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Post by catmandewe on Oct 5, 2013 23:14:17 GMT -5
I got the opportunity today to go dig at the Juniper Ridge Fire Opal mine which is a fee dig mine and I must say I was thoroughly impressed with the quality and availability of the material. The mine owners are super cool too and I had an absolute blast! Thanks Chuck and Ken! I brought home about a 5 gallon bucket of some killer fire opal and got to see lots and lots of really cool pieces, there is a much wider range of material than I originally thought was available. If you are into fire opal I highly recommend it as I was not really into fire opal until after this dig.
Sorry I didn't get any pictures taken of the dig because I was so busy digging, but I can get some pics of the fire opal taken tomorrow when I clean them all off and post some up here for your drooling pleasure.
Have a great day everyone................Tony
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kaldorlon
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2013
Posts: 413
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Post by kaldorlon on Oct 6, 2013 6:20:53 GMT -5
Looking forward to the pics and maybe a little purchase...
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Post by roy on Oct 6, 2013 9:29:39 GMT -5
i should of waited a week before comming down dang it!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2013 10:21:54 GMT -5
Sounds like a sweet deal. Is the mine in Idaho? If it is I could just drive through Yellowstone Park.... uh...never mind. Jim
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Post by rockpickerforever on Oct 6, 2013 10:43:59 GMT -5
Waiting on the pics, Tony. Sounds like a really fun and cool place.
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Post by catmandewe on Oct 6, 2013 16:08:43 GMT -5
Ok I just finished washing them up, some super cool material here, I pulled a couple pieces aside that are going to become cabs shortly. We all dumped our stuff in the kiddie pool to wash them up and sort through them. My big find of the day which weighs 8 lbs 13.3 ounces, can't decide whether to slab it up or save it for a carver I took a few different pics so you can see the patterns in it. Some more material from the same general location A different piece that came from the same vein This is the color the facetors are looking for Another cool chunk After cleaning and culling this is what I came home with I can't say enough about this dig, it was one of the best times I have had digging, it is hard rock mining with veins and eggs of fire opal in the hard rock, if you don't want to dig then you just have to dig through the tailings piles and you can get lots of good stuff, my daughter filled up a 5 gal bucket with lots of really cool stuff and she didn't dig a thing. It is definitely a bucket list dig. Thanks for looking...............Tony
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LarryS
freely admits to licking rocks
SoCal desert rats
Member since August 2010
Posts: 781
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Post by LarryS on Oct 6, 2013 19:40:24 GMT -5
Hey Tony, better not tell Christopher about that place. He starts foaming at the mouth whenever you mention opal with fire around him. He gets more excited over that than fire agate! Looking forward to seeing your cabs. Save some slabs for Quartzsite. Hide it under the table along with some Graveyard Point for me.
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