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Post by tanyafrench on Aug 27, 2010 14:37:43 GMT -5
Hi All, My Sister in Law heard a speaker with Katie Curick talking about a park in Arizona where you can find Diamonds. She has been unable to find out where it was and would dearly like to know. If anyone has any idea where this may be please let me know so I can pass it along. Many Thank, Tanya
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stoneviews
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since April 2009
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Post by stoneviews on Aug 27, 2010 16:54:51 GMT -5
Tanya, Here in Payson Arizona we have what they call Payson Diamonds, they are Quartz Crystals, Type in on Google Payson Diamonds, something should come up? Thats all I know or have heard of here in Arizona. Clint
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Post by Toad on Aug 27, 2010 17:13:00 GMT -5
The only one I've heard of is in Arkansas.
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Post by jakesrocks on Aug 27, 2010 17:46:47 GMT -5
I've alreadt PM'd this info to Tanya, but for anyone else interested in finding diamonds in the U.S., or precious gemstone deposits in the U.S., I'd recomend visiting this site. cash-and-treasures-wiki.travelchannel.com/account/DiamondProspector It's the profile of a member on another site. He's a geologist, and has been actively involved in finding gemstone deposits both in the U.S. and over seas for many years. There are many little known diamond pipes located in the U.S. Mostly on BLM land. Don
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MikeS
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Post by MikeS on Aug 31, 2010 21:32:37 GMT -5
Dan's a fellow Wyomingite...he used to work for the Wyoming Geological survey...he's helped me out with info on different rockhoundig subjects in the past...friendly and helpful....
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AGATEGRRRL
spending too much on rocks
AGATEGRRRL
Member since October 2007
Posts: 466
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Post by AGATEGRRRL on Sept 2, 2010 9:53:12 GMT -5
Hi Tanya, I'm sure that what she is referring to are the Quartz crystals that are found near Payson. They are commonly referred to as "Payson Diamonds". They are very nice & clear - similar to the Herkimers from New York. I've done extensive research on the mineralogy of AZ & there aren't any known diamond deposits here. The crystal are wonderful to collect though, if you can find them.
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peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
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Post by peachfront on Sept 21, 2010 10:42:21 GMT -5
Sometimes when people are busy and just overhear something on the radio or on TV, then they get it a little wrong. There is public access to a state park for diamond mining in Arkansas, not Arizona, and I will give you a link. You pay a fee to spend the day on the property, and you can take what you find, be it a diamond, be it some colorful pebble as a souvenir of your visit. I mostly just found jasp-agates and some amethysts, and now I can't figure out where I put them, but I do remember finding them! www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com/Haven't been there recently but over the decades I've visited three times, no diamonds for me, but it's possible. There is a steady stream of people who find diamonds. A lucky person can find a canary yellow diamond there. Some of the diamonds have proved to be quite valuable. It's easy access for a fee, even children (with adult supervision) can splash around there. Good facilities, with a museum, public restroom, geologists there to explain what you've found if you don't know. Seems to me that this would almost have to be what Katie Couric could be talking about but I'm too lazy to watch the news and didn't see the actual report...just guessing but I think it's a decent guess. Funny how the brain works. It's like that time I asked the Delta lady where's my KLM flight to Amsterdam and she directed to me to a gate which proved to be a Korean Airways flight to Seoul. Hey, KLM, Korean...they both start with a K, right? I think that's what happened here. Arizona, Arkansas, they're both "A" states with a lot of rocks, right?
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Post by tanyafrench on Sept 21, 2010 14:06:50 GMT -5
Thanks for all the follow up. I will pass this along to my Sister in Law.
Tanya
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Post by BAZ on Jan 29, 2011 23:50:52 GMT -5
Yep, Herkimer like crystals down in Payson. Crystal Point is closed to digging though, last I heard.
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Jason
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2009
Posts: 216
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Post by Jason on Mar 4, 2011 10:09:41 GMT -5
Yes she was referring to quartz not diamonds
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Post by mohs on Mar 4, 2011 15:27:29 GMT -5
Interesting ! I had never heard of the Payson Crystals Here is an old article NY Times on the Great Arizona Diamond Hoax query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9903E3D71F38EF34BC4852DFB6678389669FDEplus this snippet on another suppose find According to the "US Treasure Atlas" for Arizona, diamonds were reported found along the Santa Maria river in Yavapai county - no details however. <p 44, listing #218> hmmm... the earlier prospectors might have mis- identified or something... but something was found perhaps Payson Crystals ?
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akcowgirl
off to a rocking start
Newbie in Arizona....
Member since September 2013
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Post by akcowgirl on Sept 29, 2013 21:17:06 GMT -5
Hi, I've been to the diamond mountain in the Payson area and drove up to the ranger station at the top. As soon as I got out the car I look down and this thing was shining in the sunlight. Picked it up and it was what a jeweler in Payson said was the Arizona Diamond. It was a pretty good size. I was so excited to start off with a find. We also went to another place (ill have to ask the name of place from boyfriend) but we found some of the most beautiful pieces there!
It's also been said that there's a certain spot in this mountain where there are diamonds. We haven't gotten back up to Payson yet but def will be within next 3 wks. Hope this helps.
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akcowgirl
off to a rocking start
Newbie in Arizona....
Member since September 2013
Posts: 3
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Post by akcowgirl on Sept 29, 2013 21:20:32 GMT -5
Hi, I've been to the diamond mountain in the Payson area and drove up to the ranger station at the top. As soon as I got out the car I look down and this thing was shining in the sunlight. Picked it up and it was what a jeweler in Payson said was the Arizona Diamond. It was a pretty good size. I was so excited to start off with a find. We also went to another place (ill have to ask the name of place from boyfriend) but we found some of the most beautiful pieces there!
It's also been said that there's a certain spot in this mountain where there are diamonds. We haven't gotten back up to Payson yet but def will be within next 3 wks. Hope this helps.
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Post by mohs on Sept 29, 2013 22:32:44 GMT -5
I posted a story on RTH
about early prospectors who found crystals in the Sierra Ancha Wilderness area they thought were diamonds turned out to be calcite or quartz
that story is in a thread by Beef on one of his rock hounding adventures a really cool post-as all those are If I find it i'll post it mrmohs
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Oct 12, 2013 23:12:26 GMT -5
If I had a dollar for every "Diamond Gulch" and "Ruby Mountain" in the U.S. I'd be able to retire. In nearly every case the "diamonds" are quartz crystals and the "rubies" are red garnets. That said, there are quite a few diatremes (possible Kimberlite pipes) in several states and genuine diamonds have been found in every single U.S. state. Most of them were brought down from the Canadian Shield by glaciers and some have been big and valuable. The origin of others is a little mysterious like those found in California and the Southern states where the Ice Age glaciers never visited.
Two states (likely three) have documented in situ diamonds: Arkansas, Colorado and [probably] Wyoming. Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds has already been discussed. So far as I can determine all the Colorado diamond mines are off-limits to collectors. That leaves Wyoming which appears to have great potential for diamond prospecting and finding other kinds of precious gems: corundum (ruby and sapphire), precious opal, nephrite jade and other interesting stones. I think there's also diamond-prospecting potential in New Mexico and other states in the 4-Corners area. Chrome pyrope garnets, peridot, chrome diopside and other "indicator" minerals for diamond pipes have been found there. So far no in-situ diamonds but that's not to say they're not there somewhere.
Rick
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Post by mohs on Oct 13, 2013 0:53:58 GMT -5
If I had a dollar for every "Diamond Gulch" and "Ruby Mountain" in the U.S. I'd be able to retire. In nearly every case the "diamonds" are quartz crystals and the "rubies" are red garnets. That said, there are quite a few diatremes (possible Kimberlite pipes) in several states and genuine diamonds have been found in every single U.S. state. Most of them were brought down from the Canadian Shield by glaciers and some have been big and valuable. The origin of others is a little mysterious like those found in California and the Southern states where the Ice Age glaciers never visited. Two states (likely three) have documented in situ diamonds: Arkansas, Colorado and [probably] Wyoming. Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds has already been discussed. So far as I can determine all the Colorado diamond mines are off-limits to collectors. That leaves Wyoming which appears to have great potential for diamond prospecting and finding other kinds of precious gems: corundum (ruby and sapphire), precious opal, nephrite jade and other interesting stones. I think there's also diamond-prospecting potential in New Mexico and other states in the 4-Corners area. Chrome pyrope garnets, peridot, chrome diopside and other "indicator" minerals for diamond pipes have been found there. So far no in-situ diamonds but that's not to say they're not there somewhere. Rick Excellent Rick ! And don't forget Lost Goldmines
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2013 14:39:42 GMT -5
If I had a dollar for every "Diamond Gulch" and "Ruby Mountain" in the U.S. I'd be able to retire. In nearly every case the "diamonds" are quartz crystals and the "rubies" are red garnets. That said, there are quite a few diatremes (possible Kimberlite pipes) in several states and genuine diamonds have been found in every single U.S. state. Most of them were brought down from the Canadian Shield by glaciers and some have been big and valuable. The origin of others is a little mysterious like those found in California and the Southern states where the Ice Age glaciers never visited. Two states (likely three) have documented in situ diamonds: Arkansas, Colorado and [probably] Wyoming. Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds has already been discussed. So far as I can determine all the Colorado diamond mines are off-limits to collectors. That leaves Wyoming which appears to have great potential for diamond prospecting and finding other kinds of precious gems: corundum (ruby and sapphire), precious opal, nephrite jade and other interesting stones. I think there's also diamond-prospecting potential in New Mexico and other states in the 4-Corners area. Chrome pyrope garnets, peridot, chrome diopside and other "indicator" minerals for diamond pipes have been found there. So far no in-situ diamonds but that's not to say they're not there somewhere. Rick This website puts Montana & Wyoming solidly into that mix too. geology.com mentions Alaska. Diamondprospector mentions placer deposits in California. Also, mentions the possibility for commercial quantities of diamonds in the tailing piles of the gold miners. This is a real cool and interesting topic. Rick, kimberlites are associated with serpentine, can you add light to the dearth of kimberlites despite the plentiful serpentine/nephrite in our state? Wyoming has it all, why don't we?!?!!?
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Oct 15, 2013 16:30:49 GMT -5
Rick, kimberlites are associated with serpentine, can you add light to the dearth of kimberlites despite the plentiful serpentine/nephrite in our state? Wyoming has it all, why don't we?!?!!? Many smarter and better qualified people than me haven't been able to answer your questions so I'm not even going to try. The geologic histories of Wyoming and California are very different, however, and much remains unknown and speculative. I'd recommend some very interesting books that can take you a bit further in your research. "Hunting Diamonds in California" by Mary Hill (1972, Naturegraph) addresses some of your questions. While it's a bit old much of its content is historical and still very relevant. I think it's still in print, ISBN 0-911010-96-3. There are two excellent books by the very gifted writer John McPhee that bear directly on California and Wyoming geology (but I'd strongly recommend reading all 5 of his geology series.) "Rising from the Plains" chronicles Wyoming's absolutely amazing geological history and "Assembling California" tells the tale of how the state was literally assembled by a series of big island chain terranes smacking into the American tectonic plate from the east. It tells the story of how California's Sierra gold came into being (and presumably its diamonds too since most have been found in the gold-mining region.) Rick
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2013 18:44:00 GMT -5
I think your knowledge is useful to the OP too. For once I stayed on topic! Thanks Rick, I present to you this award:
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sarahr
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Post by sarahr on Oct 26, 2013 13:51:52 GMT -5
I think the original poster was referring to the payson quartz crystals.... I call them az diamonds..... They are found at a place called diamond point outside of payson about 12 miles on the road that goes to tonto village off the 260...... I go there all the time, and I was recently told a few other places to find them that I think I'll not post on here.... I have not found them, just heard about other locations. Diamond point has tons of the " diamonds" you just need to have a good eye.... Ask other diggers up there for help too.... There are always a few.
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