Jim in Idaho
Silver Member
- Jul 21, 2012
- 3,349
- 4,750
- Detector(s) used
- White's GM2, GM3, DFX, Coinmaster, TDI-SL, GM24K, Falcon MD20, old Garrett Masterhunter BFO
'Way Too Cool' dual 18 Watt UV light
- Primary Interest:
- Prospecting
I waited until after Labor Day to go back over. I'd been hitting that one area pretty hard, and the results, while not bad, weren't improving. I really think I need to get farther upstream to locate the source area. I'll be getting into that next year, hopefully.
So, I spent a couple of days there, and then decided to head about 10 or 12 miles upstream, to an old area that produced my largest chrome diopside nugget a couple of years ago. (3.8 carats). I never had figured out where that material was coming from. I had tracked it from a big drywash, to a smaller drywash, and then into a tiny drywash, but never found the source. When I went in there last week I was determined to find the source. The little hanging valley the drywash drains is only about 600 yards long. The wash is only about a foot wide. This trip, I started seeing chrome diopside immediately, and on top of the ground, which is unusual. Every time I dug, too, I was finding decent-sized material.....some as large as .7 carats. I kept moving upstream, sampling every 30 yards, and the material finally ran out. This was new material, as I'd hit this pretty hard a couple of years ago. I spent an hour checking the hillside on the east with no luck. The hillsides are only about 50 yards long. Mostly clay, from bright blue to brown.
I started up the hill on the west, and dug a spot, and ran a couple of large shovelfuls thru the screens......no luck! I was getting frustrated as I felt sure the source was close. When I stood up, I glanced down, and right at my feet was a 5.0 carat piece!!!!!!. Largest I'd found. I almost missed it. I started looking closely at the ground, and found smaller stuff right on the surface. The clay hill had a small cap of gravel......about 5 or 600 square feet, and a couple of feet deep. The chrome diopside, and a few garnets, were eroding out of that gravel, apparently. I eventually found a few on the next little hill to the south, too.
By the time I'd done all this it had been a tough week, and I didn't have the energy to dig thru, and sift, all that gravel. May be next year before I do that. The clay underlying the gravel dries out, and cracks. So there are 1" wide gaps that some of the gravel can fall into as it erodes down the hill. That means, along with the gravel cap, the upper 15" or so of the hilllside also needs to be screened.....big job!
Of course, no diamonds, but the potential is there.
Here's a couple of pics of the CD I found.....totalled 23 carats, which is pretty good, and the 5.0 carat piece, and one over 1.4 carats, and a few in the .7 carat range. Note how the darker pieces, and the larger pieces, don't let the light all the way through. The stuff that does, though, is sure gorgeous.
I also found another bright pink gem. It's only the second one I've ever found over there. After a bunch of research after getting home, I think it's a pink grossular garnet. Grossular garnets are the only garnets that fluoresce under UV light. Both of the ones I've found are extremely bright under LW UV....
sort of a brilliant pinkish red. Here's a couple of pics....one in plain light next to a pyrope garnet, and the same pair lit by my little LED UV flashlight. These are about 5mm in size....maybe .5 carats.
I'm going to try and get back over there once more this season. The area is almost 7,000', so winter comes early. I'm thinking of building some little sluices, and just put them in the wash and wait until next year to see what shows up. Might be an interesting experiment, if I have enough good weather left.
Jim
So, I spent a couple of days there, and then decided to head about 10 or 12 miles upstream, to an old area that produced my largest chrome diopside nugget a couple of years ago. (3.8 carats). I never had figured out where that material was coming from. I had tracked it from a big drywash, to a smaller drywash, and then into a tiny drywash, but never found the source. When I went in there last week I was determined to find the source. The little hanging valley the drywash drains is only about 600 yards long. The wash is only about a foot wide. This trip, I started seeing chrome diopside immediately, and on top of the ground, which is unusual. Every time I dug, too, I was finding decent-sized material.....some as large as .7 carats. I kept moving upstream, sampling every 30 yards, and the material finally ran out. This was new material, as I'd hit this pretty hard a couple of years ago. I spent an hour checking the hillside on the east with no luck. The hillsides are only about 50 yards long. Mostly clay, from bright blue to brown.
I started up the hill on the west, and dug a spot, and ran a couple of large shovelfuls thru the screens......no luck! I was getting frustrated as I felt sure the source was close. When I stood up, I glanced down, and right at my feet was a 5.0 carat piece!!!!!!. Largest I'd found. I almost missed it. I started looking closely at the ground, and found smaller stuff right on the surface. The clay hill had a small cap of gravel......about 5 or 600 square feet, and a couple of feet deep. The chrome diopside, and a few garnets, were eroding out of that gravel, apparently. I eventually found a few on the next little hill to the south, too.
By the time I'd done all this it had been a tough week, and I didn't have the energy to dig thru, and sift, all that gravel. May be next year before I do that. The clay underlying the gravel dries out, and cracks. So there are 1" wide gaps that some of the gravel can fall into as it erodes down the hill. That means, along with the gravel cap, the upper 15" or so of the hilllside also needs to be screened.....big job!
Of course, no diamonds, but the potential is there.
Here's a couple of pics of the CD I found.....totalled 23 carats, which is pretty good, and the 5.0 carat piece, and one over 1.4 carats, and a few in the .7 carat range. Note how the darker pieces, and the larger pieces, don't let the light all the way through. The stuff that does, though, is sure gorgeous.
I also found another bright pink gem. It's only the second one I've ever found over there. After a bunch of research after getting home, I think it's a pink grossular garnet. Grossular garnets are the only garnets that fluoresce under UV light. Both of the ones I've found are extremely bright under LW UV....
sort of a brilliant pinkish red. Here's a couple of pics....one in plain light next to a pyrope garnet, and the same pair lit by my little LED UV flashlight. These are about 5mm in size....maybe .5 carats.
I'm going to try and get back over there once more this season. The area is almost 7,000', so winter comes early. I'm thinking of building some little sluices, and just put them in the wash and wait until next year to see what shows up. Might be an interesting experiment, if I have enough good weather left.
Jim
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