Gem Quality Peridot
We found this spot just by
accident. We were headed south out of Ely, NV. on US 6 towards Warm
Springs. We were on the lookout for a place called "Black Rock lava
flows" when Shirley thought she spotted some obsidian by the roadside.
It turns out it was only chunks of lava cinder, but while we were
checking for the obsidian we noticed some flashes of green, scattered
all around. Upon closer inspection it turned out to be peridot that had
weathered out of the lava. Most was quite small but had very good color
and clarity to it.
There was one spot that was so covered
with peridot that I got a shovel and bucket and scooped up an area
about 4 foot by 6 foot (just skimmed the surface about 1/2 inch deep.).
So far we have picked about 1/4 cup of peridot from that bucket of
material. Some appears to be cutting grade! We hand picked about a
dozen pieces from the ground that are definitely gem quality and large
enough to cut. A couple of the pieces will probably go 1 1/2 to 2 +
carats after cutting!
We
only spent about 20 or 30 minutes there before moving on. I believe
that it would be possible to collect 40 to 50 carats of quality
material in an afternoon of picking. Unfortunately the location
requires a three day weekend for us to be able to go back there.
There are also pieces of a clear
feldspar (not sure which one, maybe labradorite?) that are large enough
and clear enough to cut.
The GPS coordinates are N38˚ 28.092'.
& W115˚ 57.993'.
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© 2017 John & Shirley Bloomfield, for individual non commercial use only.