COLORADO DIAMOND PROSPECTING, Colorado has diamond deposits, you just need to look... Options Track this topic Email this topic Print this topic Download this topic Subscribe to this forum Display Modes Outline Switch to: Standard Switch to: Linear+

[ASTROBLEME]

Hi Everyone:

Diamond prospecting isn't too hard if you know what to look for. This photo was recently posted publicly by another diamond expert (Dan Hausel) whom I've worked with and have grown to respect over the past few years. I am excited to now be able to share some knowledge through this forum as I have endured much difficulty in the early years while learning about diamond prospecting on my own.

The specimens in this photo are great examples of "indicator minerals" that were recovered from a diamond bearing area (Sloan Ranch kimberlite pipes #1 & #2) right here in Colorado. If you ever find minerals that resemble these specimens in any of your samples, I'd advise you to consider testing the prospect area for DIAMONDS!

Sincerely,

ASTROBLEME

Reduced 88% 962 x 794 (189.45K)

[Diamond Digger]

Very interesting stuff on this link.
First let me say Hi to everyone as I am new to the forum but I am very old to diamond mining.

In my experience diamonds behave much differently than gold when it is washed away from the source material (Alluvial diamonds)

The old prospectors would and did find the odd diamond here and there but a sluice is not the right way to find diamonds. You need a diamond washing plant, they can be small or big depending on your budget.
The most efficient diamond plant is the 14 foot washing plant. Many of them are build to be a mobile unit that can be towed behind a truck or a serious 4 x 4.

The 14 foot pan is capable of washing many tons of gravel per day and you can sort the heavy concentrates almost every 15 minutes. You will need a excavator to pile the alluvial gravel onto a stock pile and a front end loader to pick the gravel up and feed it directly into the wash pan. No need to feed slowly since the pan feeds itself with buckets on a conveyor belt, almost like the old water wheels were powered. Similar concept.

Anyway if you can afford to setup this kind of operation you will need to make sure your tests are done in controlled circumstances I suggest you test the pan properly before you go into production.
The speed with witch the pan sorting arms turn must be very specific the consistency of the water and soil sludge must be %100 correct in order to push the diamonds out to the edge of the pan. If it turns too fast or too slow you will loose diamonds. So experience is the key, you must know how to tap the concentrates into a bucket (Old fashioned Milking bucket) and when to tap the concentrates out of the pan.

Once all this is done and you have your four to six buckets full of concentrate you have to classify and sort. Here we use a half a 44 gallon drum, and four diamond sieves about 20 inches across from large to small. Pour one bucket at a time into the top sieves make sure they are properly stacked on top of each other and the drum is filled almost to the top with water. Then you classify the stones the same way as you would gold bearing gravel. With diamonds it is slightly different because they are bigger than gold flakes. So you carefully scan the rocks for any diamonds. They can be any color so I always hold the top two sieves under a Blue light (Ultraviolet) All diamonds are florescent and they show up blue in color blue so they are very easy to spot.

The third sieve is usually where the diamonds are, up to three carats in size will be in this pan. This one you shake under water and rotate the pan about 15 degrees every time you shake it, usually about ten times this will rotate the light gravel to the outside of the sieve and the heavy stones will be in the center of the sieve if you do it right the black sand/stones will form a circle in the middle of the sieve.

Now you have to turn the sieve over onto the sorting table (In the shade) with one swift move, then drop the sieve a few times onto the sort table to make sure everything is out. Then comes the FUN part. I use a small 4 inch builders plaster trowel to separate and screen the concentrates. But usually the diamonds are lying on the top of the concentrates and they are easy to spot if you know what to look for.... just look for the bright one of a kind shine! I always run the ultra violet light over the rest of the wastes just in case, no one is perfect!
Well I hope this helps you a little in your prospecting endeavors.
DD