If you enjoy rock tumbling a new book by Steve Hart titled “Modern Rock Tumbling” gives a great introduction to the hobby. It has good sections on vibratory tumblers and ceramic media that have not been well-covered in previous books about the subject.
The Wyoming Geological Survey has a .pdf publication titled “Guide to Prospecting and Rock Hunting in Wyoming” by W. Dan Hausel. It contains summary information about gold, diamonds, agates, jasper, petrified wood, precious metals and many types of gemstones that have been found in the state. It is Information Pamphlet 11 in the WSGS publication series.
One of the largest diamonds in history was discovered at the Cullinan Diamond Mine in South Africa. The 507-carat white stone is one of many spectacular gems from the Cullinan Mine.
Scott Kleine of Great Basin Minerals shares a few photos from his trip to collect topaz crystals at Topaz Mountain in Teller County, Colorado. One of his finds was the 90 carat gem topaz crystal shown at right.
Benitoite is the state gemstone of California and a nice tiny crystal can be worth a lot of money. Scott Kleine of Great Basin Minerals shares some of his photos from a Benitoite fee mining trip.
Another mineral collecting field trip shared by Scott Kleine of Great Basin Minerals. This trip goes to collect amethyst and quartz scepter crystals at Petersen Mountain along the California – Nevada border.
The website of Great Basin Minerals has an interesting photo field trip to the Rainbow Ridge Opal mine in Virgin Valley, Nevada. This is a pay-to-prospect mine where they found a lot of nice opal.
CNN has an article about how six people found a fortune. One of the stories is about a person finding a 40.23 carat diamond at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas – the only diamond mine in the world where you can look for diamonds and keep what you find.
Geologists have discovered some jade deposits in Guatemala that reveal past activity at the Motagua Fault. It appears that the North American and Caribbean plates have collided at least twice.
Diamonds have lifted the economy of Botswana but the recent recession has cut demand by about 50%. Their response is an attempt to capture the diamond sorting, cutting and selling portions of the trade.
Diamonds are composed of carbon and many people wonder if diamonds can be burned. Here is a video from The Open University. It shows a diamond being heated with a torch then dropped into liquid oxygen where it burns to produce carbon dioxide gas.
The only producing diamond mine in the United States is the Crater of Diamonds Mine near Murfreesboro, Arkansas. It is also the only diamond mine in the world where you can be the miner.
What would happen if large, nearly flawless diamonds could be grown at a rate of a millimeter per hour? That day might arrive soon. Diamonds then would have much wider use in industry – but what might happen to the gemstone market?
Leadership positions in the gem-quality diamond production race are constantly changing as new discoveries are made and old mines are worked out. This article charts diamond production geographically and over time.
This is a brief article about some unique skulls from Mexico that are approximately 2,500 years old. The people of the time apparently had pits put in their teeth so that gemstones could be set within. This article includes a nice photo of one of the gem-encrusted smiles.
Professor Richard Weston of Earth Images shares a gallery of close-up photos of agate. These are some of the most colorful and detailed mineral images that you will ever see.
A blue diamond of 7.03 carats was sold for $9.5 million – the highest per carat price ever paid for a gemstone at auction. The stone was produced from the Cullinan mine in South Africa.
A seven-carat blue diamond mined from South Africa will soon be up for auction in Geneva, and is expected to sell at a record price. Its unusual color is caused by the element boron.
One of just three in the world, this red diamond was a big hit with kids visiting the Hixon Gem Vault in Los Angeles. Stolen during World War II it is now on public display.
The-Vug.com has a comprehensive list of rock, mineral and gem clubs listed by state with a short description of each organization. These clubs are great places to learn about rocks, gems and minerals from people who are very knowledgeable and generous with their time. See if there are any clubs near you!
The-Vug.com has a frequently updated list of rock and gem shows happening across the United States and beyond. If you have not check the list before you will be surprised at how many shows there are – probably one near you!
The-Vug.com has a collection of videos taken at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. This one shows Brett Kosnar of Mineral Classics giving faceting demonstrations to children. There are many more videos, including exhibit case tours and mineral collector/dealer interviews.
If you were not able to attend the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show this year you can see several posts about it at the Arizona Geology blog. These include…
* Mineral Oddities
* Mineral Specimens
* Desautels Award
* $7 Million Mineral Collection Sale
* Silent Auction
* Should Fossils be Sold?
The Tucson Gem and Mineral Shows will be starting late this month. The first shows will begin on January 28th and continue until February 15th. If you like minerals, gemstones, fossils or jewelry you should consider visiting Tucson. If you can’t go this year, don’t worry it is an annual event. An excellent website for the show is TucsonGemAndMineralShows.net. The site has a detailed schedule of shows, tips on getting the most out of the show, a few day trip suggestions to see more of the Tucson area, and much more.
We are pleased to have a new article titled “Impactites – Ghostly Footprints of Ancient Meteorites” by Geoffrey Notkin of Aerolite Meteorites. Learn about impact breccia, Libyan desert glass, moldavites, shatter cones, tectites and more.
This is the fifth article in Geoffrey’s Meteorwritings series.
As a result of the global economic downturn the demand for cut diamonds is forcing the layoff of thousands of employees in Surat, India, where a large percentage of the world’s rough diamonds are cut into gems.
The Bahia Emerald is an 850-pound specimen with large emerald crystals. It was reported stolen from a vault near Los Angeles, was traced to a Las Vegas warehouse and is now being claimed by four parties.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has discovered evidence that there may be hydrated silica present on Mars. It is a new category of hydrated mineral, similar to opal.
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Hobart King
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