There seems to be a good interest in diamond prospecting in this forum so I’d like to add some of my expertises as a way of giving back to those that willingly share their knowledge with others.
My passion when I was a child was gold prospecting. Both of my grandfathers had the gold fever so I had no choice…I was going to be a prospector. My Dad was an avid outdoorsman and being with him allowed plenty of opportunity to look for riches. As time went on, my prospecting interests grew from just gold to other things like radioactive minerals and naturally, gemstones. When I decided I was going after diamonds, I did lots of research and got my hands on as many specimens of diamond bearing ores as I could afford. Diamond prospecting for primary deposits is difficult and expensive. I’m going to try and give you some help that will allow for casual prospectors to have successes in those areas that may have diamonds mixed in with placer gravels.
KNOWING WHAT TO LOOK FOR
First, you’ve got to know what you’re looking for, which was tuff since, until recently, diamond cartels were holding the entire secret. Of course, Diamond is the best indicator of commercial deposits. My photo “DIAMOND IN MATRIX” is a great example of a cubo-octahedral stone. The important thing to note here is that the matrix is still attached to the diamond. That told me that the crystal hadn’t traveled far and I was very near a primary diamond deposit. Diamonds found in gold placers most likely won’t have the matrix since it would have worn off during its travels downstream. Diamonds are dense and can be collected in sluice boxes so keep an eye out for something shinny like quartz but it will have a greasy look to it. This is referred to as an adamantine luster and only diamond has it. Diamonds cannot be wetted which can cause them to float on the surface of water. They do stick to other carbon so bees wax or grease can be used to collect them in sluices.
My photo “INDICATORS” is a 10X view of some of the Pyrope Garnets and Perovskite that occur with the diamonds in my primary deposits. Wine colored garnets indicate diamonds in my neighborhood. Most of the know deposits occur in very old rock formations and if you come across depressions in granite rock that have blue or yellow clays, pan through some of it. Kimberlite (a diamond ore) will decompose to thick clay that is really difficult to deal with but the rewards can be substantial. My photo “DIAMOND PIPES” is a good example of what decomposed diamond ore will look like. Here the small lakes are the tops of a cluster of kimberlitic pipes. The tone of the shorelines reveals the character of the hidden kimberlite. There are other rocks that are known to carry diamonds as well. Lamproites and Orangeites also carry high loads of diamonds but I’m not too familiar with them.
WHERE TO LOOK
If you want to find diamonds, search in areas that diamonds are known to occur. Use the internet as a great source for diamond localities. Streams and rivers, as well as beaches, near diamond deposits will have diamonds. The stones are so incredibly hard, they will not show any wear even after hundreds of miles traveling downstream. If you find one, there will be others and it would be a good idea to modify your equipment to capture the occasional stone that normally passes over your riffles.
My photo “FIRST PIPE” is of my very first kimberlite pipe discovery. You’ll notice that the granite rock walls are nearly as high as the trees. The pipe is a volcanic eruption that blows through the rock and forms a carrot shaped pipe. The ore is much softer and will decompose much faster than the native rock. This can leave a depression, in this case a lake filled crater. The trees do not like to grow over kimberlite and this is a good indicator of where to look. Notice the grassy shoreline with scattered large boulders. The large boulders are left over pieces that were blasted by the kimberlitic intrusion. They are called upper mantle xenoliths and can be composed of whatever rock is in the area where the kimberlite blows through. Some data I’ve seen has the kimberlite exploding through the surface at nearly twice the speed of sound. This type of violent explosion will leave its mark on the surface. Look for these unusual areas if you’ve found indicators or diamonds in area streams!
I could go on and on about diamond prospecting but it might be better that I end here and try and answer any questions that you might have.
My passion when I was a child was gold prospecting. Both of my grandfathers had the gold fever so I had no choice…I was going to be a prospector. My Dad was an avid outdoorsman and being with him allowed plenty of opportunity to look for riches. As time went on, my prospecting interests grew from just gold to other things like radioactive minerals and naturally, gemstones. When I decided I was going after diamonds, I did lots of research and got my hands on as many specimens of diamond bearing ores as I could afford. Diamond prospecting for primary deposits is difficult and expensive. I’m going to try and give you some help that will allow for casual prospectors to have successes in those areas that may have diamonds mixed in with placer gravels.
KNOWING WHAT TO LOOK FOR
First, you’ve got to know what you’re looking for, which was tuff since, until recently, diamond cartels were holding the entire secret. Of course, Diamond is the best indicator of commercial deposits. My photo “DIAMOND IN MATRIX” is a great example of a cubo-octahedral stone. The important thing to note here is that the matrix is still attached to the diamond. That told me that the crystal hadn’t traveled far and I was very near a primary diamond deposit. Diamonds found in gold placers most likely won’t have the matrix since it would have worn off during its travels downstream. Diamonds are dense and can be collected in sluice boxes so keep an eye out for something shinny like quartz but it will have a greasy look to it. This is referred to as an adamantine luster and only diamond has it. Diamonds cannot be wetted which can cause them to float on the surface of water. They do stick to other carbon so bees wax or grease can be used to collect them in sluices.
My photo “INDICATORS” is a 10X view of some of the Pyrope Garnets and Perovskite that occur with the diamonds in my primary deposits. Wine colored garnets indicate diamonds in my neighborhood. Most of the know deposits occur in very old rock formations and if you come across depressions in granite rock that have blue or yellow clays, pan through some of it. Kimberlite (a diamond ore) will decompose to thick clay that is really difficult to deal with but the rewards can be substantial. My photo “DIAMOND PIPES” is a good example of what decomposed diamond ore will look like. Here the small lakes are the tops of a cluster of kimberlitic pipes. The tone of the shorelines reveals the character of the hidden kimberlite. There are other rocks that are known to carry diamonds as well. Lamproites and Orangeites also carry high loads of diamonds but I’m not too familiar with them.
WHERE TO LOOK
If you want to find diamonds, search in areas that diamonds are known to occur. Use the internet as a great source for diamond localities. Streams and rivers, as well as beaches, near diamond deposits will have diamonds. The stones are so incredibly hard, they will not show any wear even after hundreds of miles traveling downstream. If you find one, there will be others and it would be a good idea to modify your equipment to capture the occasional stone that normally passes over your riffles.
My photo “FIRST PIPE” is of my very first kimberlite pipe discovery. You’ll notice that the granite rock walls are nearly as high as the trees. The pipe is a volcanic eruption that blows through the rock and forms a carrot shaped pipe. The ore is much softer and will decompose much faster than the native rock. This can leave a depression, in this case a lake filled crater. The trees do not like to grow over kimberlite and this is a good indicator of where to look. Notice the grassy shoreline with scattered large boulders. The large boulders are left over pieces that were blasted by the kimberlitic intrusion. They are called upper mantle xenoliths and can be composed of whatever rock is in the area where the kimberlite blows through. Some data I’ve seen has the kimberlite exploding through the surface at nearly twice the speed of sound. This type of violent explosion will leave its mark on the surface. Look for these unusual areas if you’ve found indicators or diamonds in area streams!
I could go on and on about diamond prospecting but it might be better that I end here and try and answer any questions that you might have.
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