Where to dig your own gemstones

Date: 8/21/2008 3:02:28 PM
Author: FrekeChild
Hey MP, I know where there is a bunch of granite.

Lets go get us some new countertops!

JK.

That would be so much fun though. Gem digging, I mean....

Date: 8/21/2008 3:08:59 PM
Author: innerkitten
Aren't there a few places to dig for sapphires in Montana? Also ( I think it's called, crater of diamonds park, lots of brown and yellow diamonds are found there and I'm sure some white ones too.

Date: 8/21/2008 4:00:29 PM
Author: akmiss
This reminds me of the show 'Cash and Treasures,' I think it is on the Discovery channel. The host travels the globe in search of gems. It is fun to watch plus she gets to make for jewelery out of her finds

Date: 8/21/2008 7:51:14 PM
Author: jewelerman
The Duboise opal mine in Duboise,Idaho will let you mine your own opals for a fee...bring your own tools and have fun!

Date: 8/21/2008 10:09:12 PM
Author: Richard M.



Being a loyal native Idahoan who's cut many, many of those opals, I have to say the mine is located at Spencer, ID, near Dubois. If you Google for Dubois you may not find it. This opal is used mainly for cutting extremely bright and attractive triplets. Rare stones actually display cat's-eyes and stars when capped with clear quartz and cut properly.



Don't forget the star garnet diggings at Emerald Creek in north Idaho. The Forest Service supervises the operation and if you don't mind getting down-and-dirty you can usually take home a few stones. Cutting them may be a bit of a challenge, though.

You can also fee-dig for stunningly beautiful opal (mostly unstable) at several mines in Virgin Valey, NV near Denio or further West in the Black Rock Desert. There's a remote opal mine that used to allow daily digging for a fee in California's Mohave Desert. You can prospect for jadeite at the famous Jade Cove and surrounding area south of Big Sur on California Highway 1. It doesn't make any difference if you find anything: the scenery's so breathtaking it's a reward all by itself. You can look for 'moonstones' (translucent agates) at Moonstone Beach in Cambria.

There is a topaz fee dig in Colorado and several different amateur-oriented sapphire operations along the Missouri River in Montana.

Dyed-in-the-wool rockhounds can travel to the famous Richardson Rock Ranch in Oregon to dig their own thundereggs and much more. It's all hard work and requires proper preparation to avoid problems but it's great fun. There are probably many more good spots but that's all that comes to mind at the moment.


Richard M.

Date: 8/22/2008 10:23:01 AM
Author: Richard M.
Jewelerman,
We have a lot in common. I grew up in east Idaho (Idaho Falls mainly) and Jackson may be my favorite place on Earth. I envy your childhood there a little but it would be hard to choose between it and my own, spent near my beloved Snake River. My early trips to Wyoming hunting for nephrite jade, Sweetwater agates and Eden Valley petrified wood -- even the reclusive Jackalope! -- provide pleasant memories. I've cut a lot of Spencer opal and still have quite a bit of rough myself. Too bad there are so many silly misunderstandings about triplets -- they're not fraudulent unless they're sold fraudulently as solid opals, folks! Opal from Spencer is the only opal on earth that will yield true star and cat's-eye triplets. I have a very interesting research paper on those phenomena written by the Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organization (CSIRO) in Australia. They are very rare and valuable.

Richard M.