Where can I find kimberlite pipes?

Though kimberlite pipes are found around the world, P. candelabrum is only found in West Africa, including in Liberia, where Stephen Haggerty, a professor of geophysics at Florida International University, made the connection between the two.

How do you identify a kimberlite?

Kimberlite, also called blue ground, a dark-coloured, heavy, often altered and brecciated (fragmented), intrusive igneous rock that contains diamonds in its rock matrix. It has a porphyritic texture, with large, often rounded crystals (phenocrysts) surrounded by a fine-grained matrix (groundmass).

Where can I find kimberlite in the US?

They occur in the western margin of the Appalachians from New York to Tennessee; in the central region of the U.S. including Kentucky, southern Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas, and in the Western States of Montana, Colorado, Wyoming and the Colorado Plateau.

How much is kimberlite worth?

Kimberlites form this region do yield beautiful diamonds which mostly range from very small to a maximum of 3 carats. Customers have found 1/4 carat to 1/2 carat blue diamonds and yellow & clear diamonds between 1/4 and 2 carats within our specimens worth $1,500-$4,000.

What gems are found in kimberlite?

Forsteritic olivine and carbonate minerals, with trace amounts of magnesian ilmenite, chromium pyrope, almandine-pyrope, chromium diopside, phlogopite, enstatite and titanium-poor chromite. Sometimes contains diamonds.

How can you tell a raw diamond?

Put the diamond under the loupe or microscope and look for rounded edges that have tiny indented triangles. Cubic diamonds, on the other hand, will have parallelograms or rotated squares. A real raw diamond should also appear like it has a coat of vaseline over it. Cut diamonds will have sharp edges.

Where is the best place to dig for diamonds?

One of the only places in the world where the public can search for real diamonds in their original volcanic source, Crater of Diamonds is a one-of-a-kind experience that brings people from all over the world to Murfreesboro, Arkansas.

What does a diamond look like when it’s found?

Diamonds found at the Crater are typically smooth and well rounded. Their shape resembles a polished stone with smooth sides and rounded edges. Size: The average size of a diamond is about the size of a paper match head, approximately 20-25 points weight.

What is the largest diamond in the world?

Cullinan Diamond
At present, the largest diamond ever recorded is the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond, found in South Africa in 1905. The Cullinan was subsequently cut into smaller stones, some of which form part of British royal family’s crown jewels.

How do you dissolve a kimberlite?

Instead of crushing the kimberlite rock, the kimberlite can simply be soaked in water (with appropriate added salts), using the internal forces within the kimberlite to break it apart.

What happens if you find diamonds on your property?

Most states will allow finders to keep the property if the owner does not show up to claim it after a certain time. Failure to report a found item can lead to criminal charges. So, unless you’re at Crater of Diamonds State Park, you cannot keep a found diamond.

Where are kimberlite pipes found in North America?

The bedrock kimberlite source for the diamonds is unknown but has been presumed to be in northern Canada, the only area north of Wisconsin previously known to contain kimberlites. Recently, a kimberlite pipe, here named the Lake Ellen kimber­ lite, has been found in Iron County, Michigan.

Are there any diamonds in the kimberlite rock?

KIMBERLITE. Kimberlite is just one of several rock types found at the earth’s surface that sometimes contains diamonds. More than 40 kimberlites were initially mapped in the Colorado-Wyoming State Line district ( 1 ), this was followed by mapping of a small kimberlite blow in the Sheep Rock district…

Where are the largest kimberlite districts in the world?

Potentially, 10 to 12 previously unknown kimberlite districts were discovered along with the numerous kimberlites overlooked within the State Line district. It is likely that the Colorado-Wyoming region is underlain by one of the largest kimberlite-lamproite-lamprophyre provinces in the world!

Where is the contact between kimberlite and granite?

Drilling at Aultman kimberlite intersects kimberlite at shallow depth (dark gray soil) and granite (reddish soil). Contact exposed at Schaffer kimberlite showing the knife sharp contact between the blue ground kimberlite and the sheared granite.