Found Beautiful Star Sapphires on my New Sapphire Site!

Dan Hurd29 minutes read

The speaker and their crew extract sapphires and garnets from pegmatites, highlighting gemstone profitability over gold. They emphasize environmental responsibility while prospecting for various gemstones like aquamarine, tourmaline, and iolite, showcasing their findings on their website.

Insights

  • The speaker emphasizes the profitability of gemstones like Star Sapphires over gold in their prospecting work, showcasing a shift in focus towards valuable gemstones rather than traditional precious metals.
  • The text underlines the meticulous process of extracting various gemstones, including sapphires, garnets, and tourmaline, highlighting the diversity of colors and shapes found in these specimens, ultimately leading to the creation of unique and sellable pieces for display and purchase.

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Recent questions

  • What gemstones are found during prospecting?

    Various gemstones like sapphires, garnets, and tourmaline.

  • How are gemstones extracted from the rock?

    Using tools like feather and wedges for extraction.

  • What is the profitability of gemstones compared to gold?

    Gemstones are highlighted as more profitable than gold.

  • What environmental responsibility is emphasized during prospecting?

    Importance of environmental responsibility and sustainable practices.

  • What tools are used for extracting gemstones?

    Rotary hammer, feather, and wedges for extraction.

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Summary

00:00

"Prospecting for Star Sapphires: A Gemstone Adventure"

  • The speaker is prospecting for Star Sapphires with a crew at a new claim.
  • They identify spots with visible sapphires on the surface and extract samples from pegmatites.
  • The speaker uses a rotary hammer to extract chunks of pegmatite with sapphires.
  • They find Star Sapphires in the extracted chunks, planning to use them as specimens.
  • The crew arrives early to beat the heat and continues extracting sapphires.
  • The speaker emphasizes the profitability of gemstones over gold in their prospecting endeavors.
  • They extract more sapphires using feather and wedges, creating sellable specimens.
  • The speaker explains the variety of colors sapphires can come in, not just blue.
  • The crew also plans to search for garnets in the area.
  • The speaker highlights the importance of environmental responsibility while prospecting and discusses the geology of the area, mentioning potential gemstones like aquamarine, tourmaline, and iolite.

17:33

Gemstone Discovery and Extraction Process Explained

  • The text describes the process of finding gemstones, particularly garnets and sapphires, in a specific location.
  • The narrator mentions finding a plate of Tourmaline crystals and wonders about the process that could have led to their formation.
  • They break off a piece to examine the fresh break and look for specimens.
  • The text highlights the discovery of garnets in the host rock, including a large fractured one.
  • The narrator breaks a piece off to reveal a specimen full of garnets.
  • They mention the difficulty of carrying the heavy bags of specimens out of the location.
  • The text transitions to exploring tourmaline crystals and sapphires, with a focus on extracting them carefully.
  • The process of using wedges to extract the tourmaline is detailed, with a successful extraction of sapphires and tourmaline.
  • The narrator then shifts to gem sieving in the river gravels to find more gemstones like garnets and sapphires.
  • The text concludes with the narrator examining the gemstones under a microscope, identifying sapphires, garnets, and iolite among the findings.

34:17

Unique Garnet, Sapphire, and Tourmaline Specimens

  • Garnet samples from the metamorphic rock are cut in half to create flat bases for display, each unique with great character, alongside sapphire specimens and tourmaline crystals, including green tourmaline and hexagon-shaped sapphires, with some specimens being large and impressive.
  • The sapphires, often forming hexagons, are showcased in various sizes, with some being huge and potentially split into two, while smaller ones may be sent for cab making to display their star quality, available for purchase on the website www.danherdprospecting.com, where viewers can also enjoy weekly episodes of Dan heard prospecting.
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