I hit upon some sky blue amazonite and smoky quartz on Cinco De Mayo 2014 in the Pikes Peak Batholith in central Colorado. Some of my best Amazonite yet! More information and photos on the blog at davealex.com.
I am 13. I can not find anything except for milky quartz. I think its just where i am mining. Please give me some tips on where to find good crystals and gems.and i love watching yours videos.
There are many claims so it is hard to give a good unclaimed spot as the status of the land changes; I prospect all the time and the areas are hit and mostly miss. I'd recommend Douglas County simply because you can search location records online and don't have to visit the BLM and can put together a good map to avoid the claimed areas. If you need help with putting a map together, I've written a tutorial. davealex.com/earthfire/creating-prospecting-map/
Thanks bro if I see markers I won't hit em but yes I'm just short on time I was hoping you had a pocket opened up Thankyou for all your help we may just hit clear Creek for some gold I'm in Denver helping my sister fix her house she's going through a ruff devorce I got Friday to dig then I'm on a plane back to Oklahoma Saturday. I was hoping to dig and maybe shoot a video if your free Friday💯😎👍
You're lucky I can't give you a Gib slap thru the screen. I've been looking at some crystals on the wall and wondering when and IF you're going to find them.
I found tons of amazonite in a remote place north of Québec, close to an ancient mine deep in the forest, brought 300lbs of pure amazonite before someone claims the vein...very promising, good quality...see pictures on my Facebook
I tried to rockhound the Pikes Peak area "legally" but found no "public land" on my maps. Are you on someones claim? If not...how did you go and dig any where near or on Pikes Peak or west of it (the direction it blew out when it erupted)? Would love to know. I do know, claim owners dont take kindly to claim jumpers.
Hi Donna. There are a lot of claims, private land, and undiggable areas out there so you do have to be careful where you dig. I have "favorite" places and I keep track of where there are claims in those places and check back a couple times a year for changes in the status of those areas. It is the claim owner's responsibility to mark their claims, but legally you still don't have the right to dig on claims that are unmarked like they should be; so ends up you're the bad guy (in the sheriff's eyes) ultimately if digging on claimed areas without permission. If you get permission, I HIGHLY recommend having a print out of that permission with you and also a map of where you have permission to dig in case you run into anyone who questions you. I have created a blog on how to create a prospecting map, which I believe is the rockhounder's duty, I recommend you learn the process as there are a LOT of open areas available and it makes prospecting a lot less stressful knowing you don't have to worry about this when you are out having fun! davealex.com/earthfire/creating-prospecting-map/. Happy map making, and happy rockhounding!
Using a brush will remove dirt a small amount a t a time and give me a view of all the crystals in an area with disturbing it too much. If there is a plate of crystals I would extract in a different way. Plus it's cool to see all the crystals in situ!
Check out one of the Colorado Rockhounding books from your local library, or pick one up...these will give you a lot of options. One of my main spots is Devils Head, but watch out for the claims; there have been many posted this year in the popular places to dig. You can check out my website blog for more tips. davealex.com/earthfire/prospecting-tips-hints/ (also check outdavealex.com/earthfire/how-to-find-crystals/ for a more detailed blog post). Happy crystal hunting!
Hi Jake. First thing first, you'll want to ensure where you are looking isn't claimed. Digging on someone's claim without written permission is mineral trespass. Here is a blog post on creating a prospecting map. davealex.com/howto/creating-prospecting-map/. Many of the popular areas are filled with claims, so do your homework. Here is a blog post that should help you with your question on what to look for. davealex.com/rockhounding/how-to-find-crystals/. Let me know if you have questions.
Would you be interested in answering questions from a novice? We live near trinidad and finding evidence I believe of a crystal find. If you can help please respond :)
obliqrecordings thank you! My email is jennyenny1971@gmail.com perhaps it would be easier to send you pics of what we have found so far? Lots of quartz on the surface. Different types of mineral activity, seams under a layer of shale. I have found a couple of small fossils. I see maybe a small wash point but I can't for the life of me figure it out! I live near an old coal mine. I have 40 acres of virgin land.. I'm afraid I have rock fever. 😁
Depending on where you live, there are great state by state rockhounding guides. Check your library. Rocks & Gems, Rocks and Minerals and Mineralogical Record are all great magazines. Blue Cap Productions does good video of various mines and events. you can check out my crystal digging playlist Crystal TV: ru-vid.com/group/PLs1rE5zaz_RdglaMrnXEZwpE4vMv1B14p
The shaking is because I'm fatigued; sometimes the crystals don't come until after hours and hours of work! But I do get so preoccupied that I lose track of time!
Kill the background music. I dont get it. Dont you ever watch other videos that have obnoxious music and think " I dont like that, I wont use it in my videos"? Get a clue!
Ha! Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, the track is an experimental electronic music track. Watch another video for more "mainstream" oriented music, or at least as mainstream as it gets with our band! :)
+obliqrecordings the faded white coding over the crystals you want it to shine almost like its polished. Instead of that almost cloudy look it has with white specs.
+bill bob actually the white coating is a secondary coating from the pocket that was on top of the smokey quartz and below the iron oxide. many of the pockets in the area have two or sometimes three coatings. I have been successful at re mm owing that coating using chemical and mechanical means mostly of the microcline, the quartz is tough to remove.
