Natural Arkansas Enhydro Quartz Crystal Mining

[skywatcher54]

I'll be in Mt Ida on May 23rd. I'm trying to find out where the best place to mine for the best price. Actually I'm more interested in the best crystals to find than the fee. I'm hoping to find some large ones and some really clear ones. I know i can buy some in the shops but what fun is that?..lol Once i get started hunting them it's like a fever. You have to bring someone with you that isn't affected to make you leave. Those enhydros look nice i'd love to find some of those.

[kingofquartz]

@skywatcher54

Right now I'd suggest Bear Mountain (fiddlers ridge) or Sweet Surrender. Those are the only two public mines that are in production right now. You really cant go down into the pit where the good stuff is but you can look through the tailings. Due to regulations we cant let tourists into the dangerous areas of the mine where we work.

The enhydros are found several counties to the south. There arent any mines for them because they are so rare.

[chicharito0914]

how does water get trapped inside the crystal??

[kingofquartz]

@chicharito0914

These crystals are called skeletal quartz. They grew so rapidly that there wasnt enough silica material present to completely fill in the faces. This results in open voids inside the crystals were water and minerals get trapped during formation. When the crystals cool down the water shrinks which creates a gas bubble that sometimes moves around inside the pocket of water. Pretty cool and unusual... if you search my videos for "enhydro" I have videos of mobile bubbles.

[chicharito0914]

@kingofquartz oh ok thnks 4the explanation! ive been wondering 4 a long time ha im17 &when i was 5 my dad gave me a little quartz crystal &since then ive been collecting quartz &other minerals from allover the world. my dad &i have been to mt ida the last three summers. we mined w/ randy from sweet surrenderr &also have visited arrowhead. they just fascinate me, i have a few enhydros, a couple tibetan &a few herkimer diamond enhydros! my dad &i always visit rock shops here around san antonio tx!

[chicharito0914]

@kingofquartz @kingofquartz thnks 4the explanation! ive been wndering 4 a long time ha im 17 &when i was 5 my dad gave me a small quartz crystal&since then ive been collecting quartz&other minerals frm all over the world! i have a couple Tibetan enhydros &a few herkimer diamond enhydros i bought in a collection. my dad& i like going to local shops here around san antonio we have mined w/ randy@ sweet surrender last3 summers and have visites arrowhead also@Mt ida:)dont know if u are familiar w/em

[kingofquartz]

@chicharito0914

Your welcome! I did a lot of reading to figure out how they formed. If you can ever find a hopper/skeletal crystal with open faces it really helps understanding how they formed. Hoppers have voids that are open.. they never closed up and trapped water.

Sure I know Randy, we are good friends!

[chicharito0914]

@kingofquartz are hoppers/skeletal the ones with the repeated shaping inside? because i do have a couple small ones. we're thinking of going his summer again! ive always wanted to find an enhydro of my own! haha i always ask my dad if we could look around lake ouachita and maybe get lucky. &yea we got good finds at randys mine. we found good clusters and points and dow crystals and triplets. we want to go to other mines, which do you recommend? i heard about phantom, g&d and few others!

[kingofquartz]

@chicharito0914

At 1:13 in the video there is a hopper shown that is filled with red clay. If the crystal had continued to grow it would have been filled with water and sealed in to form a enhydro. Lake Ouachita really doesnt have much so far as Enhydros.. those are further south around Hot Spring County and Clark County.

[chicharito0914]

@kingofquartz oh i see. and do u have to dig deep to find them around there? and do they find them one by one or like in pockets? and i would have loved to mine at arrowhead, it took my dad and i like 20 minutes to get to the top of that mountain! haha i really want to go back. i also go to rock shops in that area and buy wholesale to sell here in san antonio at a local flea market and i do pretty well. and when people ask me when im going to get new rock i always tell them once a year haha

[kingofquartz]

@chicharito0914

The enhydros form in pockets just like other crystals. You do have to get a few feet down because the enhydros near the surface have frozen and shattered. Its really difficult to get whole ones due to the freezing issue and tree roots shattering them. Also there pretty hard to find since the deposits are so scattered.. this is why there is no large scale mines for them.

[chicharito0914]

@kingofquartz oh alright thanks! well i cant wait to go back haha maybe we'll get to go to other mines and stay longer

[kingofquartz]

@chicharito0914

Arrowhead is ok, but most of the crystals from there have foggy acid etchings on the surface. Kind of dull rather than shiny. Previously it was salted with crystals from other mines for tourists, if you bought a "pocket option" you were actually getting crystals from Bear Mountain. I heard the new owners might sell actual pockets as an option and let you dig the pocket yourself but I'm sure it will be expensive and I dont know when they will be opening up.

[kingofquartz]

@chicharito0914

Arrowhead mine has been sold and I heard its not open to the public anymore. Both Wegners and G&D have not been mined in years so there isnt much to be found. Bear Mountain is by far the most active public mine open right now. You can get a permit at Fiddlers Ridge rock shop. Most of my current crystal stock is coming out of Bear Mountain. I've got a couple vids of mining at Bear Mountain.

Randy and me will probably be doing some digging at his place this summer!

[okkie1969]

beautifull ! I wish i had such a crystal !

[ishotthesherifswife]

how do you know where to dig?

[kingofquartz]

@ishotthesherifswife

Lots and lots of walking and staring at the ground : ) I have to look in areas where the top soil has been removed from contruction or errosion so I can see the seams of crystals.

[sprocketsrocket]

Good Job! You folks in Arkansas are so spoiled. We have great rocks in Oregon as well but I would love to spend some quality digging time there. Oh, well, at least I can still live vicariously thru videos.

[Robnoble206]

Thanks for sharing your process with us! Nice to see how delicate you are to the earth.. where can I purchase your quartz for my collection?

[kingofquartz]

Glad you enjoyed the slideshow! I sell my gems on eBay.. there is a link to my ebay store in the description box : )

[ukatir]

I really love how you treat the area with care. the vibration of the crystals that you find must be wonderful!

[moleman1961]

Are the holes you dig random or do you look for something that gives you a clue?

[kingofquartz]

Its kinda complicated. First I must find an area that is void of topsoil with the sandstone exposed. Then I must slowly scan over the area and look for any signs such as clear quartz or milky quartz veins/pockets.

From :28-:49 the video shows a pocket.. first picture shows what I saw on the surface. Just seeing that one good piece is what tipped me off that I needed to dig the area.

[kingofquartz]

Sorry moleman.. I clicked the "remove" button on your comment on accident.

Here is your comment : )

"Nice! So why is it in the sandstone? it looks very loose. Almost like a beach. I thought things like this were in solid rock."-Moleman

That one is in decomposed topsoil in a lake bed. It isnt a good example of a pocket in sandstone. All the crystals form in the sandstone but the sandstone sometimes breaks down close to the surface.

[kingofquartz]

Its a rare event for me to have my camera with me when digging. The majority of the pictures in the video are taken by my wife as she grabs to camera when she goes out digging with me. I get too dirty to fool with a camera when I am digging alone.

BTW, the picture at 1:03 shows what they look like in the sandstone. That picture was taken at a depth of about 6 feet.. far below any topsoil or mud that may be hiding the sandstone.

[booboochow]

very nice , thank you for showing us

[darthtater7]

NICE QUARTZ