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Justin297206913 · Joined: 19 Dec 2013 Posts: 57 Location: North Carolina

Finally got around to digging a little ( What is it? ) I dug down about 3 feet in an area with no grass in the pictures and turned up nothing. Does the fact that I found just a piece of the pocket mean that it could have been found already or that it is no longer intact?

Pierre Joubert · Joined: 09 Mar 2012 Posts: 1605 Location: Western Cape

Justin297206913 · Joined: 19 Dec 2013 Posts: 57 Location: North Carolina

It was all dirt and mud with small quartz mixed in. Mostly dirt though. Is it possible to have a deep pocket(deeper than 3 feet) if a big piece is on the surface?

Pierre Joubert · Joined: 09 Mar 2012 Posts: 1605 Location: Western Cape

Justin297206913 · Joined: 19 Dec 2013 Posts: 57 Location: North Carolina

Possibly washed down from uphill? There is a spot uphill with extruding rock but it doesn't look like the white quartz that is pictured with my find.

Justin297206913 · Joined: 19 Dec 2013 Posts: 57 Location: North Carolina

I dug around a little, maybe 3 feet down in the bare spot and came up with nothing. Anyone else have any input? There is a protruding rock up hill from where it was found but the color is a lot darker than the white quartz attached to the one I found.

Justin297206913 · Joined: 19 Dec 2013 Posts: 57 Location: North Carolina

again, I'm new to this so excuse the questions. if there is one pocket in an area does that usually mean there is more than one?

Mike Wood · Joined: 16 Dec 2010 Posts: 456 Location: Northern England

Hi Justin, pockets in granite which contain smoky quartz crystals such as yours that you found, seldom occur singly; but they do vary in abundance quite markedly over short distances. In other words there could be other pockets in the vicinity, but whether there are a lot or just a few is pretty much the luck of the draw.
Now, if you were to borrow or hire a digging machine, and dig all that area of ground down to bedrock, then you would know for sure! Of course if there were crystals starting to appear then you would stop using the track-hoe excavator and begin to dig more gently... Of course some crystals would be damaged by doing this but if there are several large pockets waiting to be discovered, there would be many more crystals to be had which could be dug out more carefully.
This may sound a bit crazy and rash but if that piece of ground belonged to me I wouldn't hesitate - I'd dig all of it up, if I thought there could be smoky quartz crystals like the one you found there.
Keep on digging and good luck!

Regards, Mike

Pierre Joubert · Joined: 09 Mar 2012 Posts: 1605 Location: Western Cape

Justin, I want to repeat my concern that you start digging your yard full of holes and find nothing (unless you plan to plant trees afterwards)! I will not do anything of this sort unless I find evidence of a pocket. If that crystal came from that direct area, it would not have surfaced without evidence. Perhaps you should recce the area around your property for any evidence. If you do not know what evidence to look for, search for a Mineral club in your vacinity and ask someones advice. Perhaps some one there can tell you whether crystals like that are found in your area. Is there no one on this Forum that is familiar with your area? I would still consider the possibility that the crystal was imported.

Justin297206913 · Joined: 19 Dec 2013 Posts: 57 Location: North Carolina

Ok I appreciate the input. Might be easier to let someone look at it that's experienced I'm just worried about people coming on the property uninvited if word gets around.

Scott LaBorde · Joined: 14 Dec 2009 Posts: 104 Location: North Carolina

Justin, after looking at the photos of your specimen it's my opinion that the smooth edges are the result of abrasion weathering from water. In other words it was probably carried there from water. I noticed also that the terrain seems relatively flat in the area you found it. Sediments always distribute towards the direction of lowest elevation and create these flat areas or zones as a result. I not saying that there is always a direct correlation, but that it may be likely you are in a sedimentary zone and that the crystal may have been transported from higher terrain to end up where you found it. That being said, I would assume the source is still relatively nearby. If you could head for the nearest elevation rise (i.e. hill, knoll, prominence) on your property you might find more opportunity to find in situ ground -- earth that is not sedimentary, but original, and would contain quartz veins, or "pockets" that are still intact and in place since their creation. Look for areas on the surface where there is a high(er) occurrence of quartz especially where there are visible outcrops. Once, and if these are found check closely around these areas looking at all pieces of quartz in that area for faces produced by crystallized quartz. Even if you find one face on an ugly rock then it's a good enough sign that crystallization is happening in that area and digging might discover that crystallization gets better as you zero in on the source vein. As with any treasure hunting you could spend hours of work to find nothing. But this is the essence of rockhounding -- where the reward is well worth the effort, but the problem is that it takes a lot of effort and a lot of digging for nothing sometimes.