Minerals
Garnet
Black Tourmaline
Amethyst
Beryl
Mica (Sheet & Punch)
 

My Best Gemstone Claim To Date

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Overview

Featuring a wide variety of minerals such as Garnet, Black Tourmaline, and Amethyst many more the 20.66 acre Big Creek Gemstone Claim #1 is an absolute hidden gem.

 

Located in Albany County Wyoming with easy 2WD access and camping onsite.  A dozen or more surface pits and a few small shafts are ready to be brought into production.

 

This claim is ideal for a serious weekend warrior up to a small mining company

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Only 15 Minutes From The Colorado Border

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The claim sits on two different old settlements built in the 1940's, in total there are 5-6 large cabins and one of the cabins has some sort of unique lookout tower built vertically from the ridge beam of one cabin.  Smaller outhouses and remnants of cans, tools, etc are scattered around the old settlements.  These settlements were obviously built to house a large amount of miners adjacent to the workings.

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The claim is scattering with surface workings in the form of pits and trenches all across the claim.  Different gems are clearly running in different parts of the claim. 

(read our geology section below for details)

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Recovery of gems could begin immediately by hand sorting and re-digging the pockets the previous miners opened up in these pits and trenches, re-timbering the shafts as well could lead to interesting deposits.

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Camping

Camping is allowed on the claim for up to 14 continuous days.  There is excellent camping adjacent to the access road in both of the old settlements complete with fire pits.  

One of the camping locations has old workings and a piece of Black Tourmaline was found within arms reach of the fire pit.  The road adjacent to the campsites is rarely traveled and not one of the main trails in the area making for a secluded location.

Access

Located approximately 6 miles from the town of Foxpark Wyoming just a short 15 minute drive north from the Colorado/Wyoming border.  

 

The claim can be easily accessed via 2WD vehicle and fifth wheels/trailers can access the site with very little difficulty.  

 

The road is dirt for approximately 4 miles into the claim that is well maintained for Forest Service RDS and has virtually no elevation gain or loss.

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Host & Associated Rocks

Host

Rock type

Plutonic Rock > Pegmatite

 

Stratigraphic Age (Youngest)

Neoproterozoic

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Associated

Rock Type

Metamorphic Rock > Schist

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Rock Type Qualifier

Tourmalinized Mica Schist

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Associated

Rock Type

Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss

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Rock Type Qualifier

Tourmalinized Mica Gneiss

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Metasedimentary & Metavolcanic Rocks

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Discovery Year 

1940

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Production Years 

1942 - 1943

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1942 Productions Statistics

36,600 Pounds Scrap Mica

2,500 Pounds Punch Mica

500 Pounds Rifted Sheet Mica

2 Tons Beryl

85 Pounds Tantalite & Columbite

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1943 Production Statistics

38,000 Pounds of Scrap Mica

No production records available for other minerals in 1943

 

Workings On Claim

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Type of Workings

Surface & Underground

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The two largest open pits measure. 

90' Long X 10' Wide X 10' Deep & 30' Long X 10' Wide X 5' Deep

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There are so many other smaller pits and accurate count was difficult at least 12 + pits and trenches.

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There are two open pits and two timbered shafts.

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Geology

Garnets up to 13mm in pegmatite cutting precambrian schist.

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Minor quantities of fergusonite occur in a pegmatite that cuts precambrian tourmalinized mica schist and gneiss.  

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The pegmatite strikes N50E and dips 85W with exposures for 140'.

 

The pegmatite was mined for mica, beryl, and tantalite

 

75' north of the main pegmatite body is a quartz-potash-feldspar-mica-plagioclase pegmatite which strikes north and is vertical.  It is apparently not connected with the larger body.  Cover prevents an accurate estimate of the extent of the pegmatite beyond the workings.  

 

Muscovite is abundant near the hanging wall in the larger pegmatite.  The books are light green speckled with magnetite, and ruled.  Only a small quantity is of sheet quality; about 10% is punch quality

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Some of the beryl crystals are corroded. Small tantalite crystals (45% Ta2O3) are rare in this district.  Minor accessory minerals include fergusonite and garnets both deeply hued with additional colors of pink euhedral and orange subhedral garnets

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A granite pegmatite dike strikes N50E and cuts precambrian metadiabases, hornblende schist, and gneiss for a distance of 600'.  Maximum width of this dike is 70' and the rage is 40'.  

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In places, quartz and white feldspar show a graphic structure.  Fine grained aggregates of quartz and feldspar enclose some pink microcline crystals several inches in diameter.

 

 Some muscovite books are up to a foot wide but contain numerous dark iron spots.  Tantalite/Columbite crystals are associated with green beryl along the fractures of the wall rock.

 

Black tourmaline up to several inches long are found in metadiabase and schist wall rock and as fine grained veinlets in the pegmatite.  Andradite garnet is a minor accessory mineral.  Amethyst can be found within some of the larger and more well developed veinlets.  

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