North American Diamonds, Exploration of US Options

[Bennie]

In 1975 diamonds were accidentally discovered in wyoming, to date there has been over 300 kimberlites discovered between colorado and wyoming. Atleast 200 discovered by Dan Hausel while he was chief of exploration.
since 1980 many properties have seen or visited by companies , most if not all have yielded diamond. In the begining cominco desighned a terrible mill and as a result many Diamonds were lost. last year one ton of tailings were re processed for diamond content and no suprise to dan hausel a 4 carat diamond was recovered.
These diamond bearing rocks called kimberlites can be located through many exploration techniques. one of the most popular is looking for indicator minerals ans these tell a pro theres a kimberlite nearby.
another popular technique is a fly over with special mounted equipment made especially for locating these anomolys. Myself I use one of the best techniques "keeping my eyes peeled to the ground" one would want to see blueground; eroded kimberlites and source of indicator minerals.
once a site is located , sampling is generally the first thing. Mining companies sample anywhere from .5 of a ton to 300 tons . ore grades in the state- line district varied from .1CPHT to 135.cpht (carats per hundred tonnes, tonne=200lbs more}
but again cominco lost diamonds they desighned 3 mills each more worse than the previous . Numerous indicator mineral anomols exist in colorado and wyoming > after Dan discovered 200 kimberlites for Diamonex, he told me theres still many discoveries to be made on both sides of the border.
most if not all kimberlites in the stateline district are infact owned thus off limits.
Canada started mining a few short years ago and are now number3 in the world. Canada even produced more than Africa last year. Fact DeBeers sold all properties in Africa and are exploring thier new sites in Canada which are considered "WorldClass". Myself I have 20+ excellent targets to follow up on and will keep the CP's site fresh and keep you guys updated

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[Bennie]

heres some of the blueground which was rock, millions of years ago

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[Bennie]

my hardrock specimens of kimberlite

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[russau]

thanks for the post Bennie! ive been adding diamond info for my own edification! i even have a peice of Missouri Kimberlite.

[Bennie]

Heres some of the indicator minerals

the uppermost is a picroilminite megnacryst an excellent indicator mineral and a great specimen
then most are primarily pyrope-almandine megnacrysts about 60 miles depth and are nice specimens as these usually shatter into individual grains when you find em and most are small in comparison
and the white mineral , dont quote me but it apears to be a an eclogitic fragment of a fieldspar vaiety

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[Denise]

Definately a good post Bennie! Lots of good info on Diamonds, and cool finds.
Bet you were pretty excited when finding those goodies.
Thanks for the information on Diamonds....Keep it coming.

[Bennie]

another pic i dug up

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[Bennie]

Few know some of the very interesting facts about diamonds and their origin.

Diamonds were formed at depths of between 150 to 400km (Kilometers, not meters) below the earths surface in the upper mantle back as far as 2000,000,000 (2 billion)or more years ago.

in geological history in North America, about 500,000,000 (500 million)years ago, explosive volcanic eruptions broughts peridotitic lava from very deep seated origin in the mantle to the surface. These melts took place bringing diamond bearing eclogites and harzburgites that contain diamonds ,as they come up (At Mach2 Speed)they bring up forighn rocks called xenoliths of these rocks and brought , Diamonds usually survive their journey due to unique gas rich circumstances reguarding Kimberlites which actually freezez the conglomerate before it reaches the surphase, the volcanic activity fillied in the necks of these pipes,with a unique diamond bearing ore called kimberlite, remained and contained diamonds that had been brought from their source 90 miles below
Diamond exploration Experts follow these indicator trails by sampling and other means, to determine where these ancient volcanic pipes are situated.
Some of these indicator minerals are quite rare and some are better than others , These were all excellent indicator minerals. These were all found at a overlooked location that will remain nameless

[mystic mining]

Great info Bennie thanks for sharing

[Bennie]

whell the other day I may have located a very ridiculously large sized kimberlite pipe in Colorado.
This may or may not be a Diamondiferious kimberlite , but am positive its related as I found many Xenoliths inside this pipe. The xenoliths found inside arent the conventional Indicator Minerals, But for sure came from an unknown depth and are present on the surphase. It apears to have eroded to the usual blue soils mainly Chlorite and montmorillonite clay, in this picture you can see sodium carbonate on the granitic rocks in the lake, another characteristic of kimberlite there is no source of salt ANYWHERE in this granitic basement,

This might be a kimberlite , im not certain but will know shortly as im contacting the best ,
If a kimberlite , would prove the largest pipe in The USA
Bennie

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[Bennie]

funny enough as I already sound, these xenoliths I found under the lake resemble pieces kimberlite, which could be an indicator

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[Bennie]

Whell guys, this is a kimberlite, even though I stumbled on these by accident , Dan Hausel told me that he discovered these last year for Diamonex when he was chief of exploration. he even said theres 5 lakes in a trend all of which are kimberlites. Im going to try to give Diamonex the shaft

[Bennie]

Heres a clearer pic of the Xenoliths, yes a few of which are in Fact;
Kimberlitic Indicator Minerals

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[faaus]

Way to go Bennie! I knew you were a real fan of ice!

I found a tiny sparkler in glacial tailings, but it looks like you are hot on the trail of a possible source! Few kimberlites actually host diamonds, but most are full of great mineral specimens, and often some superb giat crystals.

I strongly suggest that you read "Barren Lands" by Kevin Krajick. Here's a link to the website:

http://www.barrenlands.com/

I enjoyed it enough that I wrote to the author. he's a really cool guy and was even interested in my tiny diamond find.

You will enjoy (and learn from) the real-life hero of the book, Chuck Fipke, whose hard work and determination uncovered the now-famous Ekati diamond mines.

I wish you great success and enjoyment.

faaus

[russau]

thanks for the tip Faaus! im going out to buy this today!