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dwpineal
Psychedelic Artist



Registered: 07/20/06
Posts: 4,667
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The OFFICIAL Shroomery Crystal Mining and Rockhounding Thread 5
#14418408 - 05/08/11 06:42 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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I looked around and surprisingly to me, we don't really have much info at all on here about crystal mining and rock-collecting. I was beginning to think that maybe there is no one here who is interested, maybe psychedelics and crystals don't mix...but I think crystal mining and psychedelics can be an amazing combination!
When I make art and pendants, I usually put on audio of Terence McKenna, Shulgin, or any of the other psychedelic luminaries (there is a lot of audio and video of these people on the web). I was listening to Terence the other day and he was talking about his pre-psychedelic interests as a child to young teen; rocks (fossils) and butterflies. He talked about the sense of Deep Time that he felt when trying to date his fossils. I can relate to that as when I have a crystal in my hand, I know it has been around a LOOOOOOOONNGGGG time in the past, and will be here long after I am gone.
About a decade ago, on summer tour, someone who lived in Eureka Springs, AR (one of the coolest cities!), told me about these Crystal Mines a few hours away in the Ouachita Mountains. I had visions of caves held up by huge wooden rafters, and people with lighted hard hats and pick axes mining crystals. Of course I also thought of the Seven Dwarves.
We took a day detour and headed out to the mines. They were deep in the Ozarks, we took a road called the Scenic 7, and it drove us through an endless emerald forested area called the Grand Canyon of the Ozarks. Eventually we got to one of the mines (and there are a bunch in 2 places in AR, Mount Ida and Jessieville where you can Fee Dig or pay them to walk around and collect crystals. Instead of being inside a cave, I saw acres and acres of open dirt on the top of a mountain, and people were going through the dirt. I looked on the floor and immediately started seeing little quartz crystals. During the day I tried to find out exactly what I was looking for; I picked up a ton of rocks, not very much good stuff that day. It was an amazing day though, just walking around in the peace of the mountains with very clean air, adventuring down the sides of the dirt mountains, finding shiny sparklies all over.
Here is a pic I found online of one of the mines, this is their mine pit, they bring up dirt and mud from the pit and bring it up to the top areas for people to go through. And you can find some amazing stuff sometimes!

Some of my friends found some really great pieces (for first timers ), and one of my good friends gave me one of his nice finds. It was really an amazing experience that I'll always treasure.
When I got home, I unloaded a huge pile of rocks that I dragged 1500 miles with me. Not many of those were really "Keepers." I figured if I went again I'd be more selective in what I brought home.
Over the next ten years, I've gone to the mines every year. I learned so much by just talking with the locals and long time miners. They taught me to look for the "Peanut Butter Mud" which is a yellowish red mud that has a specific look and texture - if you find the peanut butter, then that is where the good stuff hides. I learned how to properly clean them using oxalic acid, both in hot water and cold water. I learned how to spot interesting formations, and I started bringing home really nice specimens.
I found that one trip to the crystal mines supplied me with great presents for all my friends and family for the year (or longer). I loved giving crystals away as presents. It was like I was a conduit of sorts. I pulled it from the earth, cleaned it, and then sent it on its way to be with the person it was meant for. And my gift will last longer than the person I gave it to will be alive. They can pass it down to their kids for generations, realistically. I would bring baskets of the smaller clear crystals and hand them out at festivals and shows to "the right people;" to someone that had a nice vibe of some sorts.
Anyway, there is a lot more, but I know this is getting long already.
I was mostly interested to hear if anyone else here is into crystals or rocks or whatever and hear some interesting stories.
Light and Love, DW

Edited by dwpineal (05/08/11 10:26 AM)
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Mello Kitty
Beautiful Burnout



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Re: The OFFICIAL Shroomery Crystal Mining and Rockhounding Thread [Re: dwpineal]
#14418423 - 05/08/11 06:49 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Edited by ellenallien (05/08/11 06:58 AM)
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MisterMuscaria



Registered: 05/13/08
Posts: 27,646
Loc:
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Re: The OFFICIAL Shroomery Crystal Mining and Rockhounding Thread [Re: dwpineal]
#14418426 - 05/08/11 06:54 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Id love to go. i am an avid collector of crystals but have never been mining myself. I want to look for tourmaline.
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nuentoter
conduit



Registered: 09/17/08
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Re: The OFFICIAL Shroomery Crystal Mining and Rockhounding Thread [Re: MisterMuscaria]
#14418449 - 05/08/11 07:06 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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I would love to go crystal hunting, but there are no mines of any type where I live, so I woulddnt know the slightest of where to go looking.
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The geometry of us is no chance. We are antennae, we are tuning forks, we are receiver and transmitters of all energy. We are more than we know. - @entheolove "I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for" - Georgia O'Keefe I think the word is vagina
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RobMarley420
LSD Enthusiast



Registered: 05/01/05
Posts: 12,554
Loc: Mushroom Mountain
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Re: The OFFICIAL Shroomery Crystal Mining and Rockhounding Thread [Re: nuentoter]
#14418558 - 05/08/11 08:10 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Sounds like fun.
So that crystal in the bottom pic.... Does it come out of the earth shaped like that? Or was that cut to look like that?
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TheSlapnCapn
Slappin' thangs.



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Re: The OFFICIAL Shroomery Crystal Mining and Rockhounding Thread [Re: RobMarley420]
#14418565 - 05/08/11 08:16 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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looks like a quartz crystal. they're shaped like that naturally.
-------------------- I promise to live, love, exist, and be, and hope that all life will love to be in existence with me. Also, fuck you. -j
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woutah
Royal A


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Re: The OFFICIAL Shroomery Crystal Mining and Rockhounding Thread [Re: RobMarley420]
#14418578 - 05/08/11 08:27 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
RobMarley420 said: Sounds like fun.
So that crystal in the bottom pic.... Does it come out of the earth shaped like that? Or was that cut to look like that?
Every crystal has a specific formation when it comes out of the ground. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_structure I had 1 page in 1 book about this as a kid. I think I read it about 40 times
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MisterMuscaria



Registered: 05/13/08
Posts: 27,646
Loc:
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Re: The OFFICIAL Shroomery Crystal Mining and Rockhounding Thread [Re: woutah]
#14418606 - 05/08/11 08:49 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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But that crystal structure is usually found in a matrix of rock and the crystal has to be cleaned up.(unless you want a rock with a bunch of crystal specimens sticking out and decide to leave it as is)
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dwpineal
Psychedelic Artist



Registered: 07/20/06
Posts: 4,667
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Re: The OFFICIAL Shroomery Crystal Mining and Rockhounding Thread [Re: RobMarley420]
#14418930 - 05/08/11 10:41 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
MisterMuscaria said: Id love to go. i am an avid collector of crystals but have never been mining myself. I want to look for tourmaline.
Yeah I would love to look for tourmaline and it is actually found in a lot of localities, from California to New York.
We were watching this Cash and treasures show on a Netflix DVD the other day and they went tourmaline mining in Cali. The host of the show found a nice big piece and had it faceted by a local expert, who valued it at $6K once it was cut. She brought it into a fancy Beverly Hills jeweler and he appraised it at twice that $12K (minerals are always priced less right in the vicinity of the mines)
I've always liked tourmaline, but I had no idea of its value. In fact I Just learned about the value of quartz. All these years I figured they were pretty, but had no real value. But when I started making art and vending at shows, my girl told me to put out some crystals on the table, and they sold really well, I was shocked. she always says I price them too low, but I give what I feel is a fair price...
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nuentoter said: I would love to go crystal hunting, but there are no mines of any type where I live, so I woulddnt know the slightest of where to go looking.
You might be surprised. There is a book I used to have called Fee Mines of North America or something like that and it listed all the places you can go, the prices to dig and the types of specimens that pop up.
I live far from a lot of the mines I want to go to, so I plan it out. I really want to do Opal mining, but it is very expensive, usually around $500 a day, so I haven't been able to do that yet. They have that in Colorado, I think Nevada and Cali.
Also you can find a beautiful purple crystal called flourite, and that can be found in a town called Cave-in-Rock, IL, but I've also never gone there...
But there is places all over.
Quote:
RobMarley420 said: Sounds like fun.
So that crystal in the bottom pic.... Does it come out of the earth shaped like that? Or was that cut to look like that?
They pretty much come right out of the ground like that. All you have to do is wash off the mud and then wash them in oxalic acid, clean 'em off, and they look like that.
I wish I had some pics of all the stuff I had collected over the years, but now I have only a very few pieces left. Last year I had a fire in my home, so all the crystals, other than a small handful, were lost.
But another reason I made this thread is because I'm going out on the road again soon and about to hit the mines again this year, try to make up for the ones that were lost
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lovecheese
observer



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Re: The OFFICIAL Shroomery Crystal Mining and Rockhounding Thread [Re: dwpineal]
#14419637 - 05/08/11 01:30 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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i like this thread
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist


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Re: The OFFICIAL Shroomery Crystal Mining and Rockhounding Thread [Re: dwpineal]
#14419785 - 05/08/11 02:06 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
dwpineal said: I've always liked tourmaline, but I had no idea of its value.
I have been tourmaline mining in Maine, and it is awesome. There are lots of places where you put a few dollars into a box and then go hunt there. Every once in awhile they blast more of the hillside away with dynamite. I found lots of small pieces and even a pretty nice medium sized watermelon one. I saw one guy who was digging under a rock all day and came out with a watermelon tourmaline crystal the size of his fist.
Quote:
I live far from a lot of the mines I want to go to, so I plan it out. I really want to do Opal mining, but it is very expensive, usually around $500 a day, so I haven't been able to do that yet. They have that in Colorado, I think Nevada and Cali.
Why is opal mining so expensive?
Quote:
Also you can find a beautiful purple crystal called flourite, and that can be found in a town called Cave-in-Rock, IL, but I've also never gone there...
I have found those there. There are a lot of interesting rocks in that area including cool galena crystals.
Quote:
They pretty much come right out of the ground like that. All you have to do is wash off the mud and then wash them in oxalic acid, clean 'em off, and they look like that.
Why oxalic acid?
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lovecheese
observer



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Re: The OFFICIAL Shroomery Crystal Mining and Rockhounding Thread [Re: Alan Rockefeller]
#14419792 - 05/08/11 02:09 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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I'd assume opal mining is so expensive because opals are so expensive. I was in a Jewelry class at a community college and a gem salesman came in. Everything he had was under $100 for excellent specimens.
But the opals he had cut were smaller then my pinky nail and he was selling them for $1000+ each.
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MisterMuscaria



Registered: 05/13/08
Posts: 27,646
Loc:
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Re: The OFFICIAL Shroomery Crystal Mining and Rockhounding Thread [Re: Alan Rockefeller]
#14420923 - 05/08/11 06:16 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
Alan Rockefeller said:
Quote:
dwpineal said: I've always liked tourmaline, but I had no idea of its value.
I have been tourmaline mining in Maine, and it is awesome. There are lots of places where you put a few dollars into a box and then go hunt there. Every once in awhile they blast more of the hillside away with dynamite. I found lots of small pieces and even a pretty nice medium sized watermelon one. I saw one guy who was digging under a rock all day and came out with a watermelon tourmaline crystal the size of his fist.
A friend of mine who lives in Maine told me that the tourmaline hunting up there is awesome.
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j0nnyb0y05
IBelieveInBelivin



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Re: The OFFICIAL Shroomery Crystal Mining and Rockhounding Thread [Re: MisterMuscaria]
#14421031 - 05/08/11 06:36 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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That sounds like it would be fun!! I would totally get into crystal mining if it would closer to me in Los Angles.
Have you ever seen that show meteorite men?
I have always found that show kind of interesting, it follows to men who hunt for remnants of meteors. Ive seen some of there findings valued at 9000
-------------------- .....Healing Of People Everywhere.....
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MisterMuscaria



Registered: 05/13/08
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Re: The OFFICIAL Shroomery Crystal Mining and Rockhounding Thread [Re: j0nnyb0y05]
#14421040 - 05/08/11 06:38 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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I believe Moldavite actually comes from meteorites where an organic "glass" is formed on impact or something to that effect.
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nuentoter
conduit



Registered: 09/17/08
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Re: The OFFICIAL Shroomery Crystal Mining and Rockhounding Thread [Re: MisterMuscaria]
#14421317 - 05/08/11 07:30 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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damn i've never heard of any of this mining stuff goin on around here (maine). but im also pretty far from civilization too hehe. makes me really wonder, cuz I have access to pretty much any type of landscape within an hour of me, i'm curious how i would go about narrowing down places to look for gems. i dont know where/if i could/would procure dynamite, but i'm sure theres places i can like pan for them or not have to dig that deep, i could see shoveling and picking like 4-5 feet if i would know for sure whats under.
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The geometry of us is no chance. We are antennae, we are tuning forks, we are receiver and transmitters of all energy. We are more than we know. - @entheolove "I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for" - Georgia O'Keefe I think the word is vagina
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dwpineal
Psychedelic Artist



Registered: 07/20/06
Posts: 4,667
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Re: The OFFICIAL Shroomery Crystal Mining and Rockhounding Thread [Re: j0nnyb0y05]
#14444861 - 05/13/11 10:51 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
Alan Rockefeller said:
Quote:
dwpineal said: I've always liked tourmaline, but I had no idea of its value.
I have been tourmaline mining in Maine, and it is awesome. There are lots of places where you put a few dollars into a box and then go hunt there. Every once in awhile they blast more of the hillside away with dynamite. I found lots of small pieces and even a pretty nice medium sized watermelon one. I saw one guy who was digging under a rock all day and came out with a watermelon tourmaline crystal the size of his fist.
Quote:
I live far from a lot of the mines I want to go to, so I plan it out. I really want to do Opal mining, but it is very expensive, usually around $500 a day, so I haven't been able to do that yet. They have that in Colorado, I think Nevada and Cali.
Why is opal mining so expensive?
Wow that sounds great! Do you know what the location or the mine was called? That's the type of info I'm interested in putting into this thread - cool places to find rock/crystals/etc...
Now I believe like lovecheese mentioned, the mining must be expense because of the value of opals. But wow, what an investment just to give something a try! I did find places that said $250 per person, and I think that was some of the least expensive.
I also saw a really great program on YouTube about Opal Mining in Coober Peety Australia. It was actually a bit depressing, as the entire area is full of people (living underground in old mine shafts, but really spiffed them up to be like nice homes- that part is SO COOL!), but it apparently can be hard to actually find any opals. Many miners have been digging for years with heavy equipment, and finding nothing year after year. Seems like really hard work - gotta have a lot of optimism for something like that. Also hitting a load of opals can be worth millions according to the show...
Quote:
Quote:
Also you can find a beautiful purple crystal called flourite, and that can be found in a town called Cave-in-Rock, IL, but I've also never gone there...
I have found those there. There are a lot of interesting rocks in that area including cool galena crystals.
Again I'd be very interested in the locations, or mine names, Please 
Quote:
Quote:
They pretty much come right out of the ground like that. All you have to do is wash off the mud and then wash them in oxalic acid, clean 'em off, and they look like that.
Why oxalic acid?
Not sure, but it sure works wonders on the quartz crystals. I believe it is to dissolve manganese and or rust-colored stains from the crystals...Quote:
j0nnyb0y05 said: That sounds like it would be fun!! I would totally get into crystal mining if it would closer to me in Los Angles.
Have you ever seen that show meteorite men?
I have always found that show kind of interesting, it follows to men who hunt for remnants of meteors. Ive seen some of there findings valued at 9000
Never saw that show, but if you're in LA, there is probably a lot of cool mining to be done not far at all from you! I can look online for you if you'd like to just get an idea...
Finding cool locations to dig and collect is part of the idea of the thread...I was surprised to find when I looked, that there was a locality for collecting (fee dig) only about 2-3 hours from my home, and I had no idea. It's not my favorite crystal, but still a fun day. Also it is one of the few places on earth that produce this type of formation...
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blackbantam
Stranger

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Re: The OFFICIAL Shroomery Crystal Mining and Rockhounding Thread [Re: nuentoter]
#14468824 - 05/17/11 04:46 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Would anyone have any more information on tourmaline mining in Maine? I was planning on road tripping to Maine this summer. Is this something I could have a little luck at if I only spent a day mining?
Thanks
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist


Registered: 03/10/07
Posts: 48,276
Last seen: 11 hours, 23 minutes
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Re: The OFFICIAL Shroomery Crystal Mining and Rockhounding Thread [Re: blackbantam]
#14468938 - 05/17/11 05:15 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
blackbantam said: Would anyone have any more information on tourmaline mining in Maine? I was planning on road tripping to Maine this summer. Is this something I could have a little luck at if I only spent a day mining?
There is some information on google, but your best bet is to ask about mining at rock shops in Maine. They have some guides that list the locations of pay mines. You leave a few bucks in a box and look for tourmaline all day. If you look all day you should find quite a few bits, a few should be good quality, depending on the place. Some mines have more of one color than another. Many mines have tons of black tourmaline, you can literally pick it up by the bucket full. it is often bound up in granite though.
You should call up various rockhound shops in Maine and ask about recommendations for places to go or guides to get.
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blackbantam
Stranger

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Re: The OFFICIAL Shroomery Crystal Mining and Rockhounding Thread [Re: Alan Rockefeller]
#14469387 - 05/17/11 06:52 PM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Thanks. I've begun my google research. I didn't think of trying rock shops though. I'll have to give it a shot. Thanks
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