COLORADO DIAMOND PROSPECTING, Colorado has diamond deposits, you just need to look... Options

[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

[ASTROBLEME]

Of course, the best indicator of a diamond mining deposit is to be successful in finding diamonds.

Here is a photo of my first diamond recovery a few years ago. It is hard to explain the excitement...even today...at finding diamond crystals right here in Colorado!

ASTROBLEME

[russau]

thanks for the info and pics!

[nm jack]

Great pics & great info. Keep it coming. Thanks for sharing.

[ASTROBLEME]

Great pics & great info. Keep it coming. Thanks for sharing.

Here's another photo that you might enjoy. The building was a diamond processing plant that worked the kimberlite pipes on the old Sloan Ranch back in the 1980's. The flat areas up to the right of the building are the reclamation efforts that cover some of the kimberlite.

Chuck Fipke later used the plant to process the first cores taken from the ice covered lake that held his fantastic Canadian discoveries…since it was the only diamond processing facility in North America at the time.

[CP]

Very cool diamond find Astrobleme! I bet you were a happy prospector that day for sure!

I remember an excellent documentary done about Chuck's Canadian adventures, very good story.
And the ending description about what he did after his success and he sold the mine........he headed right back out to prospect for more.

Thanks for posting, great stuff! Like NM Jack said.....Keep it comin'!

CP

[ASTROBLEME]

Very cool diamond find Astrobleme! I bet you were a happy prospector that day for sure!

I remember an excellent documentary done about Chuck's Canadian adventures, very good story.
And the ending description about what he did after his success and he sold the mine........he headed right back out to prospect for more.

Thanks for posting, great stuff! Like NM Jack said.....Keep it comin'!

CP

Dear CP:

I got the urge to prospect for diamonds about two decades before finding that first stone, so I can relate to Chuck and his story. People dismissed his diamond pursuits and some even joked about him early on. He had a tremendous passion for diamond prospecting that gave him the will to continue on in the face of what most folks would consider unbeatable odds. Of course, many of us can really understand why he keeps prospecting...even when he has already had tremendous successes.

Sincerely,

ASTROBLEME

[ASTROBLEME]

Hello Everyone Prospecting for Diamonds:

Kimberlites that contain diamonds also carry several other minerals. The most well known are the garnets. Many diamond prospectors search for these garnets since they are much more numerous than diamonds. The colors can be very different and the best way to tell if a garnet was from a diamond bearing pipe is to do a detailed analysis on the chemistry.

Why? Because diamonds contain inclusions and some of those inclusions have been identified as being garnets. The garnets that have the chemistry known to be found in diamond bearing kimberlitic pipes are described as G-9 or G-10. I have collected garnets ranging from purple through wine to bright red in coloration from the surface expressions known as pans in the State Line Mining District. The color isn't so much as an indicator of a kimberlitic pipe containing diamonds as the diamonds are. It is my opinion that far too much time and money is being spent around the world looking for "diamond indicators" than there is actually digging up diamonds!

Here's a photo of some of the garnets I have collected from diamond bearing kimberlitic pipes here in Colorado.



As you can see, these don't look too impressive but the diamonds that come with them sure are...

Take another look at my first diamond photo. The red coloration of the matrix is the eclogite garnet mineral. The cubo-octahedral crystal developed within that diamond- eclogite xenolith matrix a long time before it was delivered to the surface. Diamond crystals come in many forms and not all of them appear to be diamonds when first collected. Some have suffered damage during deposition and others can take an uncommon crystal form so check your concentrates carefully. Most diamonds break away from the matrix and are found in a "clean" state without any trace of the matrix. This is due to the diamond being so much harder than the matrix. The diamond crystal is the only thing that survives the through the erosion process. If you ever find a diamond with the matrix attached, you are very, very close to the diamond source. Take your time to properly sample the area to determine where the diamonds are eroding from.

Hope this helps in your recognition of possible diamond deposits.

Sincerely,

ASTROBLEME

[amethystguy]

Heck, I would be happy just to find those indicator minerals you have posted at the top. The color of those garnets is awesome

[jim]

Very cool stuff. That means that Mr Tonko has come close to his sorce since the stone in the first pic has matrix still stuck to it. It makes since too. Being that diamond is harder than ALL its surroundings it just gets polished. I'd love to hear his story.

[nm jack]

Astrobleme, what info do you have on NM if any?? I have found some garnet and the telltale blue ground on some of my claims.

[ASTROBLEME]

Astrobleme, what info do you have on NM if any?? I have found some garnet and the telltale blue ground on some of my claims.

nm jack:

While I travel through NM occasionally, I have never had the chance to do any prospecting. I'm sorry that I don't have any information on NM diamond deposits.

If you haven't already done it, let me suggest that you zoom in on you claims using the Google Earth tool. A good quality color photo of your claim coverage may help identify the central core of the blue ground where sampling would be the best. Here's a Google Earth image of a cluster of some of my pipes expressing both "yellow ground" and "blue ground" materials.



The circular pans (some call them mars or craters) are highly visible from aerial photos. The depressions seasonally fill with water making sampling difficult when the clay is muddy. LOTS of sampling is required to determine if the target pipe has diamonds.

ASTROBLEME

[Bennie]

This Is the one I was Interested in , there was never a claim over here ever , I liked the name "lady moon lake" it has destinct craters in the lake Floor. This lake is private but the ponds were all locatable , i was going to claim it just cause how it looked on google earth ,Couldnt locate ON so i lost interest these were even over 2 miles from diamonex as their sister company was going to work with me as long as i was 2 miles away from diamonex , I thought of the sites upon visiting poor Targets and lost interest , but the large lake remains a mystery ,

Id say with all the attention in this area someone should make an effort here , even though the lakes private look at it! It Looks Special , WHAT IF , could be , even part of sec 1 is locatable

But Thanks Anyways Dan and Denise whom helped answer many questions about claiming , but thats what happened to the lakes that i was talking about possibly filling on. as shown never seen a claim

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[Bennie]

to clarify my last post about lady moon ;
this is a private lake but could be leased and drilled maybe even mined , this is an unexplored pipe in the red feather lakes region

While telling dan i was going to explore this area i asked if he been there before and he said;

"even though the lake was private Lady Moon this was top of his list of places Given to diamonex to investigate "
personal communication Dan Hausel 2008

this is 1 of Dans Discoveries ...

some of the area is locatable but the lake itself is private but most of the surrounding is NF Land and is locatable almostl all the way up to the large lake which is private

I explored some of this area and didnt find anything keeping my attention and the larger better portion of the anomoly was private, so i left this area

I am not liable for any use or misuse of this place or idea ,this information is for a professional company that wants to drill, this area might be worth poking around ;)
this is a target that needs alot of groundwork but is a free reference and possibly a free diamond mine to be found haha
there may be another hidden intrusion on some of the claimable adjacent NF land or maybe a lease can be arranged on the private lake .

[CP]

Nice arial of your kimberlite pipes Astrobleme, can sure see a distinct difference in the deposited material. Would definately enjoy finding something like that someday......very cool!
So when out prospecting and you notice a clear "difference" in ground color, rock form, etc......that would be a great place to check out!

Diamonds normally aren't found with any matrix if I remember it right so yep I would agree, musta' been right at the source.

Great info Bennie thanks, sorry to hear you lost interest in that area though. Many times private land owners will make lease arrangements to work deposits within their land, just never know until you inquire with them.

Oh fiddlesticks! Now I got a hankerin' to go out diggin'! See what ya'll did!
Great info, and we would love to hear more about the prospecting stories and work that followed for those pipes Astrobleme......with lots more pics of course!

CP