For all general rockhound chatter! http://www.mindat.org/msgboard-15.html Mon, 20 May 2013 12:22:45 +0000 Phorum 5.2.15a http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,294317,294317#msg-294317 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,294317,294317#msg-294317 gold prospecting videos and for a few years I was prospecting 4 days a week, averaging 2 pennyweight a day. Then, a couple years back when it was time to sell what I had and after I did I just didn't have it in me to work another 20 trips to fill my bottle, it was about 100$ a day at the time but was also 14+ hour days with 6 mile hike. This is when I started to research other minerals in the West Coast, mainly California.

I bought a copy of Gem Trails of California and started poking around. I created http://www.IDigCalifornia.com a while back as my online rock journal. Mainly for me to look back and see what all I have done. I am going to college to be a geologist and hope to live off personal mineral finds fully one day. I took this semester off to try to see if I could try to collect minerals as an income.

Recently, I've really hammered in on different local quartz localities for the last 2 years. Last year I found hundreds of lbs of quartz, all of which I still have, cleaned, sorted, and hoarded. I posted lots of photos and videos the last few years on my Photo Bucket, but recently I had experienced some problems and switched to a Flickr Account which has my more recent finds, up to last week.

I am in the mindat chat often and also reading all the new forum topics but I usually rarely post. I am making this Topic to hopefully meet some other avid collectors in the area that are hitting it hard or get any new info on localities unknown to myself. I so far have driven to Nevada, Arizona, and Oregon to dig minerals. The Royal Peacock Opal Mine in Virgin Valley Nevada opens up (with most others) next monday. I am 95% sure I'll head up for the week, that or wait 1 more week. Last week I found this Baryte plate in Nevada. This week I am taking the week off the dig and am going to try to get all my stuff in order for the opal dig.

I've yet to dig any Oregon Sunstones or anything in the Warner Range, San Diego County or any Riverside County Pegmatites. I have dug at the Oceanview mine and Pala Chief mine in Pala, California but am really trying to get away from the screening site digs, I'd much rather be in a pocket. I'm also interested in digging fire opal in Oregon but have noticed that at most places a rotary hammer & electric generator is vital. Any who, remember the name, I'm going to be around for the next 50 years (....willing)]]> Zach Ratley Rockhounds Mon, 20 May 2013 10:41:20 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,294182,294182#msg-294182 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,294182,294182#msg-294182
Thanks

Mel Baker]]> Mel Baker Rockhounds Sat, 18 May 2013 15:03:56 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,294152,294152#msg-294152 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,294152,294152#msg-294152
I have made up my mind. I would travel to Brazil, Pakistan, Anywhere in the US to find a pocket. I have been rock-hounding for 6 months. I am familiar with survival and could live in the woods for any amount of time. I dont have connections and this post seems eccentric to you I am sure.

I made my decision after watching some recent TV shows, (yeah). I worked in Alaska for 3 years on the Bearing sea for three years, was a stock broker and quit after 9-11. Wall Street sucks.Successful painting business, quit due to siatica and addiction to pain meds, cleaned up. Been buying selling gold/silver urban prospecting for the last 6 years.

Loooking for a down to earth partner that will work as hard as they can as I will probably outwork you physically. I am 42
and will give 100% for the right situation. I am 42 yo, male, not gay, single, looking for a good male/female friend

I must admit I got hooked on Prospectors on the Weather channel.It wasnt the gems so much as the challenge and
idea of driving a hole right through the peak. Then driving left and right to each side of claim. Still trying to figure out the lightining issue up there.

Telsa had the solution if you dig deep enough.

Alan Weigand
Bridgewater, NJ.
908-745-1291
netrubicon@yahoo.com]]> Alan Weigand Rockhounds Mon, 20 May 2013 07:26:41 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,294077,294077#msg-294077 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,294077,294077#msg-294077
I am a beginner collector in North Jersey and I am looking for people to collect with. I have done collecting in a few sites and am looking forward to learning to collecting techniques and exploring new locations with people. Let me know if you are interested.

-James]]> James Ha Rockhounds Sat, 18 May 2013 05:01:43 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,294048,294048#msg-294048 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,294048,294048#msg-294048
Can somebody follow this link to Althor and tell me which product number of perky box from Althor is the official one? I plan on ordering a LOT, so this is important to me. I'd feel much more comfortable the info coming from the mindat community rather than an employee.

Here is the link: [packaging.althor.com]?

Cheers!

Matt aka Belnor_Minerals on mindat chat.]]> Matthew Langlois Rockhounds Sat, 18 May 2013 07:39:43 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,294012,294012#msg-294012 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,294012,294012#msg-294012 [www.mindat.org]
To me, it looks as a garnet twins with (100) as a twin plane.
As I have not seen something like before, I just should like to comment here, perhaps any of you can give another explanation to this crystal.
Thanks for your comment.

Almandine
Taplejung District, Mechi Zone, Nepal
20 x 17 x 12 mm
Photo Copyright © Oleg Lopatkin
[attachment 45479 0689625001368672280.jpg]]]> Jose Zendrera Rockhounds Fri, 17 May 2013 00:04:15 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,293978,293978#msg-293978 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,293978,293978#msg-293978
Thanks]]> Lee Rockhounds Thu, 16 May 2013 22:44:03 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,293851,293851#msg-293851 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,293851,293851#msg-293851 MBaker Rockhounds Sun, 19 May 2013 16:50:01 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,293708,293708#msg-293708 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,293708,293708#msg-293708
my first post here although have used this amazing resource of a site before. Im from the UK, more of a mystic than a rockhound, though i am in need of some geologist input/help.

I am in need of a pair of Boji stones, and my crystal handbook says they come from the UK too. I understand 'boji' is a trademark issue and they are also known as energy stones or pop rocks. one male, and one female required.

I always pick my rocks myself where i can, and was wondering if anyone on the forum knew of these stones in the UK? knew their geological name, and had an idea where i could get a pair from please? doesnt matter if a working mine, i will just go ask them for their help?

any help gratefully received.

daz]]> daz lovegrove Rockhounds Thu, 16 May 2013 01:14:04 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,293645,293645#msg-293645 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,293645,293645#msg-293645
Thanks]]> Tim Korte Rockhounds Sat, 18 May 2013 02:04:48 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,293467,293467#msg-293467 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,293467,293467#msg-293467 www.ebay.com]]]> Michael Hopkins Rockhounds Thu, 09 May 2013 15:44:44 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,293197,293197#msg-293197 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,293197,293197#msg-293197 Andrew Kruegel Rockhounds Fri, 10 May 2013 15:01:31 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,292978,292978#msg-292978 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,292978,292978#msg-292978 KC Dalby Rockhounds Sun, 05 May 2013 13:55:49 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,292971,292971#msg-292971 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,292971,292971#msg-292971 KC Dalby Rockhounds Fri, 03 May 2013 17:59:10 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,292932,292932#msg-292932 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,292932,292932#msg-292932 Joel Russo Rockhounds Fri, 03 May 2013 11:35:21 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,292915,292915#msg-292915 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,292915,292915#msg-292915 Does anyone know of any peer reviewed paper that describes natrolite outside of an igneous setting?]]> Brent Rockhounds Sat, 04 May 2013 09:35:23 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,292618,292618#msg-292618 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,292618,292618#msg-292618 My buddy found this piece around Farson, Wyoming. He had it out in the garden until someone wanted to use some of his "Garden" variety specimens for a store display and he cleaned it up and found the worm. He has it listed on Ebay - possibly high starting bid, but who knows might be a deal. I was wondering if you all had any knowlege of similar specimins. And how the hell does a worm become petrified?

Ebay link =

[www.ebay.com]]]> gerard Kindt Rockhounds Thu, 02 May 2013 11:49:50 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,292615,292615#msg-292615 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,292615,292615#msg-292615 gary moldovany Rockhounds Mon, 06 May 2013 18:42:30 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,292339,292339#msg-292339 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,292339,292339#msg-292339
I apologize if this isn't the correct subforum, but I have a couple of questions regarding fluorites, out of curiosity…

The first one is regarding the “color changing” fluorites from Weißeck-Gebiet area, Austria (http://www.mindat.org/loc-219476.html). The fluorites I am talking about are the ones that Stonetrust had for sale at the 2010 Denver show and at the 2011 Tucson show (http://www.mindat.org/article.php/1091/Tucson+2011+-+Westward+Look+Mineral+Show),
(http://kristalle.com/news-story.php?id=74) and seen on Justin Zzyzx’s youtube video here: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_THkPPH6mg]).

My question is are these “color changing” properties only exclusive to these particular purple fluorites? In other words has anybody tried to move for example a purple Cave-In-Rock, fluorite (I just thought of the first locality that popped in my mind) over a mercury monochromatic light or a CREE LED light? I own a blue-green fluorite from Jiangxi Province, China and it is a flat green color under a halogen light, but under “sunlight” or an LED light will be a vibrant almost sea green color. I thought it would be interesting if there were any other unusual fluorites that share these color variations under different lamps. I always thought these fluorites from Austria were very impressive (I wished I owned one!), but then again it doesn’t take a lot to impress me. I thought these fluorite displays from Stonetrust were very well done and educational, even if I couldn't enjoy being at the show directly.

My second question is regarding the pink fluorites from the Huanggangliang Mine from Inner Mongolia, China. (http://www.mindat.org/loc-64660.html]). One of our mineral club members mentioned that they overheard from a dealer (I won’t mention names, because of privacy), in Tucson that they hypothesized that these pink fluorites were not color stable and will fade to colorless over time. I guess I have a few questions:

What F- center is responsible for turning these fluorites pink?

Is it the same F-center that turns Swiss/French alpine fluorites, Peruvian, or Pakistani fluorites pink?

Has anyone had experience of these pink fluorites fading over time? I don’t mean sticking them under direct sunlight over a period of time, I mean having them in your (dark) mineral cabinet or under a halogen lamp. I know that fluorite is phototropic and will fade from UV rays from the sun. My question is mostly regarding the Chinese pink fluorites, but I would be interested in learning about the color stability of those other fluorites localities as well.

Thank you from a curious mineral collector!]]> Jamison K. Brizendine Rockhounds Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:01:08 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,292153,292153#msg-292153 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,292153,292153#msg-292153 in this 50 x 60mm Yaogangxian Fluorite crystal there are some needles 20 - 25mm long with Stibnite color. Could it be Boulangerite?
Paolo]]> Paolo Franchi Rockhounds Wed, 24 Apr 2013 23:30:51 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,291701,291701#msg-291701 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,291701,291701#msg-291701
I recently acquired a placer claim from the BLM in California. Lots of confusion ensued because there is an old abandoned railroad on part of my claim.
After being kicked off my claim by sherriffs and rail police, I called a BLM geologist who wrote me a letter, stating the following:

"... A mining claim does not authorize any activity on the surface of the mining claim."

How can this possibly be true? How am I supposed to mine for minerals? Osmosis??

Any help in understanding this will be greatly appreciated.

FYI, where I want to mine is away from the rail, but there are several pieces of broken rail scattered about the property that I will have to move to get to where i want to mine. According to BLM, I am allowed to remove any litter or waste from my claim. Supposedly.

Thanks for any help!!

Corie]]> Corie Mattar Rockhounds Thu, 25 Apr 2013 08:46:53 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,291683,291683#msg-291683 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,291683,291683#msg-291683
Fluomin.org says that beryl is sometimes fluorescent giving orangy yellow color due mostly to Cr3+ as activator or, less often, to Fe3+, Mn4+, V2+, VO43-

I'm not able to find more information about this.

Can somebody confirm light blue fluorescence in aquamarine?

Any idea of wich is the activator?

Thanks for your help.

*Can see HD images here: [www.mindat.org]

[attachment 45087 aquas2.JPG]
Under short wave UV, tabular crystals at left foreground and short prism at center, both from Mt. Xuebaoding, are the most fluorescent aquamarines between specimens from, left to right, Afghanistan, Namibia, Nepal and Pakistan (4 pieces).
Green shines of some specimens are hyalite and the reds are albite.]]> Jose Zendrera Rockhounds Wed, 24 Apr 2013 22:48:25 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,291649,291649#msg-291649 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,291649,291649#msg-291649
When a formula contains two or more anions, as in today's(04/18/13) POTD mineral - Birchite, how are they prioritized left to right?

TTFN


To absent friends...in memory...still bright.]]> Steven Kittleson Rockhounds Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:25:17 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,291604,291604#msg-291604 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,291604,291604#msg-291604 James Jones Rockhounds Thu, 18 Apr 2013 15:22:45 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,291584,291584#msg-291584 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,291584,291584#msg-291584 Paul.Siegel@stonybrook.edu

Thank you,

Paul Siegel]]> Paul Siegel Rockhounds Fri, 03 May 2013 16:26:11 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,291121,291121#msg-291121 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,291121,291121#msg-291121
I've thought of a few useful things, from local sources of tools 'n machinery, to field collecting safety, to local collecting spots, an introduction to lapidary, glossary of mineral collector terms, list of the best websites, best books to get, stuff like that.

I'm trying to put myself in the mindset of somebody completely new to the hobby, what info do they need and want most? What am I missing?

If your club offers new members packages, I'd love to know what's included.

Thanks a ton for any info or suggestions!]]> Tim Jokela Jr Rockhounds Sat, 13 Apr 2013 20:47:50 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,291112,291112#msg-291112 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,291112,291112#msg-291112
I know that the same kind of sharing of professionally rendered photos where permission has NOT been granted has been an ongoing topic of discussion.

Am I on the slippery slope?

Maggie]]> Maggie Wilson Rockhounds Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:00:34 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,291106,291106#msg-291106 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,291106,291106#msg-291106 I was wondering whether anyone has informations regarding the collecting possibilities here:

[www.mindat.org]

I do not know the area at all. Are we talking about old mining activities, quarries, outcrops...?
Thanks in advance!

Chris]]> Chris Mavris Rockhounds Sun, 14 Apr 2013 19:38:46 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,291068,291068#msg-291068 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,291068,291068#msg-291068
Bob]]> Robert Rothenberg Rockhounds Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:26:17 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,290910,290910#msg-290910 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,290910,290910#msg-290910
Thanks,

Eric Greene
Treasure Mountain Mining]]> Eric Greene Rockhounds Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:00:02 +0000