Gem stones

[Peg Leg]

I was thinking HAS anyone recovered any Gem Stones that were not connected to Gold or Silver.
I know there are no detectors made for this type of searching but there has to be a way to recover these Gem stones. Everyone want to blow a hole in search of Metal so what not come up with a way to recover gem stones?
Salvor 6 mentioned that he worked on a device similar to a small dredging device that would pickup sand and put it through a filtering device.
This is a great idea.
What if you were to put a small dredging device with about 80' of flexable hose so you could dump the sand somewhere away from your site. You could work the area from the boat. This would allow you to work in and around the reefs with cutting yourself.
Just thinking out loud.
Yes I know that the Dredge has alreay been invented but I also know that an Emerald the size of you little finger nail is worth more that a 20 pound bar of silver.
With all the information available about what ships were carrying what you should find a few of these stones even if you had to go over sites that have already been worked. The dredge does all the work and who knows you may pick up a few coins in the process and it would be CHEAP to operate.
Peg Leg

 

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[sherpa t]

When panning for gold I have recovered small stones (corundum and garnet ) in the gravel, it is a matter of specific gravity of the item. Gold is 19.32 and panning sluicing etc. works because of this. Emeralds are in the 2.70 to 3.0 area a bit less than the 3.5 to 4.3 range of the garnet and corundum that stayed in the bottom of my pan.
Here then is where the question goes, and I have been wondering along these lines but with the silver coins (silver @ 10.5) is how much prop wash is to much ? Gold is going to stay put, but how easy is it to move a silver coin ( or as asked a emerald ) in shallow water with a good mailbox ? I have a small Spanish coin with a hole in it that would be a great test coin ( up for it Seahunter next time I'm down ?) But maybe the more experienced people already know and could share there experiences with us.

 

[Darren in NC]

One thing I'll say for you, Peg Leg, is that your adult ADD sure keeps us thinking about all kinds of things! You're in good company, though. I have a hard time focusing on any one thing for very long, too.

You might google "blacklight flouresce diamonds" and see what your research turns up. I know a common practice in South America was to use blacklights on the gravel beds to hunt for diamonds as they would flouresce in the light. I think it works with other gemstones as well, but I'll let you research that. I have other things to focus on

Later,
Darren

 

[Peg Leg]

Darren, Not all diamonds glow under a black light.
Sherpta t, As you may know there is a special mining rig called a GRISSLY used in Alaska. It can be reduced in size to handle whatever you can put into it. I consist of 3 cone shaped cycinders. Each cyclinder is designed to retain certain minerals of a specific gravity. Of course the commercial ones are built from a portable Earth Mover like a Euclid but they can handle over 10 cubic yards every 5 minutes with the left over material going onto a convery belt and dumps out the back. These are used in Placer mining.
To me this would not be very hard to reduce the size to be able to fit on a boat.
You would NOT use a blower-if you did you would scatter the gem stones all over the ocan bottom.
Just thinking.
Peg Leg

 

[Darren in NC]

Darren, Not all diamonds glow under a black light.

Well said and true. But until they come up with a method to detect all of them, I'll settle for the ones that do glow. The suction dredge is still the best method used to date cost-wise.

Best,
Darren

 

[ScubaFinder]

I'm still such a newbie I've been diving all over the world, and I've noticed that some areas have nice clean sand, and others are about 50% coral rubble and rock. I love the dredge into a screen idea, but is there a lot of coral rubble and small rocks in the sand off the Florida coast, and if so, how time consuming is it to seperate any goodies from the trash. And do the emeralds get encrusted with coral too?

Someday I'll catch up, until then, I appreciate your patience and advice

Jason

 

[sherpa t]

Cornelius said what what I was thinking fabricate a box with a couple different diameter punch plates in it,discharge into / across the top and let the water action sort it for you. But I would still like to know if anyone has tried different things with prop wash engine speeds, pressure variables and run times in regards to non gold items dropping to the bedrock / hardpan verses being pushed away in material you are moving.

 

[riobravo]

just a note,
wish i had time to elaborate, but a quick note, many factors decide how things go during a dig, but once you hit bottom it has been my experiance that you not only can have layers to study but the roll off of overbuden will be sectional just as the material at the end of the driveway you wash off once in a while.
simple physics take shape on longer projects. so ive heard

 

[Salvor6]

The airlift we used on the Atocha site had a chain link fence for the first screen to catch the big rocks. They shot out with such force that they would break a fine mesh screen. I never saw a coral encrusted emerald.

 

[ScubaFinder]

I never saw a coral encrusted emerald

How would you? no, but seriously I really do grow many types of coral in my aquariums (also raise clownfish and seahorses). Most encrusting corals do not like most metals, but many seem to almost prefer glass over other calcium carbonate skeletons and such. I guess if the 400 year old emeralds aren't encrusted, corals must not like them either, the sure seem to like silver. I might talk with some of the master coral growers and see if they have any insight as to why they don't seem to grow on gold or emeralds, might be interesting anyways.

For kicks, here is a video of one of my seahorses giving birth to over 200 young. Sorry for the off topic, but most divers find it fascinating http://www.wfrs.org/sh/kuda_pop.wmv

Jason

 

[mad4wrecks]

Jason, that was freaking awesome! Pretty majestic looking seahorse too. Thanks for sharing the video!

Tom

 

[Darren in NC]

And I thought sea monkeys were cool Great video, Jason!

 

[buscadero]

Darren: If I thought you could use a Black Light to find Diamonds, I would set up permanent residence @ Crater of Diamonds!

I Wish! I Wish!


Joe

 

[rgecy]

buscadero,

Not all, but most diamonds WILL fluoresce in black light. If you could go during the night with a portable black light, you may find a fortune!

Diamond Fluorescence

Fluorescence is not directly related to a diamond’s color. This separate characteristic refers to the diamond’s ability to fluoresce under ultraviolet (UV) light. Our sun emits some UV light, but it is usually not great enough to detect fluorescence. The most common source of UV is a black light. When exposed to UV light, many diamonds will give off a distinctive glowing blue coloration. Although fluorescence may be displayed in various colors, blue is the most common in diamonds. The fluorescence of a diamond is defined by its intensity as either None, Faint, Medium, Strong, or Very Strong. Although fluorescence is a characteristic that can be measured, it is seldom an issue when selecting a diamond.

Good Luck!

Robert in SC

 

[ScubaFinder]

Darren: If I thought you could use a Black Light to find Diamonds, I would set up permanent residence @ Crater of Diamonds!

It's actually a scientific fact, look around and read a little and I think you'll be suprised.

Glad you guys like the video, for the record...my seahorses actually EAT SeaMonkeys (brine shrimp). I have video of that too

 

[Peg Leg]

Ha guys, I am not talking about building a MONSTER that can loob rocks throuh a Chain Like Fence. I am talking about a poratble small suction pump that is not over 2 to 4" in dia.. It will pick up what even gem stones you can find. You can sceen off the opening at the start of your suction tube. Then place a catch all at the exgress end, The CATCH ALL can be a Stainless Steel Fryer like the ones used to cook Fries in. HOW YOU DO THIS IS WHATEVER YOU CAN THINK OF. They will ALL work.
The way this is done in West Africa is they shovel a load of gravel ito a basket and shake the basker several time in all different directions. Then the dump the basket onto a flat rock and pick out the stones that are now on top. Corundium is heaver that other stones so by shaking the basket filled with stones the heaver stones go to the bottom. Just like looking for Gold. I have done this when I was looking for Rubies and Sapphires (corundum)and Gold.
Peg Leg

 

[Peg Leg]

Cornelius,
What I am trying to show is that there ARE Gem stones in a number of the wreck ships and it would benifit those who go looking for Gold or Silver to keep this in mind. A lot of the THers are going back over holes that has been blown by previous Thers and are no doubt missing a Treasure worth many times the price of a gold or silver coin.
As we know there are manifest concerning what ships were carry Emeralds but what about the ones that were smuggling these stones. 5,000 carats of gem stones weigh only 1 kilo. 1 Kilo does not take up much space.
So when you guys are looking for Treasure remember the Gem Stones.
Peg Leg