CATEGORIES

The World's Finest Azurites

Part I: Electric Blues from the Milpillas Mine

Bench Tips

Working with Synthetic Quartz

Rock Science

Malachite: The First Ore

What To Cut

Aurora Opal

Is it Calcite or Dolomite?

These Carbonates have Chemistry.

Fluid Bed Sluices

How Well Do They Work?

Flat Lapping Basics

Lapidary Mike Hahn Shares His Tips and Tricks.

The Stone That Strikes Fire

Pyrite Is a Common Sulfi de Mineral And a Collector Favorite.

The Games Miners Play

Contests Display Drilling, Mucking & Spike-Driving Skills.

Collecting Minerals In Estonia

Calcite Crystals from the Kukersite Oil Shale.

An American Carver In China

Seattle Native Nathaniel Cook Receives a Special Invitation.

Silver-Rich Cobalt, Canada

An Accidental Discovery Opened Up Mining in the Canadian Shield.

UCLA Meteorite Gallery Is Out Of This World

Within their collections, many a rockhound has at least one sample of a space rock, better known as a meteorite. Meteorites are truly rare. One meteorite researcher has been contacted by 2,100 people who claimed to have discovered one. Of the 2,100, only seven had found a true meteorite. The rest of the specimens mailed in were hematite or magnetite (iron ores), heavy minerals such as galena, slag from smelting, or just common rocks.

Colorado's Great Sand Dunes

Visit North America’s Tallest Dunefield

On The Rocks

Uncommon Minerals

Bench Tips- A Fanciful Project

Sometimes, when I am sorting through my slabs and trim saw cutoffs, I come across a particular piece that I know I want to make something with, but at that time I can’t picture exactly what.

Rock Science

Udate: The Carbon Mineral Challenge

Little Eagle Butte Sun Stone

A New Opportunity for Fee Digging in Oregon

Rock Science

Petroglyph National Monument