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Post by reverenddeb on Oct 5, 2010 7:29:18 GMT -5
A friend and I went to Crater of Diamonds over the weekend. We flew out of BWI Baltimore into Little Rock then took the 2 hour drive to Murfreesboro. The weather was perfect and we moved a lot of dirt. It is very dry down there so surface hunting was set aside. We dug in the east drain and then went through the discards from the washing tables. Got two small diamonds, one each both under 10 points (one from the drain the other from the washing table waste) and then went to the rock shops and "accidentally" purchased a couple larger diamonds each over half a carat each. We did get a lot of the small black shiny spinels and several small pyrope garnets plus about 50 pounds of nice slab agate and some miscellaneous jaspers. A fun trip overall.
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Post by carnelianpete on Oct 6, 2010 19:22:39 GMT -5
Pictures!!!!!!!!! ;D
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Post by DigDug on Oct 6, 2010 19:40:54 GMT -5
CoD...oh my, guess you missed the report on the television about them, importing diamonds from overseas, and salting. Was a big stinky controversy surrounding that place. That is what kept and keeps me and Scoop from visiting that place.
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Post by reverenddeb on Oct 7, 2010 8:44:53 GMT -5
I will take some pics. I have a dino-lite digital microscope (they are under $300). These things are tiny, DigDug, the Arkansas diamonds are rather unique, instead of the cubic diamonds from Africa or the octahedrons from Canada, India or elsewhere, the Arkansas diamonds are really wierd looking. The guys at the park put anything you find under their super duper computerized microscope and they can tell the difference. There was the one guy who bought some diamonds from India and tried to sell them on ebay and his website as from the Crater, but he was found out - I can just imagine the lawsuits to follow; The Arksanas diamonds are somewhat "squeezed", they look like they were mashed through a screen. I'll get some pics up soon. Going fishing tomorrow!
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Post by postal on Oct 7, 2010 9:25:20 GMT -5
There was also an incident where a guy and 2 female accomplices bought the India Diamonds and went to Crater of Diamonds and said they found them there to get the certification.This may have been the e-bay scam.The quantity and color he said he found there was a bit much .I looked and could not find anything THE PARK being salted.But if there is a $$$$ to be made someone will try to exploit it.They said the india diamonds sell for $100/ct, crater of diamond stones $1000/ct.It is still on my list of places to visit.PETE
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Post by reverenddeb on Oct 7, 2010 12:27:33 GMT -5
Here's the link to the account of the guy who bought the Indian diamonds and tried to pass them off as Arkansas diamonds. He failed. Here is the link. I'll get some pics of my tiny guys up asap. www.fakeminerals.com/?p=11 |
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Post by major on Oct 7, 2010 13:57:44 GMT -5
I've been to Arkansas a couple of times but never went to the Diamond Mine. Next time maybe I'll have to give it a shot!
Would it be a good idea to just dig a deep hole to get into the freshest material, or would that be impossible considering how long the place has been dug?
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Post by reverenddeb on Oct 7, 2010 14:50:54 GMT -5
I don't think it really matters where you look anymore. the biggest diamonds are on the top of the ground. The best chance of getting a little one is by going through what other people have rejected off of the wshing tables, or dig in one of the drains. all holes have to be backfilled daily. The best chance is to move as much material as possible.
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