Diamonds found in WV and VA

[goldgeologist2011]

Hey guys,

I was curious if any of you have personally been to the locations where the Dewey Diamond or the Punch Jones Diamond has been found. Have you found anything that would state why these diamonds were here? There are no kimberlite deposits that I know of in that area, at least none that supposedly contains diamonds. Have any of you found any other diamonds within these states? I'm very interested in doing some research to figure out where these diamonds came from. If you havent already. Look at this. http://www.dmme.virginia.gov/dmr3/dmrpd ... 2_no04.pdf

[shack]

I was at the Vaucluse Mine last Sunday. A diamond was found there in the mid 1830's.

[rock_bustin]

Have you found anything that would state why these diamonds were here?

I am not a 100% sure I have this right but I recall the real reason is that
there are either Cambrian or Pre-Cambrian volcanic deposits and these
gems weathered out over who knows how long. The most popular theory
states, IIRC, that these are deposited along volcanic "pipes" or "dykes."
It is these - eroded over some 500+ MYA - that are regarded as the real
reason why they are found in those areas. I also recall that those large
ones you mentioned were not neccessarily associated with any specific
locality but were "accidentals" that had been deposited wherever they
were found by the same forces are act on gold deposition as well;
Water, wind, erosion, etc.

I welcome correction but I think that's close to the reason. Sadly, it also
means that although sizable diamonds may reside within the Commonwealth
it also means those that have been found are little help in locating others.
Virginia is a VERY old land. The Catoctin mountains that terminate in No. Va.
are some of the oldest on Earth - period.

FWIW,

Rock_Bustin

[DPenhead]

Diamonds have also been found from near Ashboro, NC, through through the Charlotte area, to north of Columbia, back North towards Asheville, and then into the area that y'all are talking about. I know of one diamond found near Asheboro about 2 years ago, a couple found near Lake Wateree, SC, and a couple found northwest of Charlotte in the last few years. I also read an obscure historic document through my work of one spot in that broad area that produced 5lb gold nuggets, a couple of diamonds, and some platinum nuggets. Sure would like to share info on that spot, but I think it might be better to keep that location secret for now. (I'd love to run a metal detector across that land...mmmm..) I know EXACTLY where that spot is after much research, but have not been able to go scope it out yet. Wish I could elaborate...Yeah, I know, cryptic and vauge.

Don't forget about the nanodiamonds created by the Chesapeak Bay Meteor strike...those things scattered across the whole east coast.

Also, diamonds have been known to be created in more scenarios than just volcanic dikes. One was supposedly found in a coal mine in WV back in historic times...Which, if it's true, points towards a location that existed before the the creation of the the eastern edge of the Appalacians, the deposits of the seafloor that created the coal and limestone layers of VA and WV, and might not even exist anymore...With all of the catastrophic events that occured during the creation of the Appalacians, and the fact that the ocean was inland, it's possible that mega-tsunamis could have spread diamond deposits across the whole of the east coast, from just one location. That location could very well be off the coast now, in that scenario. Just my opinion, though. Sure would be interesting to see a georeference GIS map with all of the locations that diamonds have been found, in a three-dimensional map. I think that might shed more light on things.


DP

[rock_bustin]

Nice read!

Do you recall a specific source that attributes nanodiamonds to the Chesapeake Meteor Strike?
(Hopefully on-line as it sounds like a good read too.)

RB

[goldgeologist2011]

Diamonds have also been found from near Ashboro, NC, through through the Charlotte area, to north of Columbia, back North towards Asheville, and then into the area that y'all are talking about. I know of one diamond found near Asheboro about 2 years ago, a couple found near Lake Wateree, SC, and a couple found northwest of Charlotte in the last few years. I also read an obscure historic document through my work of one spot in that broad area that produced 5lb gold nuggets, a couple of diamonds, and some platinum nuggets. Sure would like to share info on that spot, but I think it might be better to keep that location secret for now. (I'd love to run a metal detector across that land...mmmm..) I know EXACTLY where that spot is after much research, but have not been able to go scope it out yet. Wish I could elaborate...Yeah, I know, cryptic and vauge.

Don't forget about the nanodiamonds created by the Chesapeak Bay Meteor strike...those things scattered across the whole east coast.

Also, diamonds have been known to be created in more scenarios than just volcanic dikes. One was supposedly found in a coal mine in WV back in historic times...Which, if it's true, points towards a location that existed before the the creation of the the eastern edge of the Appalacians, the deposits of the seafloor that created the coal and limestone layers of VA and WV, and might not even exist anymore...With all of the catastrophic events that occured during the creation of the Appalacians, and the fact that the ocean was inland, it's possible that mega-tsunamis could have spread diamond deposits across the whole of the east coast, from just one location. That location could very well be off the coast now, in that scenario. Just my opinion, though. Sure would be interesting to see a georeference GIS map with all of the locations that diamonds have been found, in a three-dimensional map. I think that might shed more light on things.


DP

If we could possibly find other locations for the diamond deposits then we may be able to locate the source. For those found in a river, given a topographic map, I could retrace the drainage basin of these rivers and locate any diamonds that may have got transported down river from the source. If were lucky we will find common points between the separate drainage basins. Then it's likely that those common points may be where the diamonds are hiding. If not then, we can either assume that there is more than one source or this occurred by unknown events.

[goldgeologist2011]

If anyone else has any other information that may be helpful in my research please let me know! If any of you have found a diamond within VA or WV please let me know where the location was. I only want river locations. I wont go to your spot but I will use this data to help find where the source of these diamonds are coming from. This will be a drawn out process that will take several weeks at least due to my busy schedule. First I will draw the drainage basin of these rivers in and see if they somehow connect. If they connect we would be able to assume one source. If they dont connect we will be able to assume 2 sources or assume that these these diamonds were deposited by other means. The more diamonds that you guys can locate the better. As of right now the Dewey Diamond and the Punch Jones Diamond are the only diamonds I know that were found in or VERY near rivers.

[adawg]

Well, not sure I would know a diamond if it bit me . But I found this, which I'm pretty sure is just quartz, but when
I hit it with a hammer, it just took of across the room ! I thought it would shatter .. Since we have a geologist
on board, thought I would ask your opinion . Click the pic to enlarge .

[goldgeologist2011]

Well, not sure I would know a diamond if it bit me . But I found this, which I'm pretty sure is just quartz, but when
I hit it with a hammer, it just took of across the room ! I thought it would shatter .. Since we have a geologist
on board, thought I would ask your opinion . Click the pic to enlarge .

mmmm....I cant tell just by pictures alone but I can say that it doesnt look like a piece of quartz just by its shape. If you hit it with a hammer and it shot across the room it's most likely a diamond. However you can do a simple test to check. Take the "diamond" and see if you can scratch a piece of topaz with it. If you can scratch topaz its a diamond for sure! If you cant find a piece of topaz then look for some corundum. If it will scratch either of these it's a diamond! You're rich if it is!

[adawg]

Yeah, I have some topaz .. Hmmm.. Not sure which box it's in though ..
No big deal, just curious .. I will put it in the WTF box till I find the topaz ...

[goldgeologist2011]

Yeah, I have some topaz .. Hmmm.. Not sure which box it's in though ..
No big deal, just curious .. I will put it in the WTF box till I find the topaz ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topaz This is a pretty accurate description if you forget what it looks like. Oh, and please let us know what you find it to be!

[Buckets]

A hammer can shatter diamonds. The Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas has info on diamonds: http://www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com/

[goldgeologist2011]

A hammer can shatter diamonds. The Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas has info on diamonds: http://www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com/

Can yes, but if you hit it in the wrong spot they can launch across a room. If you hit it on a weak plane the plane will simply cleave and POSSIBLY shatter the diamond but mostly it does not happen. However, i'm a geologist that specializes in geology not mineralogy. I have taken a class in mineralogy and can tell you the information above. I do know that a diamond has a hardness of 10 and the hardness test explained somewhat in another post above is the best way to go.

Edit: and also, I have never seen a piece of quartz that you can see through there's always been imperfections or cracks blocking the way. This one is crystal clear without any imperfections. I'm very anxious to see what it is.

[Goldveiner]

Here is an article on the Chesapeake Bay impact crater. It sure would of scattered some rocks around.

http://www.geotimes.org/jan04/feature_Chesapeake.html

[goldgeologist2011]

Here is an article on the Chesapeake Bay impact crater. It sure would of scattered some rocks around.

http://www.geotimes.org/jan04/feature_Chesapeake.html

Yep, it definitely would have. I just think that it didnt produce diamonds of this size lol. Nano-diamonds were supposedly formed but they're tiny. This "diamond", if it is, is not tiny. I bet it's every bit of 25 carats. Needless to say, that's a lot of diamond and you only find those if they came from a kimberlite pipe somewhere. That's what i'm trying to figure out...where?