AS promiced, here's some pics of my trip to Upstate NY to look for the world famous, elusive Herkimer Diamond crystals.
The dolomite rock quarry site is a long the picturesque West Canada Creek.....
[attachment 33515 HerkCreek.jpg]
Here's a picture of one of the "mines"....no they are not a cave, just places to break open rocks in search of the rare 18 sided minerals. This is the only place in the world they are found & they are OLD......
500 Million years in fact! :O
[attachment 33516 herkMine2.jpg]
Here's my little buddy takin' a crack at "ledge mining", or breaking away the ledge in search of the pockets that hold the diamonds...
It's hard work....& you need eye protection for flying sharp rock chips.
[attachment 33517 HerkMak1.jpg]
Hey......BINGO!
There's a beauty! In the matrix of the hard dolomite rock....
They are VERY collectable like this in the matrix.....many like this better than the loose ones, & to try to remove it usually breaks 'em.....
[attachment 33518 HerkMatrix1.jpg]
Lets get serious now.....
and get out the wedge to hammer into a crack like the pro's do. See the crack in this piece above the wedge?? This whole big piece came down soon after I took the photo....
(I did it with a sledge hammer.....)
[attachment 33519 HerkMak2.jpg]
There are several methods of finding these....breaking rocks, looking in the dirt, taking the ledge down....
Here's some of the best, unbroken, museam quality ones we got....these stones are made like this & are not cut which is really amazing. The photo's do not do these justice at all. We saw some that WERE cut & made into rings, etc......they look alot like actual diamonds.
[attachment 33521 HerkShine1.jpg]
This is doing real well. Most beginners don't find 'em like this, but this is my second trip to the area. This does not include the many more we took home "In the matrix"......
More tommorrow.....
Bill
The dolomite rock quarry site is a long the picturesque West Canada Creek.....
[attachment 33515 HerkCreek.jpg]
Here's a picture of one of the "mines"....no they are not a cave, just places to break open rocks in search of the rare 18 sided minerals. This is the only place in the world they are found & they are OLD......
500 Million years in fact! :O
[attachment 33516 herkMine2.jpg]
Here's my little buddy takin' a crack at "ledge mining", or breaking away the ledge in search of the pockets that hold the diamonds...
It's hard work....& you need eye protection for flying sharp rock chips.
[attachment 33517 HerkMak1.jpg]
Hey......BINGO!
There's a beauty! In the matrix of the hard dolomite rock....
They are VERY collectable like this in the matrix.....many like this better than the loose ones, & to try to remove it usually breaks 'em.....
[attachment 33518 HerkMatrix1.jpg]
Lets get serious now.....
and get out the wedge to hammer into a crack like the pro's do. See the crack in this piece above the wedge?? This whole big piece came down soon after I took the photo....
(I did it with a sledge hammer.....)
[attachment 33519 HerkMak2.jpg]
There are several methods of finding these....breaking rocks, looking in the dirt, taking the ledge down....
Here's some of the best, unbroken, museam quality ones we got....these stones are made like this & are not cut which is really amazing. The photo's do not do these justice at all. We saw some that WERE cut & made into rings, etc......they look alot like actual diamonds.
[attachment 33521 HerkShine1.jpg]
This is doing real well. Most beginners don't find 'em like this, but this is my second trip to the area. This does not include the many more we took home "In the matrix"......
More tommorrow.....
Bill
