How This 8,000-Pound Crystal Went From Mine To Smithsonian | Big Business | Business Insider 

She's vibrating money straight out of those people's wallet.

"The industry is worth over a billion dollars". Well given that the single trade show in Tucson sells $5 billion over 3 weeks I think the entire industry is worth a bit more than that.

After seeing a *_"Crystal Healer"_* , the only thing that will be *_"out of balance"_* will be your check book

My mom used to be in jewelry business. We want ruby, diamond, gold, silver, emerald, things like that. Everytime they see crystal, we pay no mind. It's cheap and undesirable at the time, in our country. But now it's more expensive. And my mom is kicking her self right now since she let that opportunity go.

What a beautiful crystal. The miners are very smart in diversifying the mine the way that they did. The Smithsonian is lucky to have such generous donors. It’s on my bucket list to visit the museum and spend time looking at as much as I can.

Donating that massive find to a museum was a much better investment. It’s not everyday you get the opportunity to be put in the history books. Unbroken, in its raw form definitely looks way better than all those carved pieces.

You can go to Hot Springs Arkansas and pay about 15$ per person to dig in pretty much the same location where this cluster was found. There's no weight limit either, you can take home as much as you can carry. I live about an hour from there, been many times.

They got a HUGE tax break for donating that crystal to the museum. It’s definitely a motivation for many collectors.

“They’re rocks, Hank!” “They’re minerals. Jesus, Marie!”

Buys it for $500,000-$1,000,000 gets appraised at $4,000,000-$7,000,000 donates it to a museum. Gets a huge tax write off 😉 Rich people don’t just give money away

I've collected minerals for 47 years now and I've always dreamed of going to the Tuscon mineral show. Not made it yet..its an expensive trip from the UK. But maybe one day I will get there.

All though the miners could probably get a higher price from a different buyer, I'm glad they decided to go with the Smithsonian donors for everyone to enjoy. Not to mention that their name will forever be preserved in history, and that's something money can't easily buy.

I am glad that what started as a donor's idea, crytalized into a very nice display.

That Tucson market has a lot of healing power, especially for the sellers

What a beautiful piece, donating it was a wonderful idea, and a noble act to do. But honestly, the rare find was sold well-over 3M, and I'm sure they got the recognition but, I'm sure they also didn't get anything from that sell. That would have entirely changed everything for them' that would have set them up for generations. I'm glad this video has educated about their worth and rarity and truly showed their deep, deep kindness for the industry and further briefly the history of these beautiful finds.

I am a newish gold prospector and oh man am I blessed to live in Oregon. We have so many gems. Actually will be working on a unique copper sun stone claim this next year with my uncle! Fingers crossed we find a massive one!

Charles Noble - the Master Rigger responsible for moving the Crystals has to be verrrry careful. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall to watch this man and his team work getting the Crystals to their display areas.

I would be more interested to see a precious minerals museum than an art gallery

I live in Tucson and the gem and mineral show is absolutely amazing and overwhelmingly large! Such a fun event to meet vendors and buy amazing natural treasures from all over the world!

I've been collecting minerals since 1978. It was definitely easier finding and getting mineral specimens then than it is today. I use to field collect many of my local pieces and access to mines, plowed fields, road and construction excavation where things could often be uncovered were numerous but today, there are few opportunities as people become more aware of the minerals value and in general more distrustful of people in general thus not allowing one to look on their property as in the past. Even road excavation work where public money is involved and use to be accessible to rockhounds is becoming a challenge. Law enforcement has become so distrustful and empowered over people that if they see a person simply collecting rocks in a public road construction right-a-way they will often threaten them to leave, sometimes without any legal justification to do so. Unfortunately its a sign of the times and further indication of the way this country is headed. Then you have old quarries that lay within National and state forest area. The regulations at these places has changed tremendously so much so that you can no longer collect at them or in the least, only surface collect without the aid of tools which is often pretty much useless since so much of these places have been prospected in years past leaving very little that is easy to find without hard work and digging. You have to check the rules of each state to see just what is permitted because they vary but everywhere is getting stricter. These factors are driving up the cost of fine minerals and crystals. I have been going to gem and mineral shows in my state for years and each year, there seems to be people with less local material and what is available is going for much higher prices. I use to see allot of young people who's middle class working parents could go out and enjoy the hobby and afford to get their kids into it but that is quickly fading as it has been replaced by older collectors or those who can afford the higher prices. Pieces that might have sold for $50 20 years ago are now $500 is not uncommon. If you've been in it a long time it makes for a good investment but I also worry about what it does to discourage young people who can't afford it and have little access to good prospecting locations that are now off limits to everyone. I'd safely say that 75% or more of collecting sites that I use to have access to are gone or closed to collecting today. Yeah there are new finds occasionally but because of the difficulty in locating them, they are always heavily guarded secrets by those who stumble upon them. Our state use to put out publications of mineral collecting localities that the public could go but hasn't done so in many years as there is simply so few sites today that one can legally and safely collect. Its sad. Mineral collecting is an perfect example of how the elite and government are driving down the quality of life for the rest of us and using their power to control every aspect of our lives. But that doesn't take away the fact that mineral collecting is a wonderful hobby and these mineral crystals are truly beautiful and amazing wonders of nature that should be enjoyed by all.

For a moment I thought those people were going to buy it to put on their wall. But donating to the museum for the world to see was a better decision

I once worked with someone who owned a 6+ foot tall Amethyst geode. It was absolutely fascinating and absolutely enormous! Have also been to gem shows, and I'm surprised I didn't strain my neck with whiplash over looking at all the gem wares. Truly, amazingly stunning.

Ive loved and collected gemstones for years and have a small collection of my favourites - Lapis Lazuli, Snowflake Obsidian, Obsidian, Pyrite and Hematite mainly. Personally I really love the pieces that are carved into animals - I have a Lapis Lazuli Fox and a Malachite Alligator which are super cool! I can see the appeal of gemstones and crystals, mainly for aesthetics (I dont subscribe to their healing properties) so its understandable that the value of them is only going to increase! As with any limited resource, the value will be determined by its scarcity and the more that is mined, the less there is = higher prices

Crystal mommies have made my childhood hobby just a memory

I grew crystals in school..good memories! I've always loved crystals and stones. Seems like another industry where popularity and demand will overmine these natural beauties over time.

Crystal healing for Chakra realignment can sell for $250 for 1.5 hours. That is one crooked Chakra. No shortage of entertainment in this Gonzo world.

I have seen this crystal in the Smithsonian when I visited, it was truly breathtaking. It was my second favorite exhibit in the Smithsonian after the hope diamond

I kind of have to laugh. I live in Arkansas. I’ve picked crystals up in my yard. I’ve been to one of the crystal mines here. They’re expensive and are turning into a tourist trap. When you go to the mine they have designated areas that you can dig. But they only let you dig in areas that they have already processed. You still can find some pretty ones. It’s fun for the kids.

I don’t think you have to believe crystals are magical to understand how they might affect your head space. I mean imagine waking up every day to that giant crystal, my guess is it would make me feel happier.

This video started with "Donated to the Smithsonian" and it only got more upsetting from there

I'm a miner and I'll tell you There are more Crystal's still in the ground than what's ever been dug out... Same goes for every other mineral and metals in the ground ..

I'm from Tucson, AZ. It gets crazy in the downtown area when the Gem Show is here, it's growing every year. Even with Covid it was pretty busy.

Kudos to the Burns family.

Was curious as to what happened to those massive finds. Nice to see they ended up where the public can enjoy them.

Thank you for saving this amazing crystal for generations too see

If crystals can heal, that thing must make you immortal.

$4 - $ 7 million and the operator lifts it with a choke instead of basket configuration. Holly crap.

Beautiful piece of natural art and stunning

Crystals make me happy. Ocean jasper and any kind of calcite are my favorites. I love walking into a crystal shop and hunting through everything to find one that just looks special to me.

Those crystal markets (well, the crystals within) look absolutely mind blowing, my word,... beautiful, 👌

Over the last 10 years the cost of Opal Crystals whether rough or cut has rocketed and I believe that the Australian Opal miner’s and dealers had something to do with it. Also buying any of them 10 years ago was cheaper due the Sterling as I live in the UK and the US dollar which was around 50p back then and today it’s climbed to above 70p to the dollar and I believe it was even higher before the virus took hold of us. And personally I prefer a piece of rough Opal although some of the cut Black Opals are stunning.

This is amazing!

now THAT'S art some of those shown here are so breathtaking

A huuuugeeee thank you to the couple who donated the piece! It is awesome now people can study the crystal and learn a lot from it!

I've got a friend who truly believes in the powder of crystal. Sorry, the power of crystals. My bad.

What good people. I've always thought I would like to donate something like that to a museum. It's a legacy I would be proud of. Instead of just collecting assets and money for the sake of money.

That’s great, we need more people that donate gems like that:)

I have always enjoyed rock hunting, this is amazing

I have beautiful crystals in my village, never thought that they were so expensive.

Man I wish my health problems were so minuscule that I believed crystals healed me.

you guys are vibrating good vibes and aligning my chakra ...I think you all are crystals

Investing in cryptocurrency is the best way of getting ahead to build wealth, investing remains a priority. The Cryptocurrency market has plenty of opportunities to earn a decent payouts, with the right skills and proper understanding of how the market works, I pray that anyone who reads this will be successful in life..

I respect those miners for donating that huge find, cause I would've only seen the dollar signs, lol

I find it funny when people say that crystals formed millions of years ago and are finite.... as if crystal formation just stops...

I would not pay a penny for that piece of rock just because some one says they are worth millions. Screw that you cant eat it.

Probably one of the biggest tax write offs I’ve ever seen.

I think you'll find hank schader has the biggest collection of minerals

I'm from Tucson AZ. Nice to c u got your big crystal into the Smithsonian

Someone dug out the battery for my spaceship

I love that mineral guy at the museum he's just awesome. Thank you dude for all you do for the public good.

I've been to the Coleman Quartz Mine in Arkansas back in 2017, found some really cool pieces there! Man I wish I could go back

What amazing generosity from the donors

I just saw the crystal 2 hours ago in the actual museum. LMAO

Donors....you are awesome

"Placebo" and "Nocebo" are the greatest forces of Human Consciousness. Whatever it takes to align oneself with enough intention to reshape the physical world, I will forever love the ways people find it.

I liken myself to the uncut crystal -large(huge) formed by natural elements & weathering...jagged and beautiful priceless...it took me time to see myself as such...

I have a couple of crystals because I'm a geologist and they are beautiful.

Spotlight on the Precious Stones of Afghanistan Published 14, 2020 For centuries, Afghanistan has been a leading producer of lapis lazuli, a gemstone favored by the ancient Egyptians. The country is also rich in several other semi-precious stones-a recent joint study by the United States Geological Survey and the Pentagon estimating the net value of Afghanistan’s untapped minerals to be around $3 trillion. In this article, we look at Afghanistan’s gem mining industry and the jewels it exports all over the world.

That is one incredibly beautiful gem 😍

Interesting video, nice to see many people are still interested in collecting

Are you sure the preview picture is a right one?

is the guy in the preview picture the 8k pound crystal? 🤣 might wanna change it up

Makes me want to go rock hounding. Edit- Moving that crystal around pre-sale would be nerve wracking.

Thanks to all involved true hero's.

"Crystal healing operates on the vibrations of your body." Pop Smoke would say "She lives the Woo Woo."

I'm sure the donors who are real estate moguls donated that as a tax write off!!

Why am I drooling ?!

That’s amazing!

This is so incredible and so beautiful. God is truly amazing for creating these masterpiece 🤩👍

The name of the crystal is called “Big bussin”.

Dude! a 100 times the Best. You are amazing!

I hope this miner got more than a thank you.

The only thing it can heal is someone's wallet

I'VE BEEN SEEING POST EVERYWHERE ABOUT FOREX TRADING AND CRYPTO CURRENCY, A LOT OF PEOPLE KEEP SAYING THINGS ABOUT THIS TRADING PLATFORMS PLEASE CAN SOMEONE LINK ME TO SOMEBODY WHO CAN PUT ME THROUGH..?.

Oh snap, Ron Coleman! Was just there a couple months ago. Great people.

Wow! So interesting! Thank you for that awesome report

Incredible ✨

"It's not a lie if you believe it." - George Costanza

I came for the 1980s quality interview audio. I was not disappointed! 😆

I love the Chemical/physical aspects of minerals and crystals. I have a collection myself that i have been collecting since i was a smol child. Amethyst is my birthstone and i have a naturql one that i found myself so i've got a connection to it. If it wasnt for my grandpa i wouldnt have it. Crystals have been a part of my life and i dont want that to change. All diffrent types of crystals NEED to be preserved. We may be able to make them perfectly in the future, but for now we have to preserve them

Lol healing crystals are 😝

What a lucky find. The dream of every mineral collector. But as you can see, only with a lot of effort to recover at all.

I was about to leave a hate comment for the crystal collectors but some of those crystals look really, really nice. But I feel like there novelty would end pretty quickly so donating them to a museum like the Smithsonian where it can be preserved for perhaps centuries may be ideal.

The guy is the crystal.

One is caught up playing the impassioned protagonist in one’s Subjective Narrative of Self.🎈

That's why I hold onto my fire obsidian. It's super rare and already expensive and only found in one spot in the world

I hope they put it on display and not in storage that is usually why I don't think giving the Smithsonian Institute precious artifacts and crystals is any good because they don't usually put it on display they usually keep it in the warehouse

yeah right use forklift as measurement instead of Kilogram.

The crystal is amazing and donating it was very nice of them but I’m just wondering is this environmentally harmful for the earth? I’m not sure if it is but I’m just wondering because if we constantly dig up crystals wouldn’t the supply run out?

Mr Charles Noble and team did a meticulous job moving something so huge!