Discussions

💬 Home 🔎 Search 📅 Latest

╳Discussions

💬 Home 🔎 Search 📅 Latest

Groups

Recent Images in Discussions

GeneralColorado Stream Mining Suggestion (non gold)

22nd Apr 2018 02:02 UTCPaige Taylor

Hi everyone! I will be coming to Colorado soon and am interested in possibly looking through stream water to find minerals, namely aquamarine or amazonite. I know mount Antero is widely known for aquamarine but I did not know if there were any run off streams towards the base of it that might have minerals in it? Is this something that’s even possible or do I need to just plan on digging? I’m not familiar with mountainside digging as I typically find things in North Carolina in the stream beds. I would love to know suggestions on where you think we should go and would love some ideas on what to bring!

22nd Apr 2018 03:37 UTCDoug Daniels

Paige

I'm not a Colorado expert, but do have a little knowledge. Mount Antero is a pretty hefty beast, if I remember correctly around 14,000 feet. The base, not sure - between 5000 and 7000 feet... The aquas are near the top of the mountain. So, even if eroded down to the base, you wouldn't have much left (sand sized grains, at best, if you could distinguish them). As for amazonite, I'm pretty sure it's not found on Mt. Antero, but I could be wrong. But as far as looking for it in streams at the base of the mountain, same comment as above. There are places to find out where to find amazonite, but they elude me right now (hopefully some Colorado experts will chime in). You could also go to various areas west of Denver, and try your luck at panning for gold. We did that once, found a few flakes.

22nd Apr 2018 23:17 UTCPaul Brandes 🌟 Manager

Welcome to Mindat, Paige!

Along the lines of what Doug has mentioned, Mt. Antero is big mountain with lots of streams/tributaries coming off from it. I highly doubt that by the time most minerals got to a point to where you could legally collect, you'd have much of a chance to find anything decent. Still, Colorado has some great areas to explore and search in streams coming out of the mountains. A couple of suggestions for you would be to find copies of the books "Rockhounding Colorado" by William Kappele or "Colorado Rockhounding" by Steve Voynick. Both can be found on Amazon and offer some great areas to explore and collect on public grounds. Another option would be to contact local rock clubs in the areas you plan to go. They should also be able to assist you.

Hope this helps...

23rd Apr 2018 01:36 UTCKevin Conroy Manager

You may want to try Devil's Head: https://www.mindat.org/loc-6090.html

Note that some of the land here is under claim, so watch for claim boundaries. For info see: http://davealex.com/earthfire/identifying-federal-mining-claims/

23rd Apr 2018 03:44 UTCDean Allum Expert

Hi Paige,

I used to live in Colorado, and we usually did not find the good rocks in the streams. The Rocky Mountains are slowly being eroded away, and most of the rocks in the streams are granite.

An exception to this is the Crystal River as it runs through the town of Marble Colorado. Nice specimens of marble can be found there. Caution, mountain streams are nearly as cold as the snow from which they are formed.

If you are willing to search a dry stream-bed in scenic South Park, plenty of Jasper, Carnelian and Flint can be found South West of the Antero Reservoir, about 5 miles West of Hartsel, CO, at GPS coordinates 38.963995, -105.923871 .

Consider checking your library for a book about rockhounding in Colorado.

-Dean

23rd Apr 2018 13:39 UTCLarry Maltby Expert

Going along with Dean’s post, you may find this to be interesting.

Click on this link: https://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/latitudelongitude-finder/

Copy the coordinates 38.963995, -105.923871 only, without the period. Paste the coordinates into the box that says “Enter your location” and search. You will see the satellite photo of that exact location. Use the minus sign to pull back to see the location relative to other landmarks. Use the plus sign to see more and more detail.

If you go to any Mindat location page and see the coordinates in the form shown above (in blue), click on them and you will be led to the satellite photo of the location.

23rd Apr 2018 14:08 UTCKevin Conroy Manager

By the way, the coordinates above are very close to the Hartsel barite location: https://www.mindat.org/loc-64751.html

No streams here, you'll have to dig. When you find the barite crystals they're white/cream color, but leave them in the sunlight and they'll turn bluish. Be sure to get permission before you go here!

24th Apr 2018 21:09 UTCPaige Taylor

Y’all are AMAZING!! Thank you! I am so used to being able to go to North Carolina and dig in the mountains and in the streams that I knew this was a different beast! I do have a few books at home and I also have an atlas that should help. Thank you for the coordinates and all of the information! I did not know if the aquamarine would be hard enough (mohs) to even make it down the mountain. I figured it wouldn’t but hey it can’t hurt to ask

24th Apr 2018 21:10 UTCPaige Taylor

Thank you for the warm welcome as well! I’ve used the satellites and maps here but never the message boards. So excited to talk to other Geology peeps!

Mindat.org is an outreach project of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2024, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: April 23, 2024 08:00:21

Go to top of page