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INDEX
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Finding and Cutting Fire Agate: Part I
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A Fire Agate Field Trip to the Opal Hill Fire Agate Mine
One of my favorite rockhounding places is the Opal Hill Fire Agate Mine operated by Nancy Hill Fisher and Howard Fisher in Palo Verde, just southwest of Blythe, California and the Arizona border. Thanks to a series of questions from William Collins on
the Lapidary Digest, I finally made the long overdue trip and spent a perfect weather weekend at the mine.
The mine is fairly easy to reach. From Palm Springs, it is east on Route 10, and from Arizona, it is west on the 10 to the Neighbors Road exit for Highway 78 south. Follow the 78 signs that zig-zag around the fields, to Palo Verde. You may see flocks of
sheep from Oregon, wintering in the fallow fields. The depth of the green is startling in the midst of the desert. Certainly reminds you that a desert is just a place that doesn't get much water!
Palo Verde is a tiny town, just after a small patch of buildings and farms in Ripley. You'll see a Rock Shop sign just before the turnoff to Opal Hill mine. It's the old shop formerly run by the late Mr. Kinney, now owned by Dale Shutte. Stop in and get
a preview of fire agate and other materials found around the area.
At Palo Verde Rd., just a block past the rock shop, turn right. (Check your gas gauge! The station at the corner is your last chance to stock up on food, ice, water, and gas before going back into the desert. The rest room was clean too!) If you miss
the turn, you'll suddenly realize that there are no more buildings along the road! Just turn around and make the turn at the gas station.
Going straight ahead, you follow the signs into, and across the farm yard. Carefully please, this is a working farm with lots of heavy farm equipment! At the end of the road, you'll see another Opal Hill sign pointing to the right. Then, a short way
ahead, there's an Opal Hill arrow to the left at a sandy road. You will be now go about 9 miles across BLM desert lands to the mine. Signage and ruts are pretty clear indicators. A regular vehicle can do it if it has good clearance and you take it easy.
I feel much more comfortable in my 2WD pickup than the old Buick station wagon I bounced the freeze plugs out of on our first trip. 4WD would be a pleasure!
Be extremely careful if it's raining! That sand is slippery and you have to cross a couple of washes, and any puddle can conceal a deep pothole. I was there after a recent rain, and had no problem avoiding deep holes or really rough spots, but I wouldn't
like to do it in a hard rain. If you see a deep, muddy rut, try to drive to the side of it, way up on the edge of the road so you don't risk getting stuck.
The trip in is a very mild adventure. In just minutes, you lose the sense of civilization (if you don't count the occasional RV camping near the road here and there). Depending on the time of year, the vegetation is different colors. The type of flowers
that bloom in the spring in the desert is dependent on the amount of rainfall. This year, I saw whole hillsides covered with a light purple flower I have not seen before. There were a modest amount of yellow cornflower looking blooms, and just a few
trailing white ones. There may be a whole new crop now because it rained heavily twice since I've been there.
The mine is open Nov. 1 to May 1. There is no phone connection up on the mountain, but you can write to Nancy c/o Opal Hill Mine, P.O. Box 497, Palo Verde, CA 92266 for full details on fees and directions. You keep whatever fire agate you dig or find
weathered out or inadvertently thrown away by novices who don't know what to look for!
The last road up to the mine is a bit on the steep side. Just take is slow and steady and keep on coming until you reach the top where the office trailer is... but don't stop there! Just keep on going up the road to the right, and you'll find an area
that levels off a bit, with plenty of room for parking. If you stop 3/4's of the way up, it'll be that much harder if someone comes in right after you, and you'll also tear up the road a bit trying to get the traction to get moving upward again. The BLM
keeps a strict watch on this area, and Nancy and Howard will explain any new rules in effect at the time of your visit.
Nancy and husband Howard will also show you where to look, how to dig, and what to look for if you're willing to listen. If not, they'll let you waste your time in peace. You will be asked to take your tailings to a central wheel barrow or dumping place.
That helps keep the actual digging areas clean for the next digger. No covering up someone else's hard work here!
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On this trip, I met Mike Moszer, another friend of the owners from Tilamook, Oregon. In the photo, Mike is holding a large specimen with fire agate at the bottom, and crystal pockets showing not only calcite and quartz crystals, but very tiny pink
crystals as well. |
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Here, Mike is showing some folks a good place to look for fire. |
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It takes some experience to learn to 'read' the mountain, but after a visit or two, you begin to see (and sense) how the various rock formations have interacted over the eons. Sandstone, rhyolite, basalt are the basic rocks, and the fire agate forms in
seams between them, and in vugs. There are a few areas with 'green eggs', not the Dr. Seuss type, but little egg shaped nodules. They haven't been conclusively identified yet, but I brought a few samples home this trip to pass on to an expert or two.
Occasionally, you might find a large nodule of white agate, sagenitic agate, or even fire agate! Quartz 'crystal flowers' are being found too. These sometimes have a center of fire agate, or wanna-be fire agate, with lovely, radiating quartz crystals
around them. Hopper crystals are found in these 'flowers' from time to time. A hopper crystal is one that started to form, then ran out of material. It is usually a slightly squared off, hollow quartz crystal form with no termination. Sometimes, several
will appear together in one specimen. Other micro-minerals have been found, but I am not familiar with these yet. (A good reason for another trip!)
David and Jeff of Sun Valley are displaying some ironwood they were taking back for a snake aquarium after a weekend digging for fire agate.
A word to the wise -- this is hard rock mining! Come prepared with rock hammer, sledges, chisels, etc., and a brush or whisk broom to clear away the dust and sand to see what you're working toward. A squirt bottle helps you see what you've got, after it's
out of the ground, but it usually only makes a mess earlier on in the digging. A bucket or heavy sack for your specimens, thick gloves! and shoes (boots). Knee pads are nice, and a small, but sturdy square of foam to sit/lean on is a blessing! Watch for
the occasional scorpion -- another use for the whisk broom! Some folks say that metal detectors can pick up fire agate.. haven't tried this myself, so let me know if you do.
Bring your own food and water, hat, sunscreen, cookstove or firewood. There is no water on the mountain. There are outhouses. There are several small travel trailers available for use of diggers on a space available basis. (A good reason to let Nancy know
you're coming if you're coming a distance.) Visitors often join forces and share companionable potluck suppers. If you're staying over, bring a beach chair to lean back and look up at the stars in the desert night. I was staying in one of the little
travel trailers, and watched the constellations moving across the sky outside until I got tired, then watched in my sleeping bag through the window until I couldn't keep my eyes open a moment longer. There is no light pollution, and the brisk breezes keep
the sky clear of other visible pollution.
If you've got a portable UV lamp, bring that for night looking too. Fire agate doesn't fluoresce, but the calcite around it sometimes does, as well as other materials occasionally. Look before you pick up anything lime green...scorpions also fluoresce
intensely!
Howard's specialty is scrimshaw, and Nancy works with the fire agate. They will both show you some of their lovely pieces if you ask. Finished pieces are sometimes available for sale, so if you want to skip the hard part, just ask Nancy.
The history of the mine goes back to the late 1940's. It is located in the Sonoran Desert region which extends across to Arizona, and down into Mexico. The mineralogy of the Opal Hill Fire Agate Mine is rich and the owners are convinced that the best is
still several layers down. Each year, they say, brings new forms or materials. That certainly has been my experience over the past 5 years. There are other prolific classic rockhounding areas nearby, like the Hauser Geode Beds, Pebble Terrace and the
Arlington manganese mine. Any of the old standard rockhound guides can give you more information on these areas, but check on new restrictions and on road conditions before you head for any of them.
The landscape is wonderfully rich. And the atmosphere changes with the light throughout the day. Remember to stop and look down to the desert floor, and across the hills to the mountains in Arizona. Out there, it's easy to understand how legends arose
about places like this. You feel a kinship to land and sky and wind. You are enriched by the light, and the mountain drains off the negative stresses and tensions of city living. To me, it's a place to recharge my spiritual batteries and restore a sense
of balance and perspective. And of course, to visit two people who have become dear friends. If you get to Opal Hill, make sure you say Carol said hello.
Next month, in Part II, Carol will talk about how to cut fire agate.
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Copyright, 1998 Carol J. Bova
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Fire agate was the second lapidary material that Carol Bova discovered. She learned many lapidary techniques in order to even think about cutting it, and still has more uncut than cut fire agates. Still, they remain one of her favorites.
bova@bovagems.com
http://www.bovagems.com
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