Rough Diamond Mine (Rough Diamond Placer Mine; Rough Diamond Crystal Mine), Chili Gulch (Chile Gulch ?), Mokelumne Hill, Mokelumne Hill Mining District, East Belt, Calaveras County, California, USAi
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
38° 16' 15'' North , 120° 42' 41'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Mokelumne Hill | 646 (2011) | 3.3km |
| San Andreas | 2,783 (2011) | 8.7km |
| Jackson | 4,649 (2017) | 10.2km |
| Martell | 282 (2011) | 13.0km |
| Valley Springs | 3,553 (2011) | 13.5km |
Nearest Clubs:
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
| Club | Location | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Amador County Gem & Mineral Society | Sutter Creek, California | 16km |
| Calaveras Gem & Mineral Society | Angels Camp, California | 27km |
Mindat Locality ID:
28433
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:28433:1
GUID (UUID V4):
e7b94826-8950-43ff-a6ec-b4aa57008ad7
Another classic locality for "Mokelumne Hill Rock Crystal"
A former placer/drift Au-quartz mine located in the SE¼ sec. 24, T5N, R11E, MDM, about 2 miles S of Mokelumne Hill, south of and adjacent to the Green Mountain drift mine. MRDS database stated accuracy for this location is 100 meters. Coordinates provided are for the mine symbol on the topo map, S of the approximate location of the Green Mountain Mine.
Mineralization is a cemented gravel placer Au-Quartz deposit. Local rocks include Paleozoic marine rocks, undivided, unit 4 (Western Sierra Nevada) and/or Tertiary pyroclastic and volcanic mudflow deposits, unit 9 (Cascade Range).
Workings include underground openings. Old workings include a 700 foot tunnel.
Prior to 1877 this property was worked as a hydraulic mine, but cemented gravel prevented recovery of much of the Gold. A Mr. Garland purchased the ground in 1877, drove a 450-foot drift, and erected a 5 stamp mill that handled 90 tons of gravel per day. Gold in the gravel is reported to have averaged $2.00 to $2.50 per carload in 1883. The mine lay idle for several years until 1942. From late in 1942 until November, 1943, approximately 6600 pounds of Quartz crystals were recovered. Production of modest amounts of Quartz crystals continued through 1944. During the latter part of that year, both the Rough Diamond and Calaveras Crystal (Green Mountain) properties were operated by the Quartz crystal products company. No crystal production has been reported since 1944.
This property is located on the Tunnel Ridge channel. Its geology is similar to that of the Green Mountain mine and is described under that heading. Reserves of Quartz crystal in the Rough Diamond were estimated in 1944 to be 12,000 pounds in 900 cubic yards of gravel. Approximately 5% of this Quartz would be of piezoelectric grade.
Production information: About 6,600 pounds of quartz rock crystal; about 4,700 cubic yards of gravel had been mined, averaging 1.4 pounds of crystal per cubic yard. Au averaged $2.00 to $2.50 a carload in 1883 (period values). Some Au mined in 1934. It was estimated that about 12,600 pounds of crystal remain to be recovered.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Gold Formula: Au |
| ⓘ Opal Formula: SiO2 · nH2O |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 |
| ⓘ Quartz var. Rock Crystal Formula: SiO2 |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | var. Rock Crystal | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | Opal | 4.DA.10 | SiO2 · nH2O |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Opal | SiO2 · nH2O |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Opal | SiO2 · nH2O |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz var. Rock Crystal | SiO2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Opal | SiO2 · nH2O |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz var. Rock Crystal | SiO2 |
| Au | Gold | |
| Au | ⓘ Gold | Au |
Other Databases
| Link to USGS MRDS: | 10109144 |
|---|
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
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References
(n.d.) Minerals Availability System (MAS), U.S. Bureau of Mines.file ID #0060090315
