Who wants to help me hunt for meteorites?

HughMungus · Post by **HughMungus** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 5:24 pm

I've been making and gifting necklaces from the black rocks collected on the playa for the past couple of years. Someone who saw some of these rocks commented that some of them might be meteorites. So I'm watching this thing on History Channel right now about meteorites and I thought it would be cool if I had a metal detector to use to find meteorites the next time I'm out on the playa looking for rocks for necklaces. If anybody here has one they could bring and loan to me for a few days or hours, let me know. If anyone knows if this is a viable way of finding meteorites or not, let me know. Seems like it would work. Meteorites from the playa would make some cool gifts, too. :)

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 8:57 pm

I think the rocks on the Playa are chips of basalt from the Black Rock itself, really worn down. I have a few myself.

You watched "Finding Cash & Treasure" on the Travel Channel too, neh?

I'm planning on swinging by the opal mine on the way home from the Playa this year. There's one just north of the Northwest Passage back to Oregon. $40 a day and they do the hard work for you, you just have to sift through the piles of dirt and stone.

Archantael · Post by **Archantael** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 9:07 pm

Diane, can you be a little more specific on the location of the opal mine you referenced? Like how far from the playa is it? Providing it's not too far out of the way that might be worth taking a side trip to on the way back from the event next time I get to go...be it this year or next.

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 9:13 pm

Errrgh...I just upgraded my machine and it's on my other computer. I'll have to find and re-bookmark FC&T and look up the page.

There's also a sunstone mine along the route, too, that's free but only one day a week and you'll be workin' for 'em.

Gimme an hour or so, I'll dig up the opal mine link...

Edit:
Here we go. I just copied the entire page for all the treasure maps from the site.

http://travel.discovery.com/tv/cash-tre ... olkit.html

Amethysts in Georgia, meteorites in Kansas, aquamarines in...not sure, gold in (where the hell else?), truffles in Oregon.

Stagger · Post by **Stagger** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 12:07 am

I went out to the playa last year a couple of months before the event. I wanted to see what the playa looked like without 30,000. If you can make this trip... trust me, it's well worth it.

So driving up the playa I found an exit off the playa that lead to a long dirt road that wound through the hills that surround the west side of the playa. Along this dirt road I saw a sign for an opal mine ... in the opposite direction from that which I was driving. I intend to go back and explore that.

If you want to find the mine drive like you are heading to BRC, but don't turn onto the playa at the 9 or 12 mile entrances.... keep going until you see a dirt road going to the right. You will see a sign for Soldier Meadows, but not for the opal mine. ( Here is the sign - http://www.stagger.net/brc2006/photos/photo38.html)

Take the right and head for Soldier Meadows.... the opal mine is like 30 miles up this dirt road. Take the right kind of car.

Pictures of the playa from this road can be found at www.stagger.net
(here is the road - http://www.stagger.net/brc2006/photos/photo28.html)

And the black rocks may be basalt, but they are awfully heavy. If you drive up the playa from where BRC is laid out you'll come to an area where these rocks are all over, just sitting there on the surface. I stopped and picked up a few... noted the weight and color... and left them there.

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 12:32 am

There seems to be a plethora of opal mines in the western Great Basin, but that's not too surprising. Opals form where there's geothermal vulcanism.

I'm in no hurry to try a Jungo Road-like adventure on the road to Soldier Meadows while hauling 2,000 pounds of gear and water, a less-than-full gas tank, and a horse trailer, though. Think I'll stick to the plans to check out the Denio mine. Just found out that the Juniper Ridge mine is booked up for fee digging for the season

It would also appear that they're doing a Cash & Treasures marathon on the Travel Channel if the site is anything to go by. Times like this, I wish I had a television. Scheming and dreaming of sweat equity riches would help while away the download time on GoogleEarth and GIMP, 'twould indeed...

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:30 am

Darn cool thread! (Too bad I can't think of anything intelligent to add....

)

B.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 9:39 am

BAS wrote:Darn cool thread! (Too bad I can't think of anything intelligent to add.... )

B.

Google?

Post by **trilobyte** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 6:32 pm

Regardless of what the vast majority of the playa is made up of, there are likely a few meteorites out there. Nothing major, and you could go up one week a year for several decades with a team of people using metal detectors and come back empty-handed... but you could also find something really awesome ten minutes into your first attempt

~Trilo~

HughMungus · Post by **HughMungus** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:19 pm

diane o'thirst wrote:I think the rocks on the Playa are chips of basalt from the Black Rock itself, really worn down. I have a few myself.

You watched "Finding Cash & Treasure" on the Travel Channel too, neh? [img]

Actually I was watching "Flip This House" and someone was checking out an old battlefield or something with a metal detector and it made me think of looking for meteorites that way. Also great for finding moop, hehe.

HughMungus · Post by **HughMungus** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:20 pm

diane o'thirst wrote:http://travel.discovery.com/tv/cash-tre ... olkit.html

Amethysts in Georgia, meteorites in Kansas, aquamarines in...not sure, gold in (where the hell else?), truffles in Oregon.

Very cool page. Thanks.

Mushroom · Post by **Mushroom** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 10:44 pm

There's also a sunstone mine along the route, too, that's free but only one day a week and you'll be workin' for 'em.

LOL do you know how much we pay for sunstones up here? Oh dear I'm not even sure I want to put it in writing how much they swindled out of me lets put it this way I get them from anywhere from 2-8 CND the one for 2 was roughly the size of my thumbnail.

A metal dector would be awsome anywhere not just the playa, I always wanted one when I was a kid but my mom always said no.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 1:07 am

Isn't it illegal to remove the stones, the playa being a special place and federal land?

There is a diamond mine in arkansas and some significant finds have been made.
It is open to the public to search.

Das Bus · Post by **Das Bus** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 4:16 am

On the 'Cash & Treasure' show, they were indeed using metal detectors to find meterorites.

Anyway we can do a day trip during the event?

Cabana Springs · Post by **Cabana Springs** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 8:44 am

At Burning Man 06 we took a GPS recording of our camp and buried a 2 Pence about 8 inches deep. The day after Thanksgiving we drove out to the Playa using the GPS and a metal detector and found the coin. It was pretty amazing being right in the same spot as our camp in a vast wasteland. For a lark we swept the metal detector up and down where the street would have been and found bits of nails and wire.

Teo del Fuego · Post by **Teo del Fuego** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:10 am

if you use a metal detector, it's obligatory that you wear bermuda shorts with black socks. Grey hair and a pot belly also are important

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 11:20 am

Mushroom wrote:LOL do you know how much we pay for sunstones up here? Oh dear I'm not even sure I want to put it in writing how much they swindled out of me lets put it this way I get them from anywhere from 2-8 CND the one for 2 was roughly the size of my thumbnail.

Hey, I'm okay with it either way. I have a rock tumbler and I know a couple lapidarists, I can polish it up or have it cut and find a buyer. If not I'll just stick it in a walking staff or prayer stick and sell that at Saturday Market.

One thing's for sure, opals really are treasure. The market will never run out on those. $40 to sift through rock and dirt and fill up a 5-gallon bucket with opals? No problem.

HughMungus · Post by **HughMungus** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:11 pm

gyre wrote:Isn't it illegal to remove the stones, the playa being a special place and federal land?

I checked on this when I first started this necklace project. The limit is "a car trunk full".

dj_john69 · Post by **dj_john69** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 3:44 pm

You might be suprised on what you can find around the Playa !!

If you have a chance to go there when BM isnt going on...its quite a fun expirence.

Follow the railroad tracks away from Gerlach into the mountain area. Cool things around there.

dj_john69 · Post by **dj_john69** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 3:52 pm

Oh speaking of meteorites...does anyone remember back a few years ago during BM when one went zipping across the sky ?? It light up the whole sky. I wonder if anyone found that one ??

Thecatman · Post by **Thecatman** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 11:20 pm

The most popular opal mine is the Rainbow Ridge in the Virgin Valley off SR140 between Winnemucca and Lakeview. Reservations are requiered and they have a "season" when they allow the public in. www.nevadaopal.com. The nearest town is Denio which has no services.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 8:28 am

gyre wrote:Isn't it illegal to remove the stones, the playa being a special place and federal land?

It's not a national park, it's just BLM property which is the default for "unused" land.

Bin Noddin · Post by **Bin Noddin** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 9:00 pm

Thecatman wrote:Denio which has no services.

The tavern/gas station/trailer park at Denio Junction is gone? (years since I've been up there)

Who wants to help me hunt for meteorites?

Who wants to help me hunt for meteorites?

Opal Mine