Debs
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2005
Posts: 1,252
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Post by Debs on Oct 24, 2005 0:05:34 GMT -5
Why is this rough kind of hard to find? And why is it so pricy? I've been looking at it for months now and finally found some, but ended up paying way more than I wanted.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller 
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,492
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Post by Sabre52 on Oct 24, 2005 0:53:08 GMT -5
Blue Mountain Jasper from Blue Mountain, Malheur County Oregon is, I believe under claim to the folks who own the "Lucky Strike Thunderegg Mine" so (the miner has a monopoly on the material) and high quality material was never very plentiful. Occurs in nodules very similar to Bruneau jasper and is I understand pretty difficult to mine, Have rock hunted in this area and it is rugged country......mel
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fatrichie
has rocks in the head
Member since July 2004
Posts: 651
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Post by fatrichie on Oct 24, 2005 0:55:38 GMT -5
Getting to Blue mountain, Hart mountain, Owyee jaspers is not a simple task. As such, the good stuff, is kind of pricey. The areas of Oregon where you find the best of these materials are very remote, and for only the hardiest of souls. With fuel being still over $3.00 in the remote ares, and $2.50 plus everywhere else, and the areas being hundreds of miles for the major cities, you can now imagine why the cost creeps up there. Not to mention middlemen etc.
Shoot, I live here and I don't buy much of it due to price.
Rich
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gemmaster
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2005
Posts: 281
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Post by gemmaster on Oct 24, 2005 10:04:02 GMT -5
debs , ditto on sabre52 comments i don,t like these prices either . try the gemshop.inc some only somjaspers here affordable no blue mtn, some other sites western mining /. high prices / luckystr ike mines the miner of blue mtn same high . $and the beat goes on. the other sites i can post to you later if you want. i know from personal experience that mining especially is brutish, hard when donre by hand without heavy machinery. gemmaster
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Debs
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2005
Posts: 1,252
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Post by Debs on Oct 24, 2005 16:24:18 GMT -5
I was just wondering as I placed a bid on ebay for some. Only problem was I thought I typed in $97.00 buck a roos only to find out I actually typed $9,700.00!!! As the bidding went crazy, time ran out. Thank god as it stopped at $202 something. Way more than I wanted to spend, but I couldn't retract my bid as the auction had ended. Just a word of warning...always look at the keyboard while you type late at night! LOL!
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SteveHolmes
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2009
Posts: 1,900
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Post by SteveHolmes on Oct 24, 2005 16:38:05 GMT -5
I would've been biting my nails like crazy. That is a Scary Thought. I'm glad for you that it wasn't known what your bid was. Imagine the bid going upwards of 9 Grand, thank goodness it didn't!
Steve
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Post by Bikerrandy on Oct 24, 2005 16:55:48 GMT -5
I just did a search on that stuff (curiosity was kiling me) lol, that stuff is awesome!  |
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Debs
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2005
Posts: 1,252
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Post by Debs on Oct 24, 2005 17:51:23 GMT -5
It is pretty cool looking isn't it? Yummy! ;D
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gemmaster
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2005
Posts: 281
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Post by gemmaster on Oct 24, 2005 21:27:30 GMT -5
there is an outfit with even more expensive jaspers try the rough and tumble .com site 70.00 a pound for one and 20,00 an ounce for the other either he had to steal this from a real dragon,s cave or he is mental on the se prices .the t-rex of greed is a horrific beast, i can,t imagine the fever of desire that would make me delusional enough to pay these prices were i to win the lottery . beauty is only skin s deep crazy requires prolonged treatment. gemmaster
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Debs
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2005
Posts: 1,252
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Post by Debs on Oct 24, 2005 22:05:27 GMT -5
I know Steve as I cringed when I saw it! OUCH! Thank god the time clocked stopped when it did. I am just hoping I can sell half of it and get some cash back. Geez...serve's me right for playing on the computer late at night. I would have been better off biding on my bed! LOL!
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hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 477
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Post by hypodactylus on Nov 18, 2021 17:34:20 GMT -5
Sorry; I know this thread is incredibly old (for internet time), but I have been unable to find the information I am looking for on Blue Mountain Jasper via search. I figured it might be cleaner to resurrect an old thread than create a new one.
Anyhow, I have seen many posts on here with Blue Mountain Jasper cabs, but I have not seen any tumbled. Anyone have experience tumbling it? Is it one of those soft 'jaspers' that are more like rhyolite, or does it easily take a tumble polish like the hard jaspers?
Also, what is a reasonable price per ounce for this stuff?
Thanks!
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Nov 18, 2021 21:05:02 GMT -5
Sorry; I know this thread is incredibly old (for internet time), but I have been unable to find the information I am looking for on Blue Mountain Jasper via search. I figured it might be cleaner to resurrect an old thread than create a new one. Anyhow, I have seen many posts on here with Blue Mountain Jasper cabs, but I have not seen any tumbled. Anyone have experience tumbling it? Is it one of those soft 'jaspers' that are more like rhyolite, or does it easily take a tumble polish like the hard jaspers? Also, what is a reasonable price per ounce for this stuff? Thanks! I would guess people don't tumble it because it's so expensive. Anyone who pays the kind of money this rough commands doesn't want to break it up for tumbling rough. Not sure what small pieces of it would look like tumbled, but probably not hundreds of dollars worth pretty.
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Post by stardiamond on Nov 18, 2021 21:25:53 GMT -5
Finding BMJ is easy except it is expensive and most of it available isn't very good. The pattern can be too big to make cabs, it can have impurities, fractures and no pattern. The pattern changes a lot when slabbing rough so even a faced piece might not have a good yield and unfaced is a real gamble.
I do a lot of looking and little buying. Roy has been putting out some nice slabs and small rough at full moon on facebook.
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hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 477
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Post by hypodactylus on Nov 18, 2021 22:38:43 GMT -5
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dshanpnw
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since December 2020
Posts: 1,149
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Post by dshanpnw on Nov 20, 2021 15:31:26 GMT -5
Hello hypodactylus, I love Blue Mountain Jasper. I have tumbled some and it does take a very good shine, but sometimes can be a little difficult to work with because it chips as it is a porcelain jasper. I'm in total agreement with everyone about price and finding good quality for what you pay for. What you really want to find is eggs or orbs and for that it's extra expensive. I've bought maybe 15 pounds all together hoping for some really nice orbs, but it wasn't that spectacular. I've gotten some very nice patterns of blue and brown that is unique to BMJ. I don't think I'll go crazy for it again any time soon unless I'm guaranteed some orbs.
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Post by stardiamond on Nov 20, 2021 16:34:31 GMT -5
From experience, there is less risk to buying slabs or small rough than big rough. Large rough can have a large pattern which produces color bands which are nice but not orbs. I look for material that has a lot of colors and a small pattern. I make cabs as a hobby and the hobby for me is finding material through selling the cabs. My goal is potential value of sold cabs is 3 times the cost of the material. I don't price high so I need to watch the cost paid. I got this piece for $12 including shipping. I thought it could be split and liked the pattern and colors. Not a brag, just an illustration of what is available for a good price. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/97183/blue-mountain-jasper-cabs |
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hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 477
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Post by hypodactylus on Nov 20, 2021 18:43:53 GMT -5
dshanpnw and stardiamondThanks for the replies and the information. I may have to give it a shot someday when I get a reasonable chance. I talked myself away from making any BMJ purchases for now, since prices are very high and I have quite a bit of a backlog already (like most people here, probably).
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realrockhound
Cave Dweller
Chucking leaverite at tweekers
Member since June 2020
Posts: 4,459
Member is Online
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Post by realrockhound on Nov 21, 2021 0:38:56 GMT -5
One type of jasper I actually don’t have a good stock of.
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