goodsgems
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2024
Posts: 14
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Post by goodsgems on Apr 5, 2024 18:38:18 GMT -5
Hello Rock-hounds! I'm heading out to a surface mine known to have high quality jasper. It's an area that has a few pits from people coming on the private property to pirate stones in the past, and there are some exposed veins of lower quality stone. On past visits, I've found many shards of the high quality material left over that have polished beautifully. I have some time this trip to do some digging, gonna bring shovels, pick axe, a buddy, eye protection, gloves, lots of water, geological hammers, maybe a battery powered demolition hammer, and backpacks to take the stones back for processing. The ground is HARD, full of MOHS hardness ~8 stone with some dirt between. I think an excavator would be my best bet, but it's inaccessible to that unless we carved a road. Soil has a moderate clay composition and I'm hoping that recent heavy rainfall will have softened it up a bit. I've had a difficult time finding resources on how to surface mine for this type of stone. No geological surveys have been performed (yet) so I'll be guessing where to dig based on the previous pits. I'm wondering if anyone in this community has any advice on tools to bring or techniques to use? I've tried to include as many relevant details here as I can think of.
Thank you all so much! I'm feeling very grateful and excited for this opportunity.
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Mark K
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Post by Mark K on Apr 5, 2024 18:45:15 GMT -5
Bring buckets to put water in to clean your finds as you go. A scrub brush helps too. The idea is to check real good, what you are finding and locate the good stuff. This would mean bringing additional water with.
And you can count on driving the point of the pick ax right through the center of the very best chunk you find. Never fails.
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goodsgems
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2024
Posts: 14
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Post by goodsgems on Apr 5, 2024 23:18:51 GMT -5
Bring buckets to put water in to clean your finds as you go. A scrub brush helps too. The idea is to check real good, what you are finding and locate the good stuff. This would mean bringing additional water with. And you can count on driving the point of the pick ax right through the center of the very best chunk you find. Never fails. Oh man, I feel your pain! Thanks for the advice. I will mentally prepare! I'll bring bucket out there that we will leave and hope to find full of rainwater on our next visit. And as much water as we can pack in! A scrub bush is also a great idea, will do. I've got a little portable power washer that might be great (low pressure so as not to damage the stone), but I'm betting it will be an inefficient use of water out there. Thanks, again!
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realrockhound
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Post by realrockhound on Apr 5, 2024 23:39:37 GMT -5
Where’s the spot? Not that I plan on going and digging any. Just curious about locality/terrain to help you better decide how/where to dig
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goodsgems
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2024
Posts: 14
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Post by goodsgems on Apr 5, 2024 23:52:11 GMT -5
Where’s the spot? Not that I plan on going and digging any. Just curious about locality/terrain to help you better decide how/where to dig It's up a mountain on the CA coast. It's an extinct volcano, in a fault area, which are major contributors to the beauty of the stone and the toughness of the earth.
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realrockhound
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Post by realrockhound on Apr 6, 2024 0:28:15 GMT -5
Where’s the spot? Not that I plan on going and digging any. Just curious about locality/terrain to help you better decide how/where to dig It's up a mountain on the CA coast. It's an extinct volcano, in a fault area, which are major contributors to the beauty of the stone and the toughness of the earth. I’m outta central Oregon. At first I almost thought you were around my neck of the woods. I’m not familiar with how that landscaping is. Best advice I could give is find a spot that has a concentration of float on the surface and start digging down from there. Generally the float is pushing up from a vein down below
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Mark K
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Member since April 2012
Posts: 2,600
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Post by Mark K on Apr 6, 2024 0:42:50 GMT -5
Bring buckets to put water in to clean your finds as you go. A scrub brush helps too. The idea is to check real good, what you are finding and locate the good stuff. This would mean bringing additional water with. And you can count on driving the point of the pick ax right through the center of the very best chunk you find. Never fails. Oh man, I feel your pain! Thanks for the advice. I will mentally prepare! I'll bring bucket out there that we will leave and hope to find full of rainwater on our next visit. And as much water as we can pack in! A scrub bush is also a great idea, will do. I've got a little portable power washer that might be great (low pressure so as not to damage the stone), but I'm betting it will be an inefficient use of water out there. Thanks, again! If you can damage the stone with water, then it is garbage.
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Post by Rockoonz on Apr 6, 2024 13:26:19 GMT -5
Mohs 8 is really hard for something quartz related, since you say volcanic area I assume it's been baked to porcelain. Great knapping material, and likely to be producing razor sharp shards when hit with a hammer. Gloves and GOOD safety glasses a must for sure, hammers are meant for surrounding rock and should only be used directly on your finds to get a small "window" to see what you have, but mistakes happen.
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realrockhound
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Post by realrockhound on Apr 6, 2024 13:28:07 GMT -5
Got any photos you can post of what this jasper looks like?
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on Apr 8, 2024 12:43:32 GMT -5
It's up a mountain on the CA coast. It's an extinct volcano, in a fault area, which are major contributors to the beauty of the stone and the toughness of the earth. I’m outta central Oregon. At first I almost thought you were around my neck of the woods. I’m not familiar with how that landscaping is. Best advice I could give is find a spot that has a concentration of float on the surface and start digging down from there. Generally the float is pushing up from a vein down below Central Oregon, that's the best areas in Oregon to hound beautiful jasper..
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realrockhound
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Post by realrockhound on Apr 8, 2024 12:49:39 GMT -5
I’m outta central Oregon. At first I almost thought you were around my neck of the woods. I’m not familiar with how that landscaping is. Best advice I could give is find a spot that has a concentration of float on the surface and start digging down from there. Generally the float is pushing up from a vein down below Central Oregon, that's the best areas in Oregon to hound beautiful jasper.. Yep, in the heart of it. Prineville. Know this area like the back of my hand. Damn near covered every square mile of blm land and a lot of private I was allowed access to (that’s where all the good stuff is 😉)
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