Any Rock Hounds?

[PathofAsha]

I've got friends that get a group together to go but I've not been in a position to participate---think it would be a fun group outting though. Anybody else dig rocks? 

Oh yes! Spent a few years in my youth around upstate NY fascinated by pieces of marble and Herkimer crystals I found. Been hooked on geology ever since. Which led to my love of hot springs too.

 

[TrainChaser]

Grimmal, get your wife one of those emergency whistles and put it on a lanyard, just in case.

 

[grimmal]

Grimmal, get your wife one of those emergency whistles and put it on a lanyard, just in case.

When she is by herself she has one on her keychain but when me and the dog go she gives me the keys. I need to get another one out of storage so she has one for around her neck. Thanks

 

[bonnieE350van]

can anyone tell me where to go to find small pieces of turquoise?  I'm not interested in big pieces or polished just bits and pieces of raw(?) turquoise...or is it reserved for native American jewelry making?  What other small stones can be found in the desert southwest...AZ,NM,and TX maybe...

 

[highdesertranger]

how small are we talking, finger nail size? pencil eraser size? peppercorn size? highdesertranger

 

[bonnieE350van]

how small are we talking,  finger nail size?  pencil eraser size?  peppercorn size?  highdesertranger

any size up to thumbnail or quarter size would be okay for me...don't have a specific use for them right at the moment
but love the looks of them...may turn into jewelry at later date, probably necklaces or incorporating into woodcrafts or
artwork of some type...

 

[DannyB1954]

can anyone tell me where to go to find small pieces of turquoise?  I'm not interested in big pieces or polished just bits and pieces of raw(?) turquoise...or is it reserved for native American jewelry making?  What other small stones can be found in the desert southwest...AZ,NM,and TX maybe...

They still mine it near Tonopah Nevada. https://roadtrippers.com/us/tonopah-nv/attractions/royston-turquoise-mine

 

[TrainChaser]

Bonnie: just google 'turquoise chips price'. Also check out beading sections of craft stores, where you can often buy them by the strand if you don't mind the holes.

 

[TrainChaser]

I can't help it -- things like this is what my brain comes up with!

Suppose you went to a rock & gem show, and someone had a lump of gold to sell, say about the size of your whole thumb.  It's heavy, it looks like gold (you've seen gold before), the surface can be scratched.  I know that gold is heavier than lead, but how would you determine if it was really solid gold, and not just a coating of gold over a lump of lead?  Other than the rule of 'know your dealer', IS there any way to tell with the irregular shape of most nuggets?

 

[highdesertranger]

a "specific gravity test." it will reveal if it's gold or not. the only thing that will fool a specific gravity test for gold is tungsten and tungsten in bulk to fake nuggets is hard to come by. you could always mine your own but most thieves don't have that much initiative. highdesertranger

 

[TrainChaser]

Okay, thanks HDR! I found this online -- it looks simple enough: http://www.johnbetts-fineminerals.com/jhbnyc/articles/specific_gravity.htm

 

[WriterMs]

FYI for those in California or other states having heavy rains and flooding: I just saw an article about amateur gold hunters having a field day (pun intended) as flooding has washed out new areas yielding more gold from panning.

My thought is that newly exposed river banks and surrounding areas might reveal all sorts of collectible specimens.

 

[sushidog]

I recently came back from a trip to Hiddenite, NC where I did some emerald mining there and around the Little Switzerland area.

We found a couple of nice little emeralds we are having faceted and mounted into a pair of earrings and a pretty topaz we are having scissor cut (a type of emerald cut) and mounted in a ring.

Here's a pic of a few of our finds this trip, just to give you an idea of the rough stones. We found lots of low grade emeralds (over 10 lbs) embedded in the matrix and a few nice, facetable ones, along with some other interesting stuff.

I'll post up a pic of the cut stones in a month or two when I receive them.

 

[highdesertranger]

that's really cool. you got some killer specimens there. what is that on the left, banded agate? are those quartz crystals? in a pic it's hard to tell the difference from gypsum crystals. highdesertranger

 

[Dennis]

Those are cool finds! I would like to make a trip to some of the mines up that way. Just wish the heat and humidity was less than where I am. Better trip for the fall time I imagine.

 

[sushidog]

that's really cool.  you got some killer specimens there.  what is that on the left,  banded agate?  are those quartz crystals?  in a pic it's hard to tell the difference from gypsum crystals.   highdesertranger

The two on the left are tiger's eye. I also found some nice specimens of green moss agate. Most of the clear crystals are quartz, but the one on the far left is white topaz. The 2 crystals on the far right appear to be calcite. I also found a good bit of colorful, but lesser stones like, sodalite, flourite, kyanite, quartz, amethyst, etc. not pictured.

The dark crystal by the tiger's eye appears to be topaz. I might have this one cut as think it will turn out nice.

A few of those chunks of matrix appear to have some rather clean, yet small but facetable emerald crystals (along with lots of unusable beryl.) I have a good lapidary near Franklin I'll take them to in October to see if any are worth faceting or perhaps cabochoning.

Chip

 

[sushidog]

Those are cool finds!  I would like to make a trip to some of the mines up that way. Just wish the heat and humidity was less than where I am.  Better trip for the fall time I imagine.

If you go to the Little Switzerland/Spruce Pine area it's a little cooler due to the elevation. A couple weeks ago the weather was perfect around Hiddenite, but it's getting a little warmer now.

I camped at the Hiddenite family campground, in my Aliner, on a nice cool stream. I would wade up and down the stream searching for emeralds and though I found some nice rich beryl layers in rocks, I didn't locate any emerald (beryl with chromium to make it bright green) in the stream. There was lots of pyrite, mica and garnets there though. I'm sure there was some gold too, as there usually is when these kinds of deposits are found, but I didn't have permission to dig around and pan for any. People are kind of sensitive about that sort of thing. There have been some gold finds around Little Switzerland too, according to a local I talked to there. He was a little tight lipped about exactly where, as you might expect.

Chip

 

[Charlotte's Web]

"...I do rock hounding.   I search for whatever is in the area I am in. 
...warning go prepared"... 

I love to walk/hike anywhere I find myself.  Any activity proves to be more fun with a QUEST involved.  Can anyone recommend a beginners' guide for rock hounds--identification, location, etc?  I've no idea where to begin.

I've got pocketfulls of pretty rocks I've picked up here & there thru the years but have no clue what they are...besides just pretty or interesting.

And Stranger, what did you mean by "warning go prepared"?

  With picks, buckets, bear spray???
Cheers,
Scarlett

 

[wagoneer]

I can dig it, picked up this piece of fencepost??? laying in an open field for firewood Plumas county. weighs about 25 pounds, I don't think they had fences back in them days the dino's would have just crushed em

 

[wagoneer]

sorry camera too powerful