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Post by vegasjames on Apr 11, 2024 2:01:18 GMT -5
Welcome from Southern Nevada
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 11, 2024 1:59:05 GMT -5
Happy Birthday Robin
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 9, 2024 18:20:00 GMT -5
Nice work.
Welcome from Southern Nevada.
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 8, 2024 22:14:27 GMT -5
Welcome from Southern Nevada.
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 8, 2024 3:22:27 GMT -5
You mentioned Valley of Fire, which is my favorite place here in Southern Nevada. Can't collect there, but beautiful place to visit. There is Nevada pudding stone just North of Valley of Fire off the Ute turnoff about 5 miles or so going East off the I-15. Here is an example: Valley of Fire does have a campground. Going to Lavic you should be coming through Las Vegas and taking the I-15 South. South of Las Vegas off the I-15 is the Goodsprings District, which is a great collecting location, especially for copper-silver ores, but a mini van would not be ideal to reach most places there. Kokoweef, just past Stateline at Mountain Pass on the I-15 has all sorts of great stuff, and many of the areas are easily accessible. There is unakite, epidote, garnet in quartz, blue-green jasper, specular hematite, purple andesite, etc. Not sure which way you are going to Lavic, but if you stay on the I-15 there is some great stuff down in Afton Canyon off the I-15 between Baker and Barstow. There is also a campground at Afton Canyon going in on the main road from Dunn, California. There are two entrances to Afton Canyon. Closer to Barstow, there are several places. Existing off of Harvard Road you will see a small hill out off to the right. There is pink chalcedony at the hill. Be careful though as there is a lot of soft sand, and I did see a baby sidewinder out there. Next exit is Minneola Road. Exit and follow road around gas station and hamburger joint and follow rough paved road down a short distance to the gas line road, which is a dirt road marked with yellow markers. Turn left and go up to the first hill on the right. Hill has a lot of sard (brown chalcedony), wood jasper (especially on the backside), blue banded chert, yellow to orange moss agate, green chalcedony and palm root. Both areas can be reached by a mini van. Check with me when you are heading this way. I am planning some trips to these areas and I may be able to lead you to some areas.
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 8, 2024 2:37:59 GMT -5
Welcome from Southern Nevada.
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 8, 2024 2:36:36 GMT -5
Welcome from Southern Nevada.
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 8, 2024 2:31:45 GMT -5
Welcome from Southern Nevada.
Value would depend in part on what it is, and in some cases location it is from.
If you are not sure what it is then you may have to run some tests such as hardness, density, streak, etc to narrow down possibilities.
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 8, 2024 2:29:02 GMT -5
It does not look like petrified wood to me. I would say a form of chalcedony such as a banded chert.
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 6, 2024 8:28:47 GMT -5
Happy Birthday to both of you.
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 5, 2024 17:39:50 GMT -5
I bought a couple of the Rebel 17 barrels and they are working great. Only issue is with all the weight, it really grinds the rubber on the rollers down fast to the metal. Gluing wide strips of thin rubber matting around the metal rims has helped a lot, but grinding through the rubber.
Trying something a little different by putting some silicone caulk in the rubber hose before putting it on the rollers since silicone caulk is pretty tough when it hardens up. Just applied some a few minutes ago so have to let it set up a day or two, then I will see how well it works.
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 5, 2024 15:40:32 GMT -5
My favorite sign was the one that used to be outside of Goldfield, Nevada. Read:
Cemetery ________
Dump
Apparently, not everyone thought it was funny and the sign was eventually removed and the cemetery and dump signs were separate by about a quarter of a mile.
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 4, 2024 19:18:46 GMT -5
Vegasjames, the yellow and purple are definitely eye catching! This material looks like the perfect size for cabs. Yes, I plan to cab the smaller pieces soon.
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 4, 2024 19:18:10 GMT -5
Yes. there are a lot of colorful and unusual chalcedonies here in Southern Nevada several hours from Las Vegas.
Lots of opal in the area as well, which is the precursor for chalcedony. Is finding opal a "tell" for you for finding the chalcedony? No, chalcedonies are way more common than the opals as most the collecting is on the surface where the opals have had plenty of time to dehydrate and crystallize in to chalcedonies.
Most the opal I find is stuff that got washed out of the ground from floods and so has not been exposed for a long time. Although, if there is opal, chalcedony is generally also nearby.
Although, I would look at it the other way with the presence of chalcedony being a good indicator for possible opal especially if the area has springs or a high water table, either of which can slow the conversion of opal to chalcedony. For example, there is a spot close to here where chalcedony is pretty common as are springs. I believe it is highly likely that the tufa deposits in the area will contain opal, especially since the area is also associated with sandstone that can be a silica source for opals. It would be really hard digging though to find out. I have found some low grade fire agate, which being a chalcedony was once opal, in one of the tufa deposits on the far side of the mountain. So, that wold be a great place to dig, but there is no road to the spot and it is a bit of a hike to be carrying digging tools, so I have followed the vein in yet.
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 4, 2024 19:06:55 GMT -5
Welcome from Southern Nevada.
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 4, 2024 19:05:53 GMT -5
vegasjames my friend who manages the claims and paperwork for Johns literal scores of claims hasn't seen the rule loophole that allows sales without a claim. Not saying something doesn't exist, but since anyone who might try to take advantage of it is going to need that rule, can you point me to it? There are some rules specifically for minerals and metals, but applying them to materials that can be ores that you have no intention of processing as ores is not going to fly, even with a friendly BLM manager. Don't have an exact citing, but part of it would fall under the prudent man rule. For example, if you have a prospect for example you have to prove what you are mining is valuable enough to file for a valid claim. How can you do that without selling the material to prove value?
And again, I asked the BLM twice to clarify is a mining claim was required to mine and both times they clearly said no. That the claim is not required, the claim merely gives exclusive rights to what is being mined. Is there any law that says you cannot sell what you mine? Not that I ever heard of.
Each BLM has their own rules, so maybe this does not apply in all States. I am just going by what I was told more than once by our local BLM office.
And not everything mined is ore, and not all ores are processed. Many minerals are sold as collectors specimens, or simply cut for use such as turquoise that is not processed for its metals.
How about all the obsidian on the market that was dug from popular public dig spots for one?
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 4, 2024 18:29:39 GMT -5
Welcome from Southern Nevada.
There is some purple agate somewhere down there by Lake Havasu. Never looked for it there, so do not know the exact location.
There was also some popular spot on the other side of the river, but cannot recall the name. Rarely go down that way.
Burro Creek and Oatman areas are both great for collecting. For Burro Creek with your vehicle I would stick to the river bed by the campground. For Oatman all around the outskirts.
Kokoweef area by Mountain Pass, Southern California has all sorts of stuff.
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 4, 2024 6:48:03 GMT -5
Looks almost like it's moldy! Very neat, thank you for sharing. Did you collect it yourself, vegasjames ? Yes. there are a lot of colorful and unusual chalcedonies here in Southern Nevada several hours from Las Vegas.
Lots of opal in the area as well, which is the precursor for chalcedony.
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 4, 2024 6:39:22 GMT -5
Yes, I am aware that a claim makes it visible to others. The mine could be listed for copper ore or copper minerals instead of turquoise though, which would make it less interesting to high graders. And it is not an easy spot to reach anyway. The road is not passable except by maybe an ATV, and therefore it is a steep hike up and back with any digging tools and what is mined. One other thing I was told by BLM and was confirmed twice is that a claim is not required for mining. The claim simply gives exclusive rights, just like a patent for an invention. Therefore, according to what they are saying, a claim is not required to sell the material either. In fact, in order to get a claim, you must first prove there is something there valuable enough that the prudent man could make a profit. In order to prove that, material would have to be sold to prove there is a market and the value. Thus "exploratory mining", such as prospects that i done without a claim and the material being legally sold proving value and marketability.
BLM rules say "personal use only" when it comes to unclaimed public land. I have heard lots of variations on a theme of supposed loopholes that allow for sales to fit into that description, but also interpretations as strict as to say it's a crime to have an estate sale of the stuff granddad collected 50 years ago. If I bought some of it would that also be a problem if I sell it? Never underestimate the potential in public servants. A recent former member here publicly attacked a rock club for not grilling all their show vendors when he discovered one sold material collected on a public site. He may still visit, looking for material for his next attack video. Be careful. Our club up north has 2 thunderegg claims, value is pretty relative since maybe one in 5 isn't a mudball. They are very basic gemstone claims, costs very little to keep them, but hand tool mining only. "Personal use" applies to rock hounding, not mining. Exploratory mining is still mining.
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Post by vegasjames on Apr 3, 2024 16:17:07 GMT -5
vegasjames good thing you didn't claim it, the claim makes the site visible to everybody who knows where to look. On the other side of the coin, if you want to "legalize" what you collect there so it can be sold, you need the claim. The BLM has a lot of turn over on who manages their local offices, you might ask the same question to the next guy and get a different answer. The giant rare earth pit proposed for the NV/OR border seems like the total opposite of how it goes for us little people, my friend with some claims in that area has had some "offer you can't refuse" messages sent his way by some of the players in that game. For once I'm thankful for the tree huggers and others banding together to try to stop that one, an unusual collection of allies. I have another friend in the Portland club who has been going to all the BLM meetings for years and has been able to befriend many who we would call opposition and educate them on the difference between the small operations and the corporations. She probably deserves some of the credit for this alliance. Yes, I am aware that a claim makes it visible to others. The mine could be listed for copper ore or copper minerals instead of turquoise though, which would make it less interesting to high graders. And it is not an easy spot to reach anyway. The road is not passable except by maybe an ATV, and therefore it is a steep hike up and back with any digging tools and what is mined.
One other thing I was told by BLM and was confirmed twice is that a claim is not required for mining. The claim simply gives exclusive rights, just like a patent for an invention. Therefore, according to what they are saying, a claim is not required to sell the material either. In fact, in order to get a claim, you must first prove there is something there valuable enough that the prudent man could make a profit. In order to prove that, material would have to be sold to prove there is a market and the value. Thus "exploratory mining", such as prospects that i done without a claim and the material being legally sold proving value and marketability.
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