THE GEMHUNTER
Gemstones are timeless treasures of nature that not only represent objects of beauty & intrigue, but also represent some of the more valuable commodities on earth. The extraordinary & satiated colors of many gemstones enhance their aesthetic beauty, while others produce extraordinary fire, birefringence 
or other unusual light display or interference. When mankind first picked a stone from the ground for its innate beauty rather than as a tool or weapon, this symbolized an important event in evolution. Mankind visualized beauty. When this stone was given to another as a gesture of friendship or love - a unique quality of the human soul was manifested in the sharing.
Recognizing rock and mineral associations & understanding regional geology is important in a search for new gemstone deposits. In this search, the successful geologist & prospector must not only focus on the regional geology, but also the surrounding host rocks, mineral & rock associations & past geological environments. Like any other mineral, gemstones grow under specific physical & chemical parameters. Some gems have innate characteristics that allow survival during weathering, erosion, stream-transportation & placer concentration. Gems may be found in igneous, metamorphic, and/or sedimentary environments & typically are associated with specific rock types & mineral suites. Unlocking these characteristics & clues can lead geologists to the discovery of additional deposits.
Gemstones are sought for personal adornment & have become the prized possessions of men, women, kings & queens. Some of the more exotic minerals & gems represent the most valuable commodities on earth based on size. Nothing on earth can compare a fabulous gemstone. For example, one 62-ct royal blue rectangular cut sapphire was valued at $2.8 million. In general, rubies are even more valuable. In 1998, a Burmese ruby of 15.97 cts sold at a Sotheby’s auction for US$3.63 million. More recently (2005), Christie’s of New York sold a near perfect 8.01-ct Burmese ruby for US$2.2 million - a record per carat price for a ruby (US$274,656/ct)! Some jade specimens of unimaginable value have included a 1.4-inch long jadeite cabochon that sold for US$1.74 million. In 1999, a jadeite bangle only 2 inches in length and 0.3 inch wide sold at a Christie’s auction in Hong Kong for US$2,576,600. Even more incredible was a 27-bead emerald-green jadeite necklace, known as the Doubly Fortunate that sold in Hong Kong for US$9.3 million in 1997.
Some of the more valuable diamonds are red & pink. A small 0.95-ct purplish-red diamond (the Hancock Red) sold for nearly US$1 million. To put this in perspective, one carat weighs only 0.2 gram (0.007 ounce). At today’s gold price, this diamond was valued at more than 200,000 times an equivalent weight in gold - a common value for flawless pink diamonds. The most notable of all diamonds was the Cullinun rough, the largest ever found at a whopping 3,106 cts.
Many gemstones have intrinsic properties that make them visually attractive: others stimulate our imaginations with unique qualities. The value of others has reached extraordinary heights due to ingenious marketing strategies such as a group of former industrial diamonds that are now coveted by the wealthy. These include brown & very light brown diamonds that were at one time considered to be almost worthless, but today are marketed as rare cognac & champagne diamonds of great demand. Yellow diamonds, also once considered low-value stones, are 
now marketed as Canaries. Other gems, such as zoisite, an alteration mineral, were brilliantly marketed as Tanzanite. For the economic geologist, it is important to note how valuable gems are in comparison to other commodities.
Tapping into geological knowledge allows geologists & prospectors to predict where gemstones will be found and in what types of rocks will host them. Such information can lead to significant discoveries, such as the extremely rich diamond deposits in the Canadian Shield in the 1990s, the major poly-gemstone deposits (iolite-ruby-sapphire-kyanite) found by the author in Wyoming & discovery of one of the largest opal deposits in North America. Predictions have been made for discoveries of very large iolite, ruby, opal & diamond deposits based on favorable geology & in several cases have been verified.
This site is for the layman, prospector, treasure hunter, rock hound & geoscientist. It contains information & methods used to find diamonds, colored gemstones & gold.
Over the past 3 decades, I found several hundred precious metal & gem deposits including a few that are world class. Many of these sat right under the noses of people for decades simply because they didn't look or know how to search for these treasures.
Hundreds of diamond deposits were found adjacent to Interstates & US Highways in Colorado & Wyoming. World-class colored gem deposits with stones as large as pick-up trucks were found between 1995 & 2005.
The largest colored gemstone deposit in the world may also have been found in 2005: estimated to have >2.4 trillion carats of gems! The largest opal deposit in North America was found adjacent to a US Highway and within a oil & gas field used by hundreds of people every week - some opals >70,000 carats were identified in this field. More than a dozen ruby deposits were discovered including some of the larger in the world. There are many more such deposits that you will read about on this website & how I was able to use common sense, geology & geochemistry to find these.
