Coleman Mine Dirty Quartz Baskets

WishingWell

Good afternoon, ya'll! :) I've read the reviews on Ebay of Jim Coleman's unclean quartz bushels (which are all positive), but I was wondering if anyone at the forum has ordered one from the website. If you're not familiar with the product, here is a link: http://www.jimcolemancrystals.com/minerun/minerun.htm

We ordered a couple (prior to our trip, scheduled for October, to hit the public mines in Arkansas), just to get a taste of what the Coleman mine has to offer. If you've purchased a basket, were you pretty pleased with the crystals?
 

morticia monroe

I've made three trips to the Coleman mines to dig in the last year, and have struck up a small friendship with the curator (There are two Coleman mines,,,I go to the one on Miller Mountain). The office has a wrap around porch with baskets of uncleaned quartz for sale, and long tables of pre-cleaned quartz for sale if you get out there and decide that the digging looks like too much dirty work. (Not a problem for me, he laughed at me last time and said I was one of the few who really digs with gusto).

John told me that he always tries to make the baskets worthwhile, and although its hard to tell exactly what a crstal will look like when it's still in clay, I could see that there were clusters and points in all of them.

I have been thinking of ordering a basket lately myself, I love washing the clay from new pieces and finding beautiful crystals....
 

faunabay

I"m like Morticia. I've never ordered one of his bushels, but I have dug at his mine - sounds like the same one Morticia has gone to also. I've gotten good crystals and had a blast!! :)
 

morticia monroe

This thread is giving me that itch again to drive to Hot Springs...Once you go on a dig, you want to keep going back...
 

faunabay

Funny!!! I was thinking that exact thing Morticia!!!! })
 

morticia monroe

RRRoooooooaaaaaddddd TTrrriiiippppp!!!!! LOL.
 

faunabay

ROFL!!!!
 

WishingWell

Thanks for replying, Morticia. I actually did a search on the forum about the AR mines and found your thread, which provided MUCH inspiration to take the trip! When I mentioned the idea to my mother, she confessed digging for crystals in Arkansas has been a dream she's held for 30+ years. That cinched it, and we're heading off. Reading about your experience in the mine really helped me trust that this would be a worthwhile trip for both of us.

From what I've read, the Ron Coleman or Miller's Mountain mine that you mention is the Coleman mine to visit. That's where I'm geared to go, and also the Arrowhead mine in Mount Ida. I am so excited!!! Digging hardly strikes me as dirty work, either. I'm going to attack that clay with a fierceness! For an entire week! :)

As for the baskets...It might sound strange, but I'm really looking forward to cleaning them myself. Something about unveiling them right before my own eyes really appeals to me.

Morticia, may I ask how many hours or days you spent at the mines? Do you think a week is not enough time, ample time, or more than enough time to gather tons of crystals? I've got quartz greed, I'm afraid. I literally want to fill my living room with them.

P.S. I'll let everyone know how the bushels turn out. Everyone I've told about the "vacation" to go digging in Arkansas has looked at me incredulously, like I was out of my mind, but I know I'll catch the fever and have to go, again!
 

morticia monroe

You're asking the wrong person how long you should stay to dig....I told him last time I'd be back with all my stuff and that little trailer out back would be just fine for me if I could just wake up every morning, knowing it was a good day to dig.....:)

Yeah my boyfriend went the first time and that was it for him,..he hated it.

My mom and sisters have a new saying...when they don't want to do something instead of saying "I'd rather be poked in the eye with a sharp stick", they say "I'd rather dig for crystals." LOL.

So you see, we are a rare breed, but that's ok with me, less people to share the dirt with,,:) Although there is PLENTY, trust me.



Don't be afraid to ask the curator where the newest deposits are, or where would he recommend you dig...he'll be glad to show you.

The main thing I have to say is to get your eyes right when you get there,,,there are smaller point and even bigger ones on the ground all over the place that can be collected without digging, but you have to be able to SEE them...he'll show you what to look for.

I would KILL to have a wekks worth of digs,,,I've only ever been able to go for a day at a time.

The first time we dug for 5 or 6 hours and found about a dozen really pretty ones (One or two really big ones and then medium sized points and clusters and tons of small points and tabbys)...., the second time was right after a rain,,,they say that's the best time to dig, but I disagree,, however it's the perfect time to walk around staring at the gound :) clean points everywhere.
 

morticia monroe

Oh, one more thing.. make sure to stop at Coleman's rock shop (it's on the way to the mine) and check out the stones. They have some beautiful pieces, and inexpensive to boot. You'll see Malachite, rose quartz, desert rose selenite, shiva lingam, quartz, copper, amethyst, celestite, labradorite, calcite,,,everything! And they have huge tables of everything sittiing out and the pieces go from tiny to huge, tumbled or in the rough....You'll love it!