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Labradorite Crystal Point

26 Aug 2010

26 Aug, 2010 Natural Healing Remedies

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Labradorite Crystal Point

How many places in the US can you find good facet & gem quality cabochon material together in one location, accessible and open to the public for collection with no fee? There are only a very few places in the US where such materials can be dug, and nearly all are on private property or under claim, with a fee charged to rock hounds. However, in south central Oregon, northeast of Plush, the BLM has set aside 4 square miles for rock and mineral collectors to hunt for sunstones. No claims can be filled within the BLM sunstone area, and there is no charge to prospect. Even though thousands of rock hounds have visited this deposit, there are still plenty of gem stones to be found. There are also some pay to dig areas available where bull dozers and heavy equipment move the material around to make it easier for rock hounds.

The transparent feldspar gems from this area come in a variety of colors, including pale yellow, salmon pink, green and the highly desirable bright red. The area also produces a valuable adventurecent cabochon material with a bright copper sheen. The red facetable feldspar found at the Plush deposit is a distinctly American gem, being found only in Oregon. In addition, the quality of the copper colored sunstone material from Oregon is better than anywhere else in the world.

The great variety of feldspar gems found at the Plush deposit all formed in a similar manner. They are phenocrysts (large crystals) that grew in a basaltic magma before the flow solidified. As the basalt was slowly cooling, these feldspar crystals grew out of the melt. The original size of these crystals ranged from less than 1/2 inch to over 4 inches. Unfortunately, the forces associated with solidification of the basalt and subsequent weathering have shattered the originally large crystals into much smaller shards and fragments. No whole crystals are found and in fact very few fragments show any sign at all of the original crystal faces.

The most highly prized of the facet roughs are the bright red colored stones. The red color varies from light to a medium dark shade. When this material is properly cut it can be very striking. Proper orientation is an important item as the red and green colors often occur together in the same stone. Color zoning is very common in the red or green labradorite feldspars. In this material the color usually occurs concentrated in clots, commonly located near the middle of the stone. The color may occupy 20 to nearly 100 percent of the rough. This means that when the color spot is small, the cutter must carefully orient the stone so that the color fills the cullet area of the finished gem. This allows the color to permeate the entire stone when viewed from a face up position. When selecting rough for purchase, it is important to note a tendency in some red stones toward muddiness, sleepiness or a brownish color tone.

The last 20 or so miles to the BLM sunstone area is on fair to good dirt roads. In spite of this, however, getting to the Plush site is no problem, as long as long as the roads are not too muddy, and four wheel drive is not necessary. The area is in high desert sagebrush country, and consists of open flats with a few low rolling hills in the area of the deposit. There are many flat open spots suitable for camping at the BLM site. Most of these are suitable for trailers or medium sized motor homes.

If you plan a visit to collect at the sunstone deposit, the community of Plush, located about 18 miles from the deposit, is the nearest source of food and gas. Plush is a small town of not more than about a hundred souls. Be sure to stop in at the store, as they have a good amount of quality labradorite gems for sale both in cut and rough form. If nothing else, this will give the first time visitor a chance to see what he or she is looking for. The nearest town with full service accommodations and supermarkets is Lakeview, about 60 miles from the deposit. Lakeview is an old lumber town and has the only active geyser in the state of Oregon.

For more information about the Sunstone area near Plush, Oregon, check out the authorÂ’s web pages at: http://nevada-outback-gems.com/Rockhound/Oregon_sunstone.htm

Other pages of Nevada Rock Hound information, locations and photos can be seen at the authorsÂ’ web page at: http://nevada-outback-gems.com/Rockhound/Rockhound%20_Corner.htm

Chris Ralph writes on small scale mining and prospecting for the ICMJ Mining Journal. He has a Mining Engineering degree from the Mackay School of Mines and currently works as an Environmental Engineer. He owns 3 Nevada turquoise mines and markets his own line of jewelry. His jewelry and information site can be seen at: http://nevada-outback-gems.com