Mary asks…
is it possible to find lake agates along railroads tracks mixed in with the granite ?
found some rocks that look like agates in south LA.
admin answers:
It depends what type of rock is used for the RR tracks. The rock is something that is quarried in the area so they don't have to truck it thousands of miles. So rail road beds have different rocks in different areas.
Normally agate is not found in granite.
Sandra asks…
where are good places to find Moss Agates in MN? or where do i find moss agates?
my dad brought me back some Moss agates from Montana when we did a job there. i live in MN and was wondering if there were places around here that had some. Or where do i look for Moss Agates?
admin answers:
According to Minnesota's Dept of Natural Resources, some Lake Superior Agates can be classified as moss agates (if they have tree-branch-like inclusions of minerals). This webpage provides a map locating the Lake Superior Agates.
Http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/snapshots/rocks_minerals/lakesuperioragate.html
MinDat doesn't list Minnesota as a major source of moss agate but take a look at the map AND the list of locations (not all locations are mapped) on this on this page:
http://www.mindat.org/min-2791.html
Thomas asks…
What is the difference between agates and jasper?
I am interested in learning how to identify minerals and rocks from the Fraser Valley area of British Columbia.
admin answers:
Agate is a type of the mineral family chalcedony --
Jasper is a type of the mineral family quartz --
See this website for pictures -->http://www.mindat.org/min-2082.html
God is spelled B-I-G B-A-N-G
Mark asks…
Is there any good places to hunt for Fairburn agates in South Dakota?
I'm going to the Black Hills this summer and was just wondering if there any good Fairburn agate hunting spots. I've been to a couple of them that are mentioned on the Internet.
admin answers:
These agates were originally named after a prolific locality 10 miles east of Fairburn, South Dakota, in the southern Black Hills area. According to Roberts and Rapp (1965), Fairburn agates occur in a broad elliptical belt extending from Creston in Pennington County, South Dakota, to near Orella in Sioux County, Nebraska, with the maximum width approaching 15 miles near Red Shirt, South Dakota. According to Fritzsch (S.D. School of Mines and Technology, personal communication, 1993), the area is more restricted (Figure 1). The Fairburn agate fields cover thousands of acres of very stony land and most of it is
rugged terrain, well decorated with cactus, weeds, and cedar trees (Zeitner, 1964).
Chris asks…
I have rough colored agates, want to evaluate them to see if I can go in the business of selling or facetting?
I am an exploration geologist and I have a rich source of rough colored agate as well as two Historical Cut Stones as old as 2500 Yrs to sell.I am examining the prospects of going into the business of producing ,selling ,cutting or facet ting gemstones.
admin answers:
You may be better off selling the rough. Agate and jasper are used a lot in jewelry making, but normally are fairly inexpensive. Most are cut polished, and drilled in China or India with a labor cost that is hard to compete with. Many lapidary enthusiasts buy rough to make their own jewelry. Most larger cities have gem and mineral shows where you could take specimens and get different dealers’ opinions. We have four a year in New Orleans.
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