#Opal mine, Mojave
7 messages in this thread
Been there, Doug. The opals occur as amygdules in a coarse lava, filling only
an occasional cavity. The mines Russ is referring to were worked in the '30's
(when I went there!!!) by a grizzled prospector named Herman, who had a "rock
shop" in Last Chance Canyon. I just checked for fluorescence, and can report
"slight", greenish in SW. There is something else, though, with bright
Willemite green lining some of the cavities. I would think this location worth
a little further investigation.
I have a couple of specimens about 1 cm long, but fractured. Herman had
blasted the location and a lot of the material was ruined. However, at the
time the 'mine' was barely worked, no adits. So perhaps with some searching at
lower levels some good stuff might turn up. No question that it's pretty. A
clear, fire opal. Herman showed me a piece of matrix with an opal about 2.5 cm
which made such an impression on me that I can see it to this day.
Bill
Hi, Bill–
Thanks for the info!
I wonder if that "willemite green lining" is another generation of opal
(hyalite, perhaps) or chalcedony? The opal fluorescence says uranium traces
are present, which could cause a great many minerals to show that fluorescence,
but opal and chalcedony are at the top of my guess list.
I'll be in Lancaster a few days next week. While I will likely not have the
free time, I'll have to give some thought to seeking out that mine.
I am glad to hear you have your UV working – how long did that take to get
fixed, and who did it? UVP?
–Doug
I have 2 uv lamps, one big SW (as you brought here), and the portable, which
was not fixed, but UV products sent me a new one, which is working fine. It
has the LW and SW, but so far I haven't had much chance to get out of here and
do some prospecting. My years of neglecting my photography practice has caught
up with me, and I have now a monumental amount of lab work that I have to get
out. Not that that's bad.. I am actually selling prints, and have a couple of
dedicated collectors, but I don't always have a print available when they order
something. Nevertheless, I've marked my calendar for a trip this month, and so
who can tell?
BTW will be going to Georgia for a few days, soon. Visiting around Savannah
where there is probably not much but sand.. the good areas are northwest in the
mountains, near as I can tell. I just might manage…
Bill
Hi, Bill–
I see Savannah is at the wrong end of GA. I see pyromorphite from Graves Mt.,
hyalite opal from Stone Mt. (just E of Atlanta), and quartz (chalcedony?) from
Thomaston (~50 mi W of Macon) as the most promising Georgian fluorescents in my
database of locales.
Happy hunting if you can manage any!
–Doug
Bill…
You were out there in the 30's? Fascinating! I'd love to see a report on your
impressions of how it's "changed" since then if you make it out to take a look
around. Last time we were out Richard had some finished stones he's been
working that are coffee-brown to red jelly with a range of play of color from
pinfire to good size "flakes". I know what you mean about the impression one of
these stones can make. One of Richard's finest stones is the Mojave Flame, a
gorgeous opal with perfectly hexagonal flake fire throughout. Each flake is
about 1/8" across I'd guess. They're all uniform in size and appear to be
floating like snowflakes in a bottle. I get goose bumps trying to describe it!
btw, I'm the secretary of the American Opal Society now and edit the club's
monthly newsletter.
I'd appreciate permission to write a story or perhaps DL and print whatever you
might like to say here about the canyon as an article. I think the AOS members
would be very interested.
-Russ
You flatter me, Russ. Now I have to go into my notes and photographs taken
around 1939, with a year or so on either side. I know I do have a photo of old
Herman's place, rather good considering I was just discovering photography in
those days. And one in Last Chance Canyon that has actually entered my
'canon', made in 1939. But I seriously doubt I photographed the more or less
nothing scenery around the opal digs. Will see.
Meanwhile, I remember accessing the area from Last Chance Canyon rather than
from the highway, and it was a bit of a walk. Herman took a friend and me out
there to his claim one afternoon and we dug around awhile, and then I revisited
the spot at least once more. The opals are indeed beautiful. I never found
anything more than about 1 cm, but its a nice gem. Herman was a real old
desert rat, drunk whenever he could afford to be, and around his 'shop' he had
a lot of good petrified wood, agates, and so on. Oh yes, I got some beautiful
moss agate out there, white transluscent background with green (moss colored!)
moss. And something I got to calling 'fossil head cheese', which was a sort of
loose conglomerate of reddish rhyolite held together with blue agate.. very
nice stuff. And, of course, lots of petrified wood, some very choice… palm
mostly. I still have all this stuff..been hauling it around for 55 (sic!)
years.
So you have now prompted me to try to visit there again. I am planning some
kind of desert trip within a few days or weeks. Will have to include the opal
location.
Meanwhile, I'll make a print of Herman's shop for you, if you'd like.. e-mail
your address.
Bill
Bill…
I'll email my address with my next pass. And Thank you with a capital "T"!
What I've done in the past with the Opal Society Newsletter to get graphics
(such as a photo of Herman's place) into .PCX format has been to fax them home
from my wife's office 'cause I don't have a scanner here. I can touch them up
and so forth once they're on the harddrive. Not wonderful but it works
moderately well.
This is certainly the time of year to go out to the canyon…last weekend the
high temp was only about 80'F (compared to 92' here in Long Beach, sheesh!).
btw, you may be interested in attending the Opal Society annual Opal Show
November 5th and 6th at the Quality Inn next to the Anaheim Convention Center
(southwest corner of Katella Ave. and Harbor Blvd). Show runs from 10AM to 6 on
Saturday and 10AM to 5 on Sunday. My schedule has me stuck with at best a few
hours Sunday afternoon that weekend. 8-(
-Russ