VIRGIN VALLEY OPAL

On May 13, 2001 I left Phoenix to try my hand at two fee digging sites,

the Royal Peacock opal mine in the Virgin Valley of Nevada and the Dust

Devil sunstone mine north of Plush, Oregon. I pulled a pop up camping

trailer behind my Explorer and was accompanied by Molly, a half Border

Collie and half Chow dog. Molly’s motto is "round ‘em up and kill ‘em."

On my way through Nevada I stopped at the Goldfield Rock Shop, owned by

Big Bob Plock. Bob was very knowledgeable about rock collecting in the

Goldfield area and would definitely be the person to ask about local

collecting. I bought an interesting piece of nephrite jade from Bob

that was from the Candlearia area, north of Goldfield.

I stopped and slept about 10:00pm and then drove the remainder of the

way to the Virgin Valley the next day. The opal claims are all in the

Sheldon National Wildlife Range, a game refuge mainly for Pronghorn

Antelope. However, the main large mammal seen and heard are burros,

lots and lots of burros.

There are two fee-digging mines. The Royal Peacock, where I mined, and

the Rainbow Ridge opal mine located very near the Virgin Valley. The

Royal Peacock opened for mining on May 15th, the Rainbow Ridge opened

Memorial Day weekend. The fee digging arrangement at the Royal Peacock

was $25 per day to sift through the mine tailings and $65 per day to dig

in the opal bearing clay banks. According to the frequent diggers at

the Royal Peacock, the Rainbow Ridge mine operators have been selling

large scoops (back hoe or bulldozer - I don’t know) for $150. However,

the price was expected to go up to $200 per scoop for the 2001 season,

if the scoops were still available. If scoops are not available, the

tailings can be sifted, for a fee.

I set up camp at the Royal Peacock camping area, located about a mile

from the mine. Hookups are available for RVs, but my pop up is

self-contained. The camping area included a flush toilet bathroom with

a shower that never ran low on hot water.

The first day of mining was Tuesday. I received a lot of help from Mark

McCaffrey, a frequent digger from Reno. Mark showed me the technique of

removing the clay from the bank with an ice pick - and loaned me an ice

pick. Moving more material with larger tools jeopardizes the very

fragile opal when it is encountered. During the afternoon I encountered

a limb that turned out to be about 7 inches long and about two inches

wide. The outside of the limb showed a bit of precious opal and there

was precious opal showing in two of the growth rings.

The limb came out in two sections after about three hours of careful

work. I wrapped the limb pieces in paper towels and placed them in zip

lock bags. Mark recommended that the limbs be kept in water, but I

thought the interior opal should be ok the way I had wrapped it. I had

no idea how fast the partially mineralized wood of the Virgin Valley

could deteriorate. I later found that the opal often has about 15%

water in it, far more than Australian opal.

Wednesday was much warmer and the work picking at the clay banks was

unproductive. I found a fair amount of wood, but no opal. Thursday was

heavy with anticipation, as the mine operators had removed the

overburden and opened a new section of the mine, two levels above where

we had been mining. At 8:00am, the time the mine opened, we spread out

along the new bank and attacked with picks, rock picks and ice picks.

After two hours of finding very little, almost everyone drifted back to

the lower banks.

On Friday I paid my bill and bought a small piece of conk, wood in which

the individual cells are replaced by precious opal. Conk appears to be

the most stable form of Virgin Valley opal.

Photo by John McLaughlin

CONK OPAL FROM THE VIRGIN VALLEY

I left for the Plush sunstone mining area, detouring through Lakeside, Oregon for more

supplies. I set up camp on the BLM area set aside for public sunstone collection.

OREGON SUNSTONES

The next morning I drove to the Dust Devil Mine. Terry Clark and Steve

Hackler, both partners in the mine, were present. The third partner,

Don Buford, would not be at the Dust devil till after Memorial Day.

Terry gave me an orientation to mining for sunstones and then invited me

to move my trailer to the mine site, which I did.

The Dust Devil Mine is an open pit operation. The sunstones are found

in a basalt layer, some of which has decomposed into clay, leaving the

feldspar crystals in the clay. The Dust Devil Mine uses a D9

Caterpillar bulldozer with rear mounted, hardened steel "hook" about

three feet long to tear up the basalt. Tearing up the basalt is an

impressive and loud operation. When the bulldozer started ripping

ground my partner Molly hid under the camping trailer and would not come

out till all sounds of the machine had died.

I asked Steve if the fee diggers followed the D9 during the regular

mining season and his response was "like sea gulls after a gut bucket."

Aside from ripping up the basalt, much of the work of the bulldozer is

to spread out the sunstone-bearing dirt for drying. Only after it is

dry can the material be processed.

The sunstones are a plagioclase feldspar with a Mohs’ scale hardness of

6. Most are found as a transparent, straw colored stone. This is the

main form of sunstone found on the BLM public collecting area. Much

rarer are sunstones with a copper shiller. These stones have small

copper plates inside, usually somewhat difficult to see. When oriented

to a light source properly, the copper lights up with a gold red shiller

that flashes at the viewer. These stones can occasionally be found on

the public collecting area and are the stones mines at the other active

claims.

The Dust Devil mining claims hold a third type of sunstone - one with a

clear red (and sometimes watermelon or green) center. The best of the

red stones bear a striking resemblance to rubies when faceted. The red

centered stones are the most coveted and are worth several times the

price of the copper shiller sunstones. The Dust Devil claims are the

only ones on which the red sunstones have been found. Mines a half mile

away produce only the clear and shiller stones.

Photo by John McLaughlin

Photo by John McLaughlin

OREGON SUNSTONE FROM THE DUST DEVIL MINE

There are several ways fee diggers locate the sunstones. Easiest is to

wander around with a cup of coffee in the early morning and watch for

the low rays of the sun to light up a sunstone. Even with the dust

coating, the sun’s rays penetrate the stones and cause them to glow.

The stones with intense shiller glow a hot gold color. The late evening

rays of the sun provide the same circumstances. However, the beverage

of choice at that time is either a soft drink or a cold beer.

Many fee diggers find it best to screen the sunstone-bearing dirt. In

fact, the Dust Devil Mine has several screens available for the use of

fee diggers. I brought my own screens, one a half inch mesh and one a

quarter inch mesh. Terry Clark recommended that the two screens be used

together, the half inch over the quarter inch screen, to avoid missing

any sunstones.

Screening works well, although it tends to be tedious labor. It worked

very well to help identify areas of the pit that seemed more productive

than others. One tip that Terry gave me was especially helpful. When

the screen has been shaken free of dirt and the large stones had been

removed, the screen could be lifted so it was between the sun and my

eyes. This provided the same advantage that the early morning

collecting did - the sun’s rays lit up the sunstones.

Some of the experienced fee diggers simply find a good area and then

start slowly digging with a screwdriver, trowel or other small

instrument. The dirt is carefully removed and the sunstones are located

one by one. This is especially effective in areas where the basalt has

decomposed into clay. The basalt around the small vugs has

disintegrated, leaving the sunstones loose in the soil. Terry showed me

a corner of the pit that had been especially productive for red stones

in past seasons. Sitting in a small hole, I was able to locate several

excellent red stones using mainly a screwdriver to scrape out clay

pockets in the basalt.

After the bulldozer has ripped up new basalt it is possible to wander

about turning over large rocks. Once in a while it is possible to find

a rock which has been broken up and has a number of excellent sunstones

exposed, or at least enough sunstone showing to suggest more is

available inside the stone. After a lot of stones are "cracked" a fair

amount of sunstone can be located. However, there is a danger in also

cracking the sunstones when the basalt is opened.

The way that the mining partners separate the sunstone from the dirt is

interesting. Not so much because their technique is new, but because

the basic processor is built on a school bus chassis and the processor can be driven to other locations, allowing for contract work. 

The sunstone-bearing dirt is dried and then put through a grizzly to

separate the large rocks from it. A conveyer carries the material

through a concentration and screening process and the stones are then

hand picked off the final conveyer. Powerful lights are mounted above

the hand picking conveyer so that the process can be carried on at night

when the temperature is cooler.

Most of the methods of locating the sunstones involve a fair amount of

work in a very dry, warm environment. (I’m from Phoenix, so I use the

term warm for 95-degree weather - 115 degrees is what I know as hot.)

I found that working during the morning hours and then eating lunch and

taking a siesta during the warmest part of the day, resuming work about

4:00pm, worked well for me. However, siestas always work well for me.

I try to drink about the same amount of water Molly drinks. Dogs seem

much smarter than humans about life in a warm dry climate. Molly drinks

well over a gallon a day and I keep pace with her. I also wear a three

inch brim, high crown hat that has mesh between the brim and the crown.

It does a good job protecting my face and much of my neck. Sunscreen is

a good idea, although I often don’t remember it.

I had intended to dig at the Dust Devil Mine until Monday the 21st of

May and then leave for Topaz Mountain in Utah. However, I was doing so

well and the folks at the mine were so friendly that I stayed until the

24th and decided to try Topaz Mountain at a later date. I ended up with

a very good haul of sunstones. The Mine partners charge half the

wholesale price for the red and better shiller stones and do not charge

for lower quality shiller or for clear stones. They also do not charge

for the waste in the stones, unlike the folks that resell the rough.

This puts the actual price of the stones at about a third to a fourth of

their wholesale price.

I was very happy with the amount of sunstones I found and the price I

paid. I plan to cab most of the shiller myself and contract for

faceting the red and green stones. I have a few red stones that will

become large beautiful gems. My only problem will be creating settings

worthy of them.

Of the two experiences, I expect I will return to the Dust Devil Mine

again. I love opal, but the beauty, flash and excitement of finding the

sunstones made for a great experience. I also liked not having to

conform to an 8:00am to 4:00pm day.

John McLaughlin

Glendale, Arizona