Return to the Smokey Pocket!

[thehunter123]

Hey y'all! This weekend I was able to get back to the incredible smokey quartz pocket I discovered last week. Considering the fact that we were still pulling crystals out of the pocket at dark last week, I had high hopes. Needless to say the pocket continued to produce. Although we did not uncover any crystals the size of the monster pulled last week, we still found some of the best quality smokies I've ever seen! We also managed to pull some nice specimens of tourmaline. Sorry for the bombardment of photos. So far the pocket has produced over 200 crystals!!

 

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[BurntBear]

Oh...my...goodness...

 

[yakker]

Holy smokies! Yakker

 

[BurntBear]

Dude, those are top-notch. I see a potential mine site; no doubt.

 

[rodoconnor]

Dang , man Way to Go !!

 

[thehunter123]

Thanks BurntBear! That is awesome news! I have a question for you. So far the area we have been digging is an area about 8ft by 4ft and the deepest we have gone is at most a foot deep. Should we just keep digging straight down? Also, we have run in to a large amount of brownish-colored sandy rocks that can be easily crumbled throughout the pocket. Is that a sign of anything?

 

[BurntBear]

That is amazing. I wouldn't go straight down if that's the case. I would start making your way out now; stripping the top layer. I'm not sure what the sandy rocks could be. I'd probably have to see it or feel it, lol.

 

[BurntBear]

You may need to start digging with plastic tools to not damage those beautiful, terminated crystals. If you found all that in a 8'x4'x12" hole; you can take the time and not damage anything.

 

[MrLee]

Yes, take your time, don't rush. Get out the chopsticks and toothbrushes. Remember, fantastic specimens that "come apart" can be repaired, they have to be fantastic though.

Watch the first or second season of Prospectors. They have good digging/extracting scenes. Minus the "drama" of the show, it's the best digging show made.

You may want to offer some of those smokeys to buyers here on net. I may be interested in some of the smaller specimens.

Here's to continued luck

 

[Flick420]

Wow, i must say i am quite jealous, that is a seriously nice fine, that is what most prospectors dream of. That twin crystal in the fourth picture is gem quality and out of this world. The size of the crystals your pulling out is impressive, but the clarity of them is amazing.

Those clusters are really nice too, especially how damage free they are. The third picture shows the clarity of some of those little crystals also and there pretty nice

The black tourmaline is a good sign, the brown colored sandy rocks sounds like pocket clay/ material that filled in the pocket when it was open, as long as your finding it you should find crystals in it and towards the walls. Id keep digging into the brown stone, and start moving outward from the initial site. It might be worth it to prospect the surround area in a 10-50 foot range, if there is a pocket like that right on top there should be more.

 

[DDancer]

Hehh, again BB and Flick are suggesting of course An added idea is to take a screen and some water. You are probably missing a lot of small stuff.

After you do a good surface dig and determine the size of the patch go into that crumbly stuff as Flick suggests. That will be the decomposing bed rock and has a high probablility of containing other vugs. Trenching is one good method. Hopefully you are minimizing you disturbance and trails.

 

[Buckshotnc]

Enjoy this, you're living the dream of most of the people on this forum. Take your time and savor the moment and don't be to specific about your location until you're sure you've found what is available.

 

[tncreeker]

Can you tell me how you came to find the spot that you are digging? I have spent the better part of 3 months in the woods, searching the creeks, dug out hillsides etc. I`m in southern WNC and just cant seem to find what I`m looking for. Google searches are just not being very informative. Thanx for any info. Lori

 

[thehunter123]

Hey Lori,

I'd be happy to share with you what I know. I'm definitely not an expert or anything but I've had quite a bit of experience since finding this pocket. I found my very first crystal (shown below) in the same general location as the pocket nearly two years ago while I was deer hunting. Needless to say, that find sparked my interest in searching for what could possibly a major deposit. But like you, I had absolutely no luck with google searches so I really just had to start going out and looking. Since finding this pocket, along with two or three others in the same general vicinity, I've noticed a few distinct similarities between them. Since we both live in the same general area, these signs should apply to your location as well. First things first, search the hillsides. Every pocket I have found is located on the side of a hill. Secondly, if there are any logging roads on the land you are searching, follow them! Loggers tend to push up a lot of dirt and may just push up the top layer of a pocket and exposing some crystals. Finally, look for large deposits of rough quartz stones on the surface (not clear, gem-quality stones but rough, milky-colored ones). By "deposit" I basically just mean a relatively small area with primarily rough quartz stones. The second picture below should give you a good idea of what to look for. If you find an area with a bunch of these, remove the rough stones on the surface and dig down a few inches. If the surface quartz stones are fairly large, be gentle when pulling them out. We actually found some very nice crystals on the bottoms of some of the surface stones. If you begin digging down and a crystal or two pops out, you might have just found a pocket! As you dig, I would recommend going down about two inches at a time, making sure that your hole covers the entire area where the surface stones were located. This will help you pinpoint where the majority of the crystals are located. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!

Good luck and happy hunting!

 

[tncreeker]

Thank you for your very informative reply!! I`m sure there are some logging roads around here. I`ll wait a couple of days though before I venture up there. Takes longer for the snow to melt up there. Thanx again.