a fragile, sensitive mineral so it often weathers away if it is at all present in a pocket. It occurs primarily in green, blue, and purple at this locality and can form cubic or octahedral crystals.
Directions (From Forest Service):
From West Side Road in Conway turn onto Passaconaway Road. Travel 1.2 miles and turn right onto High Street (dirt road). This road leads into the White Mountain National Forest, passing a gate at 1.4 miles. At 1.7 miles, bear left and continue 0.7 miles to the parking area at the end of the road. The Moat Mountain Mineral Collecting Site is a 0.9 mile hike from the parking area. On the Mineral Site Trail, keep right at both branches.
GPS Coordinates: • Moat Mineral Collecting Site Trailhead: 44.021700, -71.169500
Collecting Tips: There are many ways to collect this material. A popular way is to dig through loose, weathered rock paying attention for crystals and pocket sections. A hand rake and shovel are good for this. It pays to dig deep, past areas that have already been searched.
Another method is searching ledges for pockets and working the rock. Observe how plants grow, often roots will follow crystal bearing pockets and seams because they are open space easy for them to take hold in. Breaking the granite is hard work and requires a lot of hammering and chiseling. An assortment of wedges, chisels, hammers, and prybars would be a good idea to bring. Use large, flat wedges to exploit cracks in the rock.
This location is remote, so bring food, water, and bug spray especially if you plan on staying there for a while.
If you enjoy quartz and want to find your own, the Diamond Hill Mine in Antreville, South Carolina provides the public with one of the only opportunities to collect so many varieties of it in one place. Many of these quartz crystals also have a gorgeous oxide coating adding splotches of reds, yellows, black, and browns to the surface. In addition to the quartz, pegmatites containing beryl and other minerals have been dug on the site. This amazing variety and abundance of material on just under three acres of land is why so many diggers flock to this special site.
These specimens of quartz, collected by John Krygier: https://www.mindat.org/gallery-13767.html, are typical examples of what you can find at this mine. The black coating is due to manganese oxides, and the orange coating is due to iron oxides.
Amazing amethyst cluster found by a guest to the mine. This photo of Diamond Hill Mine (Courtesy of Tripadvisor)
Smoky amethyst found at the mine and featured in their online gallery.
Geology: The Diamond Hill Mine is hosted in a granite, and is one of numerous quartz localities in the Eastern US to be hosted in such geology. As the granite cooled, water rich in silica and other chemicals became less soluble in the molten rock, escaping and creating veins hosting the quartz crystals. Pegmatites — coarse grained rocks also formed in the granite as a result of cooling, and these are where rare elements escaped to, forming minerals like beryl. Subtropical weathering broke down the feldspar in this granite into clay, exposing this deposit very slowly over the eons.
Digging: This is a site good for rockhounds of all experience levels. Hand tools are welcome and there are many strategies for collecting in the various pits at the mine. Be aware of which areas allow public digging. Machinery in the main workings dig up material for guests to search for in massive spoils piles. Surface collecting is your best option here. Bring gloves, a small rake or trowel, a screwdriver or stick to poke around, and some water to rinse off your finds.
You may also decide to try to find your own vein and work it. This method doesn’t guarantee you’ll get anything- the results vary, but there is a possibility for you to get incredible material if you develop a skill for understanding this location. You will need a hammer, chisels, pickaxe, shovel, buckets, and water for rinsing material to work these veins. You will likely have to move a lot of rock.
General Information & Pricing
Diamond Hill Mine
100 Diamond Mine Road
Abbeville, SC 29620
(864) 934-3744 or (864) 446-7357
Camping is available on site. Tents and small motor homes are welcome. Camping is free, but please call the mine in advance to make reservation. Call Gina Clary at (864) 934-3744 or email at dhmine@rocketmail.com.
Bring food and water! Also bring sunscreen and bug spray! The only facilities are an outhouse and picnic tables. There is no running water. The closest place for supplies is a mini-mart type gas station about 5 minutes away.
Digging is from time of registration to sunset.
Adults 18+ : $20
Teens 13-17: $10
Seniors 65+: $10
Children 6-12: $5
Children 5 & under: FREE (as well as non-collectors but they will not be allowed in the collecting area.)
For larger groups, discounts are available. Visit diamondhillmine.com for more information.
Pyromorphite and wulfenite are highly sought after by collectors because they are some of the most intensely colored species in the mineral kingdom. Pyromorphite is known for its diverse hues and shapes ranging from vivid green, to yellow, to orange and from hoppered hexagon, to hexagonal prism, to semispheroid. Wulfenite almost always forms yellow to orange-red square shaped tabular crystals. When mineral collectors think of these minerals, exotic international locations pop into their heads like China, Arizona, Idaho, Namibia, Morocco, and Mexico. Little do many mineral enthusiasts in the Northeast US know, there is a wonderful site to dig these minerals in Massachusetts. It is just rarely represented in the specimen market because the crystals are smaller and less abundant than the really famous spots. Regardless of that, most collecting sites in New England don’t provide vibrantly colorful and diverse oxidized minerals like this place, and none exist where you can pan for wulfenites in the river like you can at Loudville!
Beautiful combo of pyromorphite and wulfenite dug by my friend Alex Kim (@dirty_minerals on insta). Finding this piece is what inspired him to dig minerals. Check out more of his collecting adventures and amazing finds on his page!
History: The name “Loudville Lead mines” is used to refer to the many mines in a small district adjacent to the Manhan river in Northampton, Mass. Loudville is the name of a small village in the area on the Easthampton and Westhampton line that was the nearest settlement during mining activity (2). The Loudville Lead mines are some of the oldest colonial mines in the US. Discovered by Robert Dyer in the late 1670s (1), they experienced several periods of mining from the 17th through 19th century. The first phase was from discovery until the American Revolution, which halted operations. I have heard though I cannot confirm that lead from Loudville was used in Revolutionary munitions like musket and cannonballs. Ethan Allen, famous hero of the American Revolution worked Loudville in the late 1700s after giving up prospecting Mine Hill in Roxbury, CT for silver (3). This mine was worked intermittently throughout the 19th century, last in 1865.
an early sketch of the geology of the lead ore vein at Loudville from Richardson, Charles (1854): Northampton District. The Loudville Mine (Mining Magazine Vol. 2 pp 13-20.
Mineralogy: Pyromorphite and Wulfenite are the most sought after minerals at this location and often they are hard to see. When you find material that shows any hint of green or orange, save it and delicately clean it at home. Do not use chemicals on minerals from Loudville with the exception of quartz. Many of these minerals will react even with iron out.
Secondary, oxidized minerals like Wulfenite and Pyromorphite are extremely rare in New England. Many of the oxidized zones (called supergene zones) of metal deposits in the region were removed by glaciers leaving mostly just sulfides which generally are massive and not aesthetic at the majority of locations in the region. Finding just one pyromorphite or wulfenite crystal at a lead deposit almost anywhere else in New England is a very rare experience.
Gorgeous specimens of pyromorphite collected by my friend Dustin Bartlett (@themodernnaturalist on instagra,) Dustin has collected Loudville extensively and his page is a good place to go to see what collectors are still finding there!
Lead secondary minerals such as cerussite, anglesite, and the rare leadhillite are also found at Loudville. Cerussite is expecially common and overlooked. The best way to spot it is by its high luster and understanding its unique crystallography. Frequently it exhibits twinning. Even though it is colorless, its appearance makes it immediately distinguishable from quartz and baryte- the two other colorless minerals here. The author has collected numerous fine cerussites at Loudville to nearly 2cm long.
Quartz is another very common mineral at Loudville that can be very pretty. Beautiful clusters of milky, smoky, amethystine, and combos of these three varieties of quartz can be found, crystals getting quite large! Many of the similar lead mines in the Northeast such as the closed to collecting Canton Lead Mine in Ct are known for colorful amethyst and smokies with lead secondaries. At Loudville, you will often find other minerals, especially pyromorphite and wulfenite coating the quartz.
Beautiful combo of pyromorphite on dark smoky quartz dug by Dustin Bartlett @themodernnaturalist on insta
The list of minerals at Loudville is extremely extensive and represents so many interesting combinations of lead, zinc, copper, sulfate, carbonate, silicate, etc. Under the microscope, a whole world of collectible material becomes available. Please see Mindat if you want to learn more: https://www.mindat.org/loc-3832.html
Directions and Equipment:
When digging here, please respect the boundaries to the collecting area! There has been a lot of digging outside of it and if it continues, the site may be closed within the next few years. Saying that, there are many strategies to collecting there, I will discuss two of them.
The first strategy involves digging into the dump and breaking rock to expose vugs. Use a shovel, hand rake, etc to turn over the dump and a crack hammer and chisel to break the material. The river is a convenient source of water to wash pieces off you can’t see clearly. Often the mud can obscure the crystals. Move slow and be careful.
An especially interesting technique people have been successful with here is panning for wulfenite in the river using a gold pan. Wulfenite is very dense compared to other minerals and will readily separate out in your concentrate. Use tweezers to pluck them out and I strongly advise you put them into a vial of water since they are fragile and very easy to lose.
In addition to the tools I outline above, other things you will want to bring is food, water, bug spray (it gets bad in the summer), sunscreen, and waterproof footware. This is a great place to bring dogs as many of them love swimming in the river. Just keep them on leash and be respectful to other dog owners.
To get to the site, it is very simple. Navigate to the pin on the embedded map and look for a small parking area. Park there and make your way down to the edge of the river. The collecting areas are clearly marked.
Article By Jeremy Zolan
Sources:
https://www.mindat.org/loc-3832.html
(1) Trumbull, James R. (1898): History of Northampton Massachusetts from its Settlement in 1654, Gazette Printing Company, Northampton Massachusetts: 358-368.
(2) Robinson, G.R. Jr., and Woodruff, L.G. (1988): Characteristics of Base-metal and Barite Vein Deposits associated with Rift Basins, with Examples from some Early Mesozoic Basins of Eastern North America, in Studies of Early Mesozoic Basins of the Eastern US, Frolich, T.J. and Robinson, G.R. Jr., Editors, USGS Bulletin 1776: 377-390.
(3) Hall, Henry (1895). Ethan Allen: the Robin Hood of Vermont, Appleton and Company, New York.
Prospecting for Quartz in New York
By Jeremy Zolan
New York is a state with an abundance of quartz localities. These locations produce crystals of a huge
array of styles from many diverse geologies. While most famous for beautiful Herkimer diamonds from
the Mohawk river valley, there are many other kinds of deposits found within the woods of New York.
This brief guide will highlight some things to look for when out in the field and what tools may be
useful. There is a lot in NY state that may be overlooked!
Two beautiful smoky quartz crystals the author found in the Hudson Valley. The author used the techniques and tools in this article to find and collect these beautiful quartzes
Most of the quartz deposits in NY differ considerably from the deposits in the Herkimer area, which are
the most well known. While the Herkimer “Diamond” deposits focus on a sea of isolated pockets that occupy layers in the host dolostone,
most of the other localities in New York work vein deposits. These veins often appear as white quartz
that shoots through the rock, twisting and turning in various lengths, rather different than the deposits the Herkimer Quartz is found.
Often there is a higher probability of finding crystals where you see these
veins intersecting because more space is available for growth at the meeting point. It is important to
take note of the geology in the area where you are to search. Often if you see faulting or contacting,
there can be movement of fluid that can produce crystals. As for contacting, notice that the richest
quartz deposits often form where two different rock types touch, for example sedimentary and igneous
or sedimentary and metamorphic. There is chemical exchange between the rocks which promotes
crystal growth. Getting familiar with some basic geology really does help. Here is a photo below of a
textbook example of a contact in NY of sedimetary rock with the metamorphic basement. If you see
veins originating at this junction of rock, there is a higher chance they will have interesting minerals or
nice pockets.
A contact between sedimentary and metamorphic rock in New York
Original Image Source: By Michael C. Rygel – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29021804
Lets say you have found an interesting vein and are looking to assess it and its potential for specimens.
If you see a hole in the rock, it is in your best interest just to take a look.
It is important to look for pockets containing crystals, or loose material that may have fallen out of a pocket into the talus below.
If you see any mud coming from the veins, especially if it is a reddish or orange color, check it out it as that may
contain crystals! Sometimes pockets can be just filled with dirt or totally clean too.
There is a bit of a list of what tools you will need to prospect and dig quartz in NY. Preparation is
critical. Keep in mind that you will often be looking in rural areas where there will be little or no
service, and having a GPS is often essential. I personally use a Garmin GPSMap 64st which is great,
but if you wish to have birdseye satellite imagery available to you, the Garmin GPSMap 66 series will
make all your wildest GPS dreams come true.
As for the tools you need, I notice that I pack very differently when I am going to prospect versus when
I am going to dig somewhere I already know about. Talking to my good NY prospector friend Dustin
Bartlett (@themodernnaturalist on instagram) we have made some lists of supplies you can buy easily
to get started.
Prospecting Pack:
The goal of the prospecting pack is mobility and sample collection. Use a small backpack you don't
mind getting dirty for this. Remember to pack ample water and supplies as you may be in the woods for
hours looking. The focus of your tooling should be light and versatile. Choose tools that are good for a
variety of environments. Here are the tools I would choose for this-
Also:
A chopstick for removing crystals from pockets undamaged
Wrapping Material
Water and Food
Notebook and Camera
I really think these lists should give you what you need to prospect and mine nearly any kind of quartz
deposit in NY other than the Herkimer deposits. You'll find that there will be cases where you might
have to use other tools and leave some of these home. Be creative! You will have to be adaptable and
try different things for different locations. Go out there, get dirty, and hit pockets!
Gorgeous chlorite included quartz Dustin Bartlett (@themodernnaturalist on insta) dug from his Lil' Give prospect on the Mass/NY line. Dustin discovered this brand new prospect and mined it using the techniques and tools discussed above.
Locality:
Ellenville Quartz Mine, Ellenville, Ulster County, NY
To showcase one of New Yorks’ MANY quartz locations, we are showing you the Ellenville Quartz deposits. Once mined for iron and copper ore, this location has produced tons and tons of fine quartz crystals that form in quartz fissures.
This old mine has produced many specimens of quartz and pyrite over the years and there is still great
material there to be found. I recommend you park at Berme Road Park and walk to the mine, where the
red pin is. On the back wall you'll find pyrite and quartz crystals. Sometimes you can also find other
minerals like galena and sphalerite.
Pecos Valley Diamonds, also called Pecos Diamonds, have been collected by New Mexico rockhounds and mineral collectors for well over one hundred years.
Like many other colloquial mineral monikers (another well-known example is “Herkimer diamonds”), these “diamonds” are not diamonds at all, butquartz crystals. The glint of reflected sunlight off the faces of these quartz crystals can give the barren desert the appearance of being “paved with diamonds” (Albright and Bauer 1955).
Pecos Valley Diamonds are found in the southeastern region of New Mexico, exposed in dispersed outcrops that span 100 miles long by as much as 25 miles wide. Though the area where outcrops are found is expansive, Pecos Valley Diamonds are limited to a very specific geologic unit: the Seven Rivers Formation, a back-reef segment of the Guadalupe reef sequence. The crystals are authigenic, meaning they have formed in place with no transportation via water or wind, though they often have weathered out of the much softer massive gypsum host rock. Though authigenic quartz crystals are known in ancient shallow marine carbonate and evaporite series across the world, Pecos Valley Diamonds are of note for their variety of colors and forms and for their impressive size (up to ~12cm, though more often ~2-3cm) for this type of deposit.
One of the most appealing aspects of Pecos Valley Diamonds is the immense variety. They occur as doubly terminated crystals (less often in radial groupings) in a multitude of colors ranging from reds, oranges, and yellows, to whites, blacks, browns, and sometimes even hues of purples, pinks, and greens, and a variety of habits including prismatic, quartzoid, pseudocubic, and pseudotrigonal.
The wide variety of colors in Pecos Valley Diamonds has not yet been fully explored. Observational evidence indicates the coloration is largely due to inclusions: Pecos Valley Diamonds found still embedded in the host rock take on the color of the gypsum, even to the point of preserving the color banding found along laminations or fracture joints (Tarr and Lonsdale 1929).
The geological setting (see Geology below) of these crystals allows for the transition between gypsum and anhydrite, and zonal inclusions of anhydrite rather than gypsum have been reported (Nissenbaum 1967). However, the exact nature of those inclusions is still somewhat enigmatic: early reports refer to “ferruginous” (iron-rich) quartz or hematite inclusions in quartz, but analysis of similar quartz crystals from Spain indicate the red coloration is due to clay inclusions rather than hematite (Gil Marco 2013). Nearby occurrences of aragonite crystals also show coloration determined by inclusions of clay. Additionally, some coloration is suspected to be related to hydrocarbon inclusions (Albright and Lueth 2003). Of further interest, many of the quartz crystals are fluorescent, though the source of that phenomenon has not been explored.
The predominant habit found is single doubly terminated prismatic crystals with the regular m prism topped by hexagonal pyramids of equal or near equal r and z rhombs. This habit of quartz is common all over the world, although the majority of crystals worldwide are not doubly terminated. This habit tends to have the most color variations of Pecos Valley Diamonds. Elongated crystals are more rare than short, stubby crystals, though they can be found in several known locations.
Though Pecos Valley Diamonds are most often found as prismatic crystals, the variety of equant (length, width, and depth are roughly equal) habits of quartz are of particular note.
Crystals that display equal or near equal r and z rhombs, but significantly lacking m faces display a quartzoid, or Cumberland, habit. This habit is often erroneously referred to as beta-quartz, which is a high-temperature polymorph of SiO2 that is unstable at room temperatures. The presence of this habit in the low-temperature environments of Pecos Valley Diamonds indicates that the quartzoid habit is not tied exclusively to high temperature deposition.
Two unusual equant habits in worldwide deposits are relatively common in Pecos Valley Diamonds: the pseudocubic habit and the trigonal habit. Both are described by dominant development of r-faces with minimal z-faces and next to no presence of m–faces, though the latter two forms are never completely absent. The pseudocube and the trigon can be differentiated crystallographically by the orientation of z-faces: the pseudocube features alternating r– and z– faces across the a-axis, while the trigonal form shows r– and z– faces mirrored across the a-axis (see crystal diagrams above).
Pecos Valley Diamond pseudocubic crystals are of particular note: while the pseudocubic habit is very unusual worldwide, Pecos Valley Diamonds boast an unusually high percentage of crystals in this habit and crystals can reach sizes in excess of 5cm. Given the tendency for crystals to be fully formed and doubly terminated, coupled with availability, it can be argued that Pecos Valley Diamonds are the world’s best source for pseudocubic quartz.
Pecos Diamonds often display different lusters on different quartz faces. This is typically found in lustrous terminations (r– and z– faces) and dulled, or pitted, m-faces. Luster can also vary between r– and z– faces, creating alternating finishes on terminations.
Somewhat similarly, some Pecos Valley Diamonds are found with differing degrees of quality of quartz within the same specimen: very crudely crystalline “knobs” give way to well-formed and lustrous crystals. These are currently poorly understood and more research into the relationship between the crude crystals and their well-formed counterparts is needed.
Though Pecos Valley Diamonds are predominantly found as single crystals, crystal groupings can also be found. The dominant arrangement of multiple crystals is in a radial orientation, often with one central crystal oriented perpendicular to the rest.
Previous reports (Albright and Lueth 2003) have indicated the presence of Japan law twinned Pecos Valley Diamonds, though it is the opinion of the authors that further examination is needed to determine whether these geometries are truly Japan Law twins. There are a number of other unusual relationships between multiple crystals that are also worth further investigation, including crystal pairs that show indications of potential relationships along the c-axis.
As mentioned earlier, outcrops of Pecos Valley Diamonds are prevalent throughout the Seven Rivers Formation – this means that anywhere in the yellow area below is prime territory to find them.
Surface outcrops of the Seven Rivers Formation (highlighted in yellow) in Southeastern New Mexico. Modified from Albright and Lueth 2003.
We’ll give you directions to a few of our favorite spots, but we encourage you to take some time to explore on your own! You never know what you might find – though please be sure to check land status of where you’re at and obtain proper permissions.
BLM land is fair game for surface collecting, but private land is not. Many cattle ranches operate in this part of New Mexico – many times you can simply ask permission and you’ll be good to go. Many oil and gas operations are also active in this area – surface collecting is legal around these operations, but be respectful of equipment (re: do not touch it), and also be very aware of any signs or warnings posted indicating the presence of H2S gas – it can and WILL kill you. In short: be smart and be safe while you’re out!
Location 3 is the site of the first professional paper published on Pecos Valley Diamonds (Tarr, 1929) – crystals are white to pink and usually do not exceed more than 2 cm in length, but this is a fun spot for the history!
Other things you need to know:
The southern region of New Mexico is barren desert. There’s usually not a tree, and if there is, it’s probably a short and stubby one. If you are going to this area during the summer, be sure to be prepared for the heat: pack lots of water, bring sunscreen, etc. Surface collecting without shade in July can be pretty miserable even with all these preparations, so we recommend that you take this trip in the spring or fall. Winter is also an option, but just as the desert is prone to extreme heat in the summer, it has a tendency to be bitterly cold in the winter. New Mexico in the spring time is also known for wind – this is an unpleasant thing when your face is inches from the ground and you can’t see anything except the sand grains in your eyes. There’s not much to be done about the wind, but be aware that it is a possibility.
Other things to do in the area:
If you’re making this trip, there are some other really fantastic things in the area worth checking out. Schedule some of these into your trip, or keep these as a backup option if the weather is poor for collecting.
Number 1 for us on this list is Carlsbad Caverns National Park – this is arguably New Mexico’s pride and joy, and is around 2 hours from Roswell, New Mexico. This National Park protects hundreds of miles of natural cavern systems, including it’s namesake Carlsbad Cavern. There are many things to do while in this park: walking trails, cave tours, historical stops, etc., but we absolutely recommend that you try to make it for one of the Bat Flight Programsthat are held from late May through October – this experience is absolutely magical.
Rock of Ages in the Big Room, c. 1941; photo by Ansel Adams
Number 2: you’re near Roswell, New Mexico. You know what that means. Make a stop at the International UFO Museum and Research Center to explore your alien curiosity or grab some great knickknacks featuring little green men.
The Himalaya Mine is a location that rock and mineral collectors dream of: rich mineralization featuring gem minerals in stunning color! The extraordinary minerals that come from this mine have made it world famous – lucky for you, the mine offers a pay dig site where you can keep all you find!
Before we get to the pictures of pretty minerals, let’s talk a little about the history of the Himalaya Mine! (If you really can’t handle this part, you could scroll past, but you’d be missing out on some cool stuff!) The Himalaya Mine was officially located in 1898, though early reports indicate that local Indigenous Peoples knew of the gem crystals. Legend has it that white settlers located the mine after noticing Indigenous children playing with tourmaline crystals!
Gail Lewis was the original claim holder on the mine, though only held the property for four years. In 1902, J.L. Tannenbaum, an employee of Tiffany & Company and a very controversial man, acquired the property through claim jumping. Keep in mind, this is the original usage of the term “claim jumping,” meaning Tannenbaum filed another claim over the top of Lewis’ existing claim. Much legal to-do ensued over this, but Tannenbaum retained the property. The mine was then operated by Tannenbaum with J. Goodman Braye as mine superintendent. Braye is a very interesting figure in mining history, as his position as superintendent was one of significant power and respect and he also happened to be an African American in the early 1900s.
Original caption: “First workings on the Himalaya mine at Mesa Grande, which was later to become one of the greatest tourmaline producers in the world. Left to right: Heighway, who filed on the Himalaya for Tannenbaum of New York; Vance Angel (center above) who was foreman 1900 – 1912; J. Goodman Bray, Jr., colored protege of Tannenbaum who was in charge of the Himalaya; Lohrer, first foreman of the mine; La Chapa, Indian worker. Photo courtesy Vance Angel, Mesa Grande.” Reprinted from the bimonthly magazine Calico Print, Vol. IX, No. 4, July 1953, 40pp. The Calico Press, Twentynine Palms, California.
In the following ten years, reports indicate that 6 tons of tourmaline were shipped for use as lapidary material out of an estimated production of 110 tons produced by the Himalaya Mine and neighboring mines. This would equal value at the time of more than $750,000! By 1904, the surface workings were mined out and work had moved underground.
One of the principal demands for tourmaline was overseas in the Chinese market, where pink and red gemstones were highly prized by the Dowager Empress. This drove a highly speculative market until the overthrow of the Chinese aristocracy in 1911. The downfall of the Chinese aristocracy caused the tourmaline market to crash and ended the early production period at the Himalaya Mine.
Pink Tourmaline snuff bottles – 19th century – Qing Dynasty – photograph from Christie’s Auction House.
Sporadic small scale mining operations continued between 1913 and the early 1950s. In 1957, Ralph Potter began another attempt at systematic mining at the Himalaya, including rehabilitating several older underground workings and driving several new tunnels. Potter operated the mine for several years, but a collapse of the main tunnel in the winter of 1968-1969 ended underground mining.
In 1977, Bill Larson of Pala Properties International leased the property, later purchasing it in 1988. This period saw extensive tunneling and underground expansion, and produced a relatively consistent stream of minerals in comparison to earlier projects.
The Himalaya Mine is now operated by High Desert Gems & Minerals, who also facilitate the pay dig site.
Over its life, the Himalaya Mine has produced an estimated 250 thousand pounds of tourmaline and mineral specimens. In its most active 15 years, it produced more tourmaline than any other tourmaline mine in the world, including 5.5 tons in 1904 alone (the most tourmaline ever produced in a year).
For more on the history of the Himalaya Mine, see:
Fisher, J., Foord, E. E. and Bricker, G. A. (1999), The geology, mineralogy, and history of the Himalaya mine, Mesa Grande, San Diego County, California. California Geology 52(1): 3-18.
Jacobson, Mark Ivan (September 2010): Lippman Tannenbaum: President of the Himalaya Mining Co. and a Difficult Person, Mineral News, Vol. 26, No. 9.
Jacobson, Mark Ivan (January 2017): The Early History of the Himalaya Pegmatite Mine – San Diego County, California, Mineral News, Vol. 33, No. 1.
So, what you really want to know: what can you find?!
Tourmaline – Elbaite:
Tourmaline, Lepidolite, and Quartz – 14 cm across – photograph from Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com.
The Himalaya Mine’s most notable mineral is tourmaline, a complex hexagonal boron-aluminum-silicate mineral group. Most tourmaline from the Himalaya Mine is the species elbaite. The tourmalines can range in color from black to vivid pink to apple green, and some crystals even feature multiple colors! Blue tourmaline is also present, but is rarely found.
Approximately 5% of tourmaline from the Himalaya Mine are gemmy, meaning they have the high translucency that allows them to be faceted into glassy gem stones.
Elbaite – a gemmy crystal showing greens and pinks – 3.9cm tall – photograph from Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com.
Lepidolite:
Lepidolite on Hambergite – 4.5cm tall – photograph from Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com.
Lepidolite is a series of the mica group minerals. Lepidolite is rich in lithium, though the pink to red color of lepidolite is usually attributed to manganese content. Because lepidolite is a mica group mineral, it is often very flaky, but some material can be used in lapidary work.
Quartz:
Quartz on Microcline – 7.8cm – photograph from Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com.
Since the Himalaya Mine is a pegmatite mine, quartz is common throughout the deposit. It can occur as clear “rock crystal” quartz, milky quartz, and even smoky quartz. Some top specimens feature tourmaline or other minerals attached to quartz in beautiful ‘combination’ specimens.
Elbaite on Quartz – 6.0 cm – photograph from Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com.
Microcline:
Microcline (Carlsbad twin) – 6.0 cm – photograph from Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com.
Like quartz, feldspar is an integral part of the mineralogy of the Himalaya Mine. The most common feldspar species found is microcline. Microcline from the Himalaya Mine is often beige to colorless, and can featured etched surfaces as well as crystallographic twinning. Microcline is rarely gemmy from anywhere in the world, and this is also true at the Himalaya: it will likely appear as blocky opaque white-ish crystals.
Etched Microcline (twinned) with Albite and Lepidolite – 10.1 cm – photograph from Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com.
Albite – variety Cleavelandite:
Albite on Orthoclase with Tourmaline – 8.6cm – photograph from Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com.
Albite is another of the feldspar species present at the Himalaya Mine. It often occurs as the variety Cleavelandite, which occurs as thin, platy crystals. Cleavelandite at the Himalaya Mine often occurs in beautiful rosettes of colorless to very faint blue, and can often be somewhat translucent.
Albite on Microcline with Quartz and Lepidolite – 25.0 cm – photograph from Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com.
Fluorapatite:
Apatite – 2.3cm – photograph from Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com.
Fluorapatite from the Himalaya Mine is a uncommon, but is worth looking for! Colors range from colorless to blue to intense pink. Fluorapatite from the Himalaya Mine is light sensitive, so be prepared for colorless crystals on the surface and be sure to protect any colored crystals you happen to find.
Apatite on Quartz – 4.1cm – photograph from Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com.
Beryl, topaz:
Beryl (etched) – 2.9cm – photograph from Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com.
While beryl and topaz do occur at the Himalaya Mine, they are exceedingly rare. Keep an eye out for oddities though – you could get lucky! Beryl can occur as etched “floater” crystals, though fully formed crystals have also been found. Beryl colors at the Himalaya include goshenite (colorless), morganite (pink), and aquamarine (blue). Topaz is so rare at the Himalaya that we couldn’t even find a photo to share with you! Both beryl and topaz will likely look much like quartz, though there are physical qualities to help distinguish them – be sure to make use of the staff at the mine to help answer questions you have about your finds!
Beryl (morganite) – 11.7 cm – photograph from Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com.
Hambergite:
Hambergite – 4.4cm – photograph from Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com.
Hambergite is another relatively rare pegmatite mineral that often occurs with beryl. Well-formed crystals of hambergite are hard to come by from anywhere in the world, but they can be found at the Himalaya Mine. They occur as creamy white crystals, but can also range from an orange-ish tint to a salmon orange-pink. They are sometimes opaque and sometimes gemmy, sometimes etched and sometimes sharp. Again, if you have questions about what you are finding, ask the staff – they’ve seen a lot of this material and have a lot of knowledge to share!
Hambergite – 2.9cm – photograph from Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com.
Stilbite:
Stilbite-Ca – 5.5cm – photograph from Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com.
Stilbite occurs at the Himalaya Mine as white to cream colored crystals often found in “wheat sheaf” shaped sprays of crystals. Stilbite is technically a super group of zeolite (framework alumosilicate) mineral species, but that chemistry makes it even more interesting at this locality! Stilbite rarely makes stand-alone specimens at the Himalaya (though that’s still possible!) – but look for it in combination with other minerals!
Stilbite on Tourmaline – 2.8 cm – photograph from Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com.
Stibiotantalite, Columbite-(Mn), and other “ugly” minerals:
Stibiotantalite (zoned) – 1.8cm – photograph from Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com.
For those of you who also love the “ugly” minerals of the world, keep an eye out for some of other pegmatite rarities: stibiotantalite and columbite-(Mn)! These minerals will occur as black to root beer brown colored crystals, usually with a somewhat flattened shape. Some stibiotantalites even exhibit a beautiful color zoning! These minerals, though lacking the vivid colors of some of your other possible finds, have a fascinating chemistry (they include rare elements like tantalum and niobium!) and are fairly rare in worldwide deposits – don’t throw them away!
Stibiotantalite on Tourmaline – 6.0 cm – photograph from Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com.
Himalaya Mine Finds! – photograph from Himalaya Tourmaline Mine.
So now that you’re ready to pack the car and go, here’s the rest of the important information you need to know!
The Himalaya Mine dig site is open year round on Thursdays through Sundays from 10am to 3pm (Monday digs can be arranged by reservation only). The mine is located near Santa Ysabel, California and is open to the public. Visitors can dig and screen through ore from the mine in search of pink, green, and black tourmaline, quartz, garnet, lepidolite, cleavelandite, and more!
Screening for Gems – photograph from Himalaya Tourmaline Mine.
The cost for adults is $75/day, 13-15 years old is half price ($37.50/day), children 12 years and under are free with a paying adult, and additional children are $20/day. Senior and active military discounts, rain discounts, and group rates are available.
Be prepared to go digging: it’s going to be dirty and weather is going to happen. Be sure to bring appropriate gear (sunscreen, raincoats, shoes that can get muddy, etc.) as well as food and water. Sorting through material can be made easier with toothbrushes and rubber gloves. Don’t forget baggies/buckets and wrapping material for your finds!
How to Get There:
LISTEN UP, FOLKS! Do NOT use Google Maps or Map Quest to take you to the “Himalaya Mine” – this will NOT take you to the right location and you will end up LOST!
Instead, use the address Lake Henshaw 26439 Hwy 76, Santa Ysabel, CA 92070to take you to Lake Henshaw Resort. You will need to go into the store (across from the lake and in the same building as the restaurant), ask for the mine dig, and the cashier will give you a code and further directions.
Justin Zzyzx inspecting boulders at the Noble Prospect.
I just love exploring the nooks and crannies of the hills and mountains around Barstow California. The area around here is known for the beautiful geological formations all around, such as Rainbow Ridge, as well as the silver mines of Calico, once a silver boom town, now a commercial tourist attraction. Barstow, a perfect place to set up base and explore the Cady Mountains, Afton Canyon, Opal Mountain, Mule Canyon, Alvord Mountain, Yermo’s rolling hills of alluvial agates and jaspers and so much more. There is a veritable treasure chest of mineral adventures to be had in these colorful hills, visiting is a thrill, and I, as a resident, love to take full advantages of these rock deposits.
As a frequent leader of field trips and author of the “Rockhound Barstow” field guide, I’m always looking for new places to take people to collect interesting minerals and lapidary materials. My personal favorite is finding places where there are both nice crystallized minerals, as well as colorful lapidary material, that way, out of the dozens of rockhounds who have joined me over the past year on each monthly field trip, everybody is happy with what they can find. Exploring mining information on MRDS.org, I noticed several mines located in the Northern parts of the Calico mountains. I could see, just 10 miles away from my pistachio grove I call home in Newberry Springs, there was a Wollastonite mine, a Nickel mine and an Arsenic mine, all bunched up to the West of Coyote Dry Lake.
View looking out to Coyote Dry Lake from the un-named Nickel deposit
On our first outing to this string of locations we tried to access it from the East, coming up Coyote Dry Lake road. The dry lake was not as dry as we expected, in fact, it was quite moist and with no desire to go “muddin”, we turned back and tried the other way into the area, all the way around the Fort Irwin road passage, 20 miles to the West. Fort Irwin road is a VERY busy two-three lane road that connects Fort Irwin to Barstow and highway 15. Fort Irwin, a large Marine base, requires a large amount of workers from the Barstow area to work the service industry jobs, as well as the tech jobs, along with all the contractors, you can imagine this is a very busy road. We drove through the pass on the West side, looking at all the remains from the silver mines that made the Calico district what it was and what it is today. The ore was mostly chloragyrite, a silver mineral that is toxic to process, proving to be costly and environmentally unsound, so, the silver mines stand dormant, forever.
Entering on Madrugador road, Eastbound from Fort Irwin road, you pass by a Wollastonite deposit to the North, which we inspected with little of interest to be found, then, continuing along on this fairly smooth, slightly rocky road we turned off to the Northeast on a power line road which then takes us directly to the Wolly Wollastonite #5 deposit, a long abandoned deposit of this interesting white mineral. Some field guides have published this location, however, they always refer to it as an Onyx deposit. Onyx, a name for Calcite, is found at lots of places around the Calico mountains, however, at this deposit, there is only the non-stop white bliss of massive Wollastonite.
Long fiber Wollastonite crystals on the surface of massive Wollastonite
Wollastonite is a mineral that can be found as part of a Skarn deposit. Common related minerals are Grossular Garnet, Calcite, Quartz, Hedenburgite, and Epidote. The grains of the skarn deposits can be quite dense, leading to amazingly hard stones that can be worked into lapidary objects like vases and pillars. The wollastonite here was most likely mined for use in the pottery industry. Wollastonite, CaSiO3, a Calcium Silica Oxygen mineral that often has impurities of iron, manganese and magnesium, all elements found in abundance across this mountain range. Crushed, this powdered rock would be used for adding to clay, reducing cracking when ceramics are fired in a kiln, as well as added to paint base, a filler to make paint thicker.
At the Wolly Wollastonite deposit we would find tons of massive white wollastonite with the choice mineral specimens being the small bits and thin plates of acicular “long fiber” wollastonite crystals, which form flat on the surface of the rocks and boulders. Along with these, a bit of orange Grossular garnet can be found forming in the sharp borders between the wollastonite and the county rock. Finding larger pieces of this material is uncommon, but possible, however bits of wollastonite with thin areas of garnet are fairly common along the waste rock piles. In the quarried areas, along the rock wall, you can see several veins of garnet, but, in my opinion, they are not terribly thrilling. One thing is for sure, the guides that have continuously pegged this as an Onyx deposit can now be corrected in the next printing! The deposit takes up the Northern side of this far outlying mountain, spilling out of the most Northern part of the Calico mountains. Various bits and smears of other minerals have been spotted, like epidote and hedenburgite, so with further exploration you might uncover something interesting.
Spessartine garnet masses found in conjunction with the wollastonite deposits of the North Calico Mountains
A few months before I decided to visit this Wollastonite deposit, I was told by a gold miner in the Hesperia area that there was a Wollastonite deposit up in the North Calico mountains that had terminated grossular garnets. Wollastonite forms as a part of skarn deposits. One of the best mineral deposits in these formations are calcite pods with glossy grossular garnets underneath. Locations around the world produce specimens like this, the calcite acts as a blanket for the garnets, protecting them from any harm, until we, rockhounds, remove them from the ground and soak them in acid to dissolve the calcite and reveal the beautiful garnets underneath. While massive garnet is found at the Wolly Wollastonite deposit, the lack of calcite pods at this and every other Wollastonite deposit I’ve visited has turned up fruitless. Yet, chasing this lead has brought me to explore some infrequently visited areas of the rocky desert hillsides.
Going back in reverse from the Wollastonite deposit, you can head South in the first turn, which is a wash that leads up to the solid hillside and upwards on a road that leads to a former Nickel deposit, resting on this craggy spire, a semi steep climb leads to a non-connecting circular road around the peak. From here you have spectacular views of the valley below, the vast white/tan of Coyote Dry Lake, the Coptic monistary, and hey, I can even see my house from up here! Looking at this location from the comfort of my home, with my imported mine marker data from MRDS, I could see this Nickel mine and also find out more information about it. It referenced a mention in a a Southern Pacific Railroad booklet on Mineral of Industry, Volume 3, which mentions the deposit geology as “niccolite, arsenopyrite, annabergite, and uvarovite in a verticle silicic dike that strikes NE along a shear zone in hornfels and quartzite.”
View from on top of un-named Nickel deposit
Off we went, to go visit the un-named nickel deposit. The wind on our first visit makes the location very memorable. We can have wind gusts over 65 miles an hour on some days around these parts and that day the wind was so forceful we were quite worried we would be swept off the mountain. Maintaining a tight foothold, we explored the area, looking for bright green crystals of annabergite and chrome green uvarovite garnets. Instead, we found the meaning of “silicic dike”! All of the minerals we have found at this location have been frozen in blocks of silica. While this does not do anything for us mineral collectors, it makes for a unique lapidary material. The same stuff as the classic German “Nickel Quartz”, this green stone takes a nice polish and the contrast of white and green makes for an interesting stone. Floating around in this silica, tiny bits of chrome green uvarovite garnet are found, while nothing to write home about, they do add a little something to some of the slabs and tumbled stones we produced out of this ore. If there were crystals here, this could be one of my favorite locations, but even in massive lapidary form, this in a rare treat in terms of mineralogy, a geat view-point in this area of the North Calico mountains and yet, just one of many locations in a short distance in this mountain range.
Tumbled nickel quartz from the un-named Nickel deposit
Just off to the Southwest, the road takes you to the Puerto Negro mine, a series of rock dumps that stop at a mine entrance a few hundred yards south of the beginning of the dumps. This is an Arsenic mine that produced an arsenic rich ore with the occasional bit of calcite and realgar. While I have not found many specimens at this location, the few I have found have been quite uncommon, orangy red realgar in layered clear calcite crystals. Drive North to connect back with the power line road and drive over to the next canyon to the South, taking Madrugador Road, home to several prospects for copper and gold, before heading back out to Fort Irwin Road. These gold deposits do not have much in the way of collectables for mineral or lapidary enthusiasts, however, they do produce chunks of calcite and masses of red, iron stained, quartz.
Entrance to the Arsenic Mine, the Puerto Negro
From here, it is time to go across Ft. Irwin Road, just a few hundred yards to the South, a road stretches out towards the Northwest, reaching out to several locations were crystals and lapidary materials can be found. The road is a very nice, mostly smooth flat desert dirt road. There are a couple tiny washed out areas, but most any passenger car can navigate the area. Immediately to the North, a small set of ridges spread out, the ridge to the West of the hills contains two locations to explore. A massive Barite locality called the Ball mine and a funky Wollastonite deposit with some odd rocks to be found. You pull off this new dirt road and into a wash road that loops around, park here and hike into the mountain valley to find the Ball mine, which is easy to see and high up on the hillside.
The Ball mine was a series of tunnels and surface workings that produced massive white barite, which can be found in abundance as lumps of heavy white rock. While unassuming, when exposed to UV light, these lumps glow a pleasing green and pink. There are tons and tons of this material laying around the mine adits, so you will have plenty to choose from. Continuing North into the canyon you will come across a Wollastonite deposit that has bits of calcite and some black rock that is said to be chromium bearing.
Rockhounds collecting Garnets at the Nobel Prospect
Back on the main dirt road, you continue Northwest for a mile or so until you come across a faint road headed South which leads to a large pile of rocks in the middle of the flat desert. It is unusual to see a pile of rocks such as this, however, this outcropping of rock is a happy accident for all of us. Here you can find a great deposit of Onyx, a flowing series of banded tans and yellows, along with bright red caused by iron impurities, along with areas of quartz, in the center of the stones as well as on the surface. Druzy specimens of quartz and calcite can be found, the only drawback is the size of the matrix they are sometimes attached to! The large chunks of stone cut to reveal beautiful patterns, while being nice and crack free, solid cutting material. It is remarkably easy to find, within a half hour at the location, cutting material to keep you occupied for days and weeks.
Sliced Travertine from the large travertine outcrop in the North Calico Mountains
Traveling only another thousand yards to the West along the main dirt road, you come across the Noble prospect, a mineralized zone consisting of a short canyon wash to the East, with short adits that pushed out garnets, quartz, epidote and calcite. While we were hoping for garnets trapped inside calcite pods, these garnets are frozen in a quartz matrix, an while crystals can get up to an inch across in size, there is no way to free them from the host rock. Still, terminated garnets can be found in this area and the masses of quartz, epidote and garnet make for interesting lapidary materials. Just a short distance from this wash, a road takes you a few hundred feet to a bench in the mountainside, filled with boulders containing calcite crystals and quartz druzy, the druzy areas measuring up to and over one foot in size on several of the boulders. The trick is to find specimens that are small enough to take home. Several pieces showed evidence of layers of quartz covering and replacing the calcite crystals, which make for very interesting mineral specimens.
At the Noble Prospect, Boulders of Calcite with Crystals growing in vugs can be found.
Calcite crystals plucked from the walls of the Noble Propsect.
Dead center in the great wide state of Montana, a deposit of quartz crystals can be found. Typically double terminated, squat crystals with very short c-axis, these come in clear, milky and smoky and available for people of all ages to find!
This photo was used in the October 1971 issue of Gems and Minerals Magazine. This shows how they can be confused with actual diamonds, with their form.
There are dozens of locations around the world where quartz “diamonds” are produced. You see, people want diamonds. Marketing has told us how desirable they are, how they signify love. Just wait until the November through March, non-stop jewelry store commercials pushing whatever diamond scheme they have this year on everyone. In 2014 it was those terrible “chocolate diamonds” which are one step above industrial grade. The truth is, there are way more diamonds in the world than there will ever be a need for, so it is an artificial market kept afloat by you and me. With that in mind, a random that has very little knowledge about minerals can pick up a double terminated, squat quartz crystal and think “DIAMOND!”. This gives the name to so many deposits. Cape May New Jersey Diamonds, Herkimer New York Diamonds, Montana Diamonds, Pecos New Mexico Diamonds, Pakistan Diamonds, Tibetan Diamonds…all…quartz. Well, everyone loves quartz crystals, so hey, even if someone was disappointed that they didn’t find diamonds, us rockhounds are happy with what they found!
Montana Diamonds are found about 20 miles from the town of Lewistown Montana, nearly smack dab in the middle of Montana. On the top of Judith Peak, an open area for collecting with hand tools, an abandoned radar installation is located. All of the road construction and removal of trees and overburden for the buildings has uncovered ample ground for searching and rockhounding. At an elevation of 6,386 feet above sea level, an igneous deposit of rhyolite has been pushed up to the surface. The rhyolite cools at different rates, the slowly cooling rock giving more time for the quartz crystals to grow larger. This deposit hit the right notes, leaving a layer of rhyolite that contains these well formed crystals.
The Judith Mountains are located in Central Montana. Judith Peak is about 20 miles outside of Lewistown.
The pinpoint on the map shows Judith Peak and the pin covers up the main collecting area.
This area is a great place to start prospecting – This is home to an defunct US radar installation.
Judith Peak itself is composed of quartz-bearing porphyry…The small, angular light colored flakes compose the crest and slopes. Pine trees grow thickly upon it, and in places they have been burned and the porphyry has been reddened or blackened by the fire.
On the north side of the slopes fall away into several steeply descending, half-funnel gulches. The angles of slope of the broken porphyry is extremely steep, and the gulches have almost the aspect of amphitheaters. Farther down the blocks of the broken porphyry naturally becomes larger.
Almost at the summit of Judith Peak, a few hundred yards north-west, the porphyry appears crushed and filled with narrow quartz seams, which are stated to carry low values in gold. Southward from here, although the porphyry is greatly rotted and broken down, it can be seen that there is a gradual increase in the number and size of the quartz phenocrysts until,…these quartzes assume a large size, the phenocrysts being often an inch or more long. The quartz crystals weather out as pebbles, and very perfect specimens may be obtained
In this photo from the 1971 October issue of Gems and Minerals, you can see a collector searching for quartz crystals in the rhyolite.
Well over 100 years of collecting quartz from this location and yet…there is still more to be found! So, if you find yourself in Montana, right about dead center, you’ll be close to some fantastic quartz collecting!
Supplies Needed:
Safety Goggles
Water
Insect Repellant
Shovel
Crack Hammer and Chisel
Paper for Wrapping Specimens
Bucket
Prybar (Optional)
Pick Axe (Optional)
Wheeler-Rex 590 Soil Pipe Cutter (Optional)
Search for Minerals from Iowa
Description:
View a map of the locations of these geodes by visiting MinDat.org’s copy of this map Click Here to Load Map
Geodes in the Warsaw formation of Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. Each ‘x’ is a geode location. Originally from Arthur E. Smith (1997): Geodes from the Warsaw Formation of Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois, Rocks & Minerals, 72:6, 420-423. Updated and colorized by William W. Besse.
Many sites in the tri-state area of southeast Iowa, northeast Missouri and western Illinois produce geodes of world class quality. In fact, nowhere else in the world is richer in geodes than this strange area of the Midwest, where the Mississippian geode bearing Warsaw limestone formation is exposed near the surface. The geodes can reach 20cm across or larger and are mostly lined with quartz crystals though a variety of minerals like calcite, dolomite, sphalerite, and even millerite have been found in geodes. Geodes can be found wherever the Warsaw formation can be found outcropping. They can also be dug from riverbanks. Many fee dig sites for geodes are found in the areas of Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois rich in geodes.
A pipe cutter, specifically the model above (Wheeler-Rex 590 Soil Pipe Cutter) is great for opening geodes. Simply score the geode around the perimeter lightly with a hammer and chisel, clamp the cutter around the perimeter of the geode, and then carefully apply pressure until the geode splits. It is most desirable to split geodes into two equal sized hemispheres.
Large quartz geode from Keokuk area- 20 cm diameter. Collected by David Wixom. K. Nash specimen and photo.
Typical geode and associated minerals (calcite and dolomite) from Keokuk, Iowa area. 4cm x 4cm. Rolf Lutcke specimen and photo. Ex. Paul Griswold
Geodes sometimes have carbonate minerals inside, like Calcite. But, wouldn’t it be cooler if they had crazy red Rhodochrosite crystals like this. Click here to see more amazing photos of crystals
Localities:
Sheffler Rock Shop and Geode Mine:
RR1 Box 171
Alexandria, MO 63430
At junction of Highway 61 and 27, 6mi S of Alexandria
Tim Sheffler
(660) 754 – 1134
tsheffler@mchsi.com
$25 per day for 50 lbs of material. 75 cents for each additional pound
Calcite and quartz geode from the Sheffler Geode Mine. A good specimen for the locality. 10 cm wide. Roger Sedgwick specimen and photo. Collected by owner.
Geodes are very abundant at this locality, hence the high limit for material. They are typically filled with quartz crystals but some other interesting mineralization can be observed. Dolomite, calcite, and pyrite are common accessories. It is best to use a prybar to free the geodes from the limestone matrix and open them at home or wherever they can be carefully cleaned, opened, and sorted.
Des Moines River, Iowa and Missouri
Geodes can be found abundantly in the outcrops on the shores of the Des Moines river. Bring a shovel to loosen geodes from the muddy banks and wash them in the river so the surface features can be seen. Some rocks at these riverbank localities may be deceiving and look like geodes but are just cobbles that have been well-rounded by erosion. These geodes can be filled with a wide variety of minerals and be of extremely varying but most will only contain quartz and typically at most one other species such as calcite or dolomite.
Jacobs’ Geode Shop and Mine:
823 East County Rd 1220
Hamilton, IL 62341
(217) 847-3509
Caption: Collector with large pile of geodes in Jacobs’ Geode Mine workings. E. Harrington photo.
Call before visiting. It is best to dig while the owners are around so they can show you the best technique to use at this site. It’s a good idea to call in advance to make sure they will be at the mine. The all day fee is reported to be $20. Apparently the owners only allow visitors to crack certain geodes on site so most of the prep work should be done at home. Reported to produce very nice material
7cm geode with 3.5cm calcite crystal. E. Harrington specimen and photo.
Marcasite crystal in geode. FOV 4.5mm. Collected and photographed by David Hanson.
Dennis Stevenson Geodes:
625 S. 18th St., Hamilton, Illinois
Call ahead to plan a trip: 309-337-3089 or 217-847-2952
$20 for one bucket, $15 for each additional one.
Mostly quartz based geodes, but some have nice calcite crystals as well. A staple Midwestern geode locality.
Find out what minerals Iowa is and has produced, check out what is new on eBay
A friend of mine asked to go visit the feldspar mine on the mountain in Nuevo California, about an hour and a half outside of Los Angeles, toward Riverside and on the way to San Diego. I had not been to the location in five years and I had heard that there was a lot of activity in the area with houses being built. As this has been a classic collecting location, along with the possibility of general prospecting around the area, I wanted to see what was going on.
View Nuevo Quarry pinpointed in a larger map
First I heard there was a gate up. That did not seem to bode well, but it looks like the Korean Church at the bottom of the hill put a gate up at the beginning of the road. It was open (and public land!) so we drove through. Going up the hill was no problem, just like in the past. The odd thing was, going up the hill, the graffiti was out of control on those rocks, empty ammo cases littered the ground alongside empty beer bottles. In addition, these signs saying that the road was PRIVATE were sprayed on the boulders, which is just plain nonsense! This is a road. You can not simply buy the rights to some land and close off a public road. There were work crews, lots of construction going on and shockingly, houses were springing up in this area. The turn off to the quarry was way worse than I remember, as they graded the dirt road down, down, down, so that the turnoff was a six foot climb in the Jeep, which was a little shocking. But, then the road seemed fine, as I remember, and we pulled into the parking area to start our walk to the quarry and dump pile. Seriously, nobody is going to tell me that, as a citizen of California and America, that I am not allowed to go on a public road, to an abandoned quarry to collect some worthless rocks that nobody will miss. Just because some chumps want to spend millions of dollars to build their secluded homesites doesn’t mean they can keep me from the public road outside their house. Keep those ATVs, the gun nuts and the teenage drinkers away, I’m here for some science and some nature. Here is the photo that got me interested again, a photo from the Smithsonian of a nice garnet from this location.
The quarry is very interesting, mainly feldspar and massive quartz, with huge crystals of schorl tourmaline embedded inside the feldspar. Along with this are garnets, most always forming in one thin layer on the outside of the feldspar blocks, the rare find of a scrap of aquamarine is possible and uncommon radioactive crystals of monazite and thorianite. I wanted to try and find some of the radioactives and nice garnet plate, my friend was looking for schorl chunks to put into reference kits for the kids. We found everything that you could expect to find from the quarry and spent about 2 hours collecting before hitting the road back to Los Angeles, with a wide open freeway, pre-rush hour, it was a great trip. If you are in the Southern California area, this is an interesting place to check out and I hope you make it without any problems and who knows, maybe in a few years the road will be paved! (and gated, to keep you ruffians out) This is BLM land, no person should DARE to stop entry to that land. Access to this area has been served by that road which far predates the church or the houses being built up there. It is absolutely shameful if anyone tries to stop you.
Overlooking the quarry from the parking area. For size reference, here is my hand. A human for size reference. More mouth-watering schorl! This schorl crystal would fall to bits if we tried to remove it from matrix. A typical scrap of Schorl Tourmaline found on the dumps. Commonly seen are the blocks of feldspar, more uncommon is a coverage as rich as this with well formed crystals. You can tell these are radioactive due to the radiation rings discoloring the quartz/feldspar matrix. Leaving the quarry with some rocks to share with the kids.
eBay is a fantastic place to find everything for sale. While there are plenty of dyed, glued, misidentified and various other hoaxes online, there are also some fantastic dealers who are honest, well educated and provide amazing service. As per customer satisfaction results gathered by The-Vug.com, we present to you the Top 10 Mineral Dealers on eBay for 2012!
Top 10 Rock and Mineral Dealers on eBay for 2012
#10 – Heliodor
Three generations of the mineral dealers, Star and Elena Van Scriver have a wide variety of minerals available. Specializing in Russian minerals and Moroccan minerals, this store has over 4,000 items to chose from, mostly as store items with buy it now pricing. You can view their store by clicking this link.
Missouri Calcite Cluster with Chalcopyrite from Heliodor
#9 – Benson’s Collectibles
Alan Benson has been selling minerals on eBay for several years, helping to finance his college studies. That’s right, this man helped pay for his textbooks with eBay! He has a fine selection of minerals from worldwide locations, with a focus on New Jersey minerals, as he is close to the locations. You can view his store by clicking this link.
Fine Tourmaline Crystal from California from Alan Benson Collectable Land
#8 – ScepterGuy
Joe George is an avid Quartz miner. The crystals he has dug out of the ground have made it into magazines, museums and fine collections around the world. Crazy scepters and amethyst from Hallelujah Junction, fascinating terminations and twinning in specimens from Washington state, this man does the hard work to rescue these crystals from the mountain! Not only does he have a fine mix of specimens, people love his acrylic bases and mineral tack, something somewhat hard to find. You can view his store by clicking this link.
Pink Fluorite on Matix from France from Scepter Guy
#7 – Meryln8804
Christopher Stefano is a recent graduate, another self supporting college student for a time. Now he does his ebay and website while working two jobs and raising a newborn! What a guy, because his store is constantly full of great mineral, with a focus in the unique and uncommon minerals of the world. As a specialist in Michigan minerals, if you are looking for an interesting mineral from that area, contact Chris! You can view his store by clicking this link.
Copper Crystals from Michigan from Merlyn8804
#6 – JMineral
A bad reputation is being cast on many Chinese dealers, as fake and treated minerals are common in many of their eBay stores. JM Mineral is an extreme exception to this, with amazing minerals, popping up on eBay often WELL before any American ever lays eyes on them! The new finds out of Mongolia has made this dealer shine! You can view the store by clicking this link.
Green Quartz Cluster from JMineral
#5 – Crystal Springs Minerals
Crystal Springs focus is South African and Namibian minerals. With so much to chose from in that area of the world, Crystal Springs Minerals is a great source from that area of the world. A richly stocked eBay store and constant restocking has made them a favorite dealer to buy from! People love their red quartz, green fluorite, gem crystals and interesting minerals from the Kalahari. You can view his store by clicking this link.
Ajoite inclusion in Quartz from South Africa sold by Crystal Springs Minerals
#4 – Open Adit
Open Adit is a fine dealer of LARGE minerals and FRESH imports. Evolving over time, the minerals have always been FINE and amazingly inexpensive! As importers of hundreds of thousands of minerals, Open Adit has found a great way to make large sized cabinet specimens available to the public by presenting them online. Weekly auctions and tons to chose from, if you need a colorful addition to your collection or a display piece, Open Adit is the place to go! You can view the store by clicking this link.
Green Fluorite Cluster from South Africa sold by Open Adit
#3 – Globe Minerals
Nik, the man behind the operations at Globe Mineral, has a FINE eye for natures beauty. One thing for sure, there is rarely a specimen that we would not like to have for our collection here at WheretoFindRocks.com! Colorful, bold and hand picked, Nik travels around the world hand picking selections to showcase on eBay. As eBay is Globe Minerals main distribution source, there is nothing held back, everything fine is presented on eBay and his customer service is top notch! You can view his store by clicking this link.
Vanadinite Cluster from Morocco sold by Globe Minerals
#2 – Jewel’s Fine Minerals
It has been a beautiful experience to watch this ebay dealer constantly improving the quality of the minerals, photos and service. It is almost impossible to imagine that Jewel’s Fine Minerals can get much better. A wide variety of minerals, this dealer is constantly traveling to mineral shows, buying collections and sniffing out all the great minerals to present to the public on eBay. The large amount of store items, weekly auctions and great attention to quality minerals makes Jewel’s Fine Minerals one of the accounts to constantly keep checking out! You can view his store by clicking this link.
Calcite and Fluorite from USA sold by Jewel’s Fine Minerals
AND, as a result of all the activity and customer feedback to The-Vug.com in 2012, the #1 Mineral Dealer on eBay…
#1 – Mineral Man 999
Mineralman999, Jasun and Mandy McAvoy, are legendary sellers of minerals on eBay. For good reason! They have had mineral auctions, ALL of them, starting at .99 cents, every week for over 7 years. Sometimes the sales prices of these minerals are in the THOUSANDS of dollars, but they ALWAYS start at .99 cents! Fantastic photos, minerals from all over the world, there is not a week that goes by that we do not find at LEAST one mineral that would be something worth fighting over! Classic minerals, new finds, gem crystals, gold, crazy locality specimens. MineralMan is THE place to visit each and every week. His #1 status is well deserved! You can view his store by clicking this link.
These specimens of quartz, collected by John Krygier: https://www.mindat.org/gallery-13767.html, are typical examples of what you can find at this mine. The black coating is due to manganese oxides, and the orange coating is due to iron oxides.
