Tourmaline from Himalaya Mine, San Diego California 2014

[MrLee]

I went down to the Himilaya Mine for the first time last weekend and got some nice specimens, probably not worth what I paid to dig, but good experience none the less. The 2 staff were great, helped everyone clean out their troughs, answered questions politely, etc. I talked to a couple who go there regularly and they said they have pulled out some great material which is why they keep going back. Anyway, have a look.



The last pencil is extremely clear. Almost no inclusions. I have a bunch of half inch pencils as well, one of which is also extremely clear, gem quality.

 

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[smokeythecat]

Actually, that's not a bad haul. I went several years ago and you did better than I did.

 

[MrLee]

Here are a few more. The green/pink which is very clear. A black tourmaline with great termination and a little pair, pink & green together. The black is on Ebay right now.

 

[mamabear]

Nice! Wish I'd known about that when I was in San Diego. Many moons ago.

 

[Mackaydon]

The mine in Pala, just east of 15 is another great source for tourmalines.
Don...........

 

[MrLee]

The mine in Pala, just east of 15 is another great source for tourmalines.
Don...........

Don, ya I know about the Oceanview, but I have heard so many bad things about them that I decided to go to the Himalaya.

 

[Mackaydon]

Maybe 40 years ago, I would go to the Pala mine and root through their tailings--no longer permitted today.
More recently (15 years ago) I would take my daughter there and buy a $50 bucket then take the next two hours going through it. She once found a two inch specimen and the staff took a pic of her and her 'jewel' and posted the pic on their wall of significant finds. Great memories.
Don..

 

[Eu_citzen]

Very nice, sad thing the rough prices are through the roof these days for tourm.

 

[MrLee]

Very nice, sad thing the rough prices are through the roof these days for tourm.

You mean they are expensive?

Don, the sad thing is I grew up in Temecula, just on the other side of the mountains. I really wish I had known about the mines back then, I could have spent time digging in the piles instead of raising hell. I bet you found some very nice specimens. Any photos by chance?

 

[Eu_citzen]

It's been increasing in price, well at least faceting rough.

 

[MrLee]

Ooooh, I better go back out there and get some more! Is the candy cane piece above facetable? There are inclusions, but it's had to tell the actual clarity inside. I see some very clear areas and some inclusions. Are you in the market for some material? What is the going rate??

 

[Eu_citzen]

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=948315&d=1392940194

The above one is facet grade by the looks of it.

A simple test is to get a white paper near a window or a good light source and shine through the gem. A good gem would look like this:


It is "eye clean", meaning NO inclusions can be seen by the naked eye. I'll send you a PM. Not in the market right now, but perhaps in the future.
I can cut and trade for rough, though.

 

[MrLee]

EU, I would definitely be interested in cut/trade. Please let me know!

 

[Mackaydon]

Mr. Lee,
I may still have a small bagful of 't' material.
If I can find it, I'll post it.
Don.....

 

[JLeonhardy]

Gosh, you remind me they still owe me a bag of dirt from when I was there in December. It was just me on a sunday afternoon and I processed over sixty buckets. Will look to post pics later today!

 

[Mackaydon]

Used to be (at Pala) they'd give you a free bucket with your 10th purchase.
Wonder if that is still their policy?
Don..

 

[MrLee]

JL, Did you find anything good?? This past Saturday I was running buckets like the house was burning down. I wasn't looking too closely, just running material for larger specimens. I was able to keep 2 buckets of material I screened to 1/4". I just started going through 1 and have found a few pencils, one thick, and lots of chunks. I'm going to try and sell the other one, maybe 10-15lbs a time on ebay.

Don, like I said, you must have been going through those piles when the pickings were good. I bet you got some great material.

 

[smokeythecat]

Those are really nice finds.

 

[JLeonhardy]

I did fairly well........

 

[JLeonhardy]

I did fairly well....

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