How do I find Rubies & 
Sapphires?

Follow the steps on the right and you will probably be successful!!! 

But, failure to follow these steps will unfortunately most likely result in a failure to find Rubies & Sapphires !!!

The more buckets you go thru the more likely you are to find a Ruby or Sapphire, though some people find them in the very first tray of dirt! 
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But be advised
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It takes a good 45 minutes to an hour to adequately go thru each bucket of dirt.  Any less time than that and you haven't gotten the rocks clean enough and you will probably throw out lots of goodies!

A gentleman did just that a few weeks back - he went thru 14 buckets in 3 hours and left, complaining that this mine didn't have anything of any count in it.  So after the mine closed up, we went to where he had been sitting, went thru the rocks he threw over the edge and found a 31 carat ruby, a 47 carat ruby and a handfull of lesser sized rubies and sapphires.  - He just didn't get his rocks clean enough to see what he was looking for!  

This isn't at all like a salted mine!!  Salted material has only been in the dirt for a matter of days. It is power washed and bagged up in bulk before arriving at any given mine, then it is placed back into dirt on site - but -

NATIVE dirt has never been gone thru before and the stones you find there do not want to let loose of the dirt that they have clung to for millions of years!  

So it takes a little work, but the pay-off can be grand!
Pictures coming soon!

 
 
Step 1 -
Pick out a bucket that has rubies in it! 
I know - they all look the same!  So good luck!!!
 
Step 2 -
Pour no more than 1/8th to 1/4 of a bucket of dirt into your tray at one time. 

If you pour in more dirt, you will have so many rocks that you won't be able to see anything but rocks and more rocks - your rubies will probably be playing hide and seek under the ton of gravel in your tray and the more you roll them around the sneakier at hiding they will become!
 
Step 3 - 
Immerse the tray into the water and moosh around the dirt and break up any mud-balls!

This is the time to get your hands muddy - don't be afraid!    You won't melt in the water and the dirt is only temporary - you will someday be clean again - promise!
 
Step 4 - 
Bring your tray out of the water and rest it on the edges of the flume.  Now move the larger stones to one end of the tray and put the rest of the stones into a circle in the center of the tray and using one or both hands, roll them around.

Don't press hard - no need to hurt yourself!  The rocks will bang against each other and knock dirt off for you.  Let them do most of the work!
 
Step 5 - 
Put the tray back into the water and rinse off the mud that you just scrubbed off.
 
Step 6 - 
Bring the tray out of the water again and gather the smaller stones to the center and roll them around again.
 
Step 7 - 
Repeat Steps 5 thru 6 about 3 more times, or until you no longer see mud coming off of the stones and your hands don't seem muddy any more either!

Do not fail to complete this step!!!
 
Step 8 - 
Now it's time to look for rubies and sapphires! 

Oh, 1 hint - SUN LIGHT helps - a lot!!!!!!

Spread the stones out in the tray so that there aren't rocks sitting on top of other rocks. 

Look for a Pink, Purple of Reddish hue.  Look for a glossy surface. 

A ruby or sapphire will be heavier than an ordinary rock of the same size. 

A ruby or sapphire will not fall apart or impart a pigment on the screen bottom when youn try to scratch the tray.  They will make a scratchy noise.  But so will quartz - quartz is orange, or brown, much like the dirt, but rubies and sapphires have a different look about them.  Our sapphires tend to be in the pink/white category, so you probably won't find any blue ones - sorry - but the pink ones are beautiful too!

You might be fortunate and find one that has the classic 6 sides.

Any or all of the above can indicate that you have found a ruby or sapphire!  If you are sure of it, put it in your film canister, if you are unsure, put it in the tin can & we will help you to identify it!
 
Step 9 - 
If you think your stone is a pretty good size, come to the office and have it weighed.
 
Step 10 - 
Consider having your stones cut into beautiful pieces of jewelry.  This can be arranged for on site and we have a good selection of settings to choose from too!  Our rates are the best in the area and the quality of work is outstanding! 
 
Step 11 - 
Enjoy your rubies and sapphires for years to come and be sure to tell all of your friends what fun you had and do come see us again!!!!!!