I want to dig oregon sunstones this summer

We have been to both, and satisfied with both. Summertime is hot! Conveyer was not running when we were there, but I have heard good things said about doing it, but both guys were heavy, and not really diggers. Basically, the more dirt you move, the more stones you find.

If you go cheap, which we will do next time we are there, walk for fifteen minutes away from the BLM parking area, then start looking. When you start finding good colour, and or schiller, start digging. The basalt layer will be a bitch to get through, but the paydirt layer will be worth the digging.
If you have kids along, turn them loose with a bag to wander the sage brush.
Woody

Libbie:

First, you are either heat proof, or pretty tough to be doing the sunstone area in summer. It will be hot, so take plenty of water, and some kind of portable shade like a camping sun shelter.

Now, when I say find colour, what i mean is when you start finding sunstone that is not just clear like glass. Red, is the best, also the most rare. Sunstone with shiller is also good, and will make outstanding faceted stones. The 'shiller' looks like finely divided grains of bright copper in a layer in the stone. You may have to turn the stone over in your hand to see this, and when cut, it must be cut so the shiller layer is parallel with the top.

Once you have found an area with promise i.e. you find a lot of good colour, or shiller. You start digging. You will go through dirt for a while, then hit rock (basalt) The basalt has lots of cracks, so you just exploit them with a pick, wedges, and a big bar. When you break through the rock there will be a layer of yellowish sand under it. this is "paydirt" where you will find the most, and best stones. They have weathered out of the baslat where they formed. As you remove the basalt, you will see sunstone embedded in the rock.........no use trying to remove it, you will just break it. Sieve everything you dig out that will sieve. Quarter inch hardware cloth makes the best sieve, The frame can be 1 X 4 pine, and about 12 X 18 or a wee bit larger if you will be shaking by hand. You can go larger if you have a frame like a table with out a top to slide it back and forth on. Remember..........those who sieve the most dirt get the most stones.

If, you get lucky, you may find where some one else has broken through the basalt, and then, you can dig the hole out, and enlarge it...........do not tunnel under the basalt. It will bury you when it falls.
Woody

An excellent write up! I happen to love moving rock; it’s nice to know there’s an alternative to the very expensive fee dig sites.