So we’re back from crystal mining and I’m now sitting down to try to round up all the content I collected while out on our magical Crystal Dig RV Trip. It truly was a rolling sacred biz trip.
Since I already gave you all the highlights in my weekly Glitter Updates, I’ll try to stick to just the actual crystal-digging in Hot Springs, AR here in this post.
NOTE TO SELF: FOCUS! FOCUS!
So this was the adventure of a lifetime. I’m so glad Frankie (my hubby) & I did it!
In this video I:
- compare & contrast the main quartz mines we went to, how to find them
- show some of the crystals we hand-mined
- give you digging tips
- talk about the supplies you’ll need
- explain why this was such a profound experience for me
My #BucketList Crystal Mining Experience
Why Hot Springs, AR?
You always hear about Sedona, AZ, right?
Well, let me tell you what’s so special about Hot Springs, AR nestled in the Ouachita Mountains and why I was called there.
Arkansas is known for having the world’s finest quartz crystals, many are water clear and supremely powerful. The mining of quartz in this region is also considered to be economically vital to the area.
Not only are there abundant quartz crystal deposits throughout AR, but 1 particular area is known to be the single largest quartz deposit in the world; The Quartz Belt. It’s about 30-40 miles (48-64km) wide and extends a distance of about 170 miles (274 km) west-southwest from Little Rock, AR to eastern Oklahoma; the Ouachita Mountain region.
This magical spot came into existence due to the South American continental crust colliding with the North American crust, causing uplift — creating these mountains. Pretty wild, right?
Planning it out was a big part of the fun! We carefully planned out our hot springs, caverns, and crystal dig RV trip meandering our way slowly out of Florida, through Alabama, Tennessee with Arkansas as the final destination. I did it old school style; real map, magnifying glass, and some crystal inspiration, of course!
The Hot Springs are all part of the quartz story here (and they really are HOT!)
The springs aren’t unaltered like in Yellowstone. Instead, they’ve been covered & protected (except for a couple of areas at the bottom of the mountain). They do this to keep them uncontaminated for public use. No pee-pee, please!
People have been using these hot springs for healing baths since ancient times. There are so many beneficial minerals in these waters, it’s like an Epsom salt bath super-amplified! In fact, the hot springs here have 53 ppm (parts per million) of silica! There you go. That’s the reason why quartz (silicon dioxide) is so abundant here.
How could I NOT go?
Why So Hot?
The average temp. of the water is 143º F/62º C. Surface-water sinks down through faults & fractures about 1 mile deep into Mama Earth getting heated as it goes by the natural geothermal heating of the earth. There’s some evidence (& rumors) that there may be a super-volcano in this area.
The main street in Hot Springs is lined with a group of bathhouses built between 1892-1923 that tap into the healing waters. They’re gorgeous & taking a dip in 1 of these places is a must. This spot ain’t nicknamed Spa City for nothin’! One thing I didn’t see on the spa menus was a Crystal Healing session. I think they should come up with an Arkansas Quartz Crystal Therapy Immersion! What do you think? I’d be all over that!
Final Destination
My ultimate destination on this trip was to hit the Jim + Ron Coleman Crystal Mines!
TIP: Before you even start digging, keep your eyes on the ground as you walk around the property… even in the parking lot, there are smaller quartz points all over the ground, catching the sun’s rays, glinting and twinkling. These are great for jewelry or laser points to be used in crystal grids or energy work. Easy picking with no digging required!
Having now done this, I have a list of must-brings to share with you:
Crystal Dig Essentials
- hat
- sunglasses
- safety glasses (depending on what you’ll be chipping away at)
- sunscreen
- closed-toe shoes
- gloves
- small digging tools (with comfy handles, your hands will thank me!)
- bucket or container to hold your treasures
- something to sit on: a cushion, rolled-up yoga mat, folded towel, etc.
- lots of water
- healthy snacks
- change of clothes
- patience
At first, they didn’t look like much. These are just a few of the many “diamonds in the rough” Frank and I mined with our hands!! But just brushing off a bit of the clay & holding them up to the sun I could see their untapped potential. It was so exciting! 🙂
Mining Field Trip-Tip: after the first stop, I learned its a good idea to call ahead and ask if there’s anything special happeneing that day, tips or recommendations from the experts there and maybe even a specail coupon or rate.
I knew we had some gorgeous treasures. I couldn’t wait to get them home and clean them up. They turned out to be water clear + of supreme quality. I loved the experience of working really hard to birth these babies from the ground myself.
(I also mentioned in the vlog I’d link to my post on the ethics of crystal mining.)
Here’s a video montage of the actual dig sites:
In the vlog above I mention this video where I show you how to do an oxalic acid wash:
Here are some of the beauties we dug, rounded up, and cleaned at home…
Photos never ever do them justice. Do they?
Well, that’s the culmination of everything & I’m so grateful to have you to share it with! Interested in visiting? You can check out the Quartz Crystals – Arkansas webpage for great info on the area and to plan it all out.
Have you already been or plan to go? Please tell me in the comments below, Crystal Hottie!
Crystal Blessings,
P.S. Don’t miss the Crater of Diamonds State Park (the ONLY public diamond mine in the world!) which is relatively close-by (about an hour’s drive away from Hot Springs).
This looks very exciting indeed. I am going to ‘treat’ myself to watching the video later. I really hope to do this one day. I’m in the UK and although some archaeological dig sites have found some crystals this year, I don’t know of any place here where you can ‘dig and take home’, so a future trip to the US really appeals. Wonderful photo of your finds. Must be a different feeling to have actually unearthed them yourselves 🙂
I do hope you get to do this some day, Angela. 🙂
Nice, by hand is best. I’m so jealous, wish I could have gone. I pick my crystals up these days from a rock shop.
I do encourage you to try it someday. 😉
What a dream trip for a crystal junkie like myself. It is definitely on my bucket list. Just thinking about “birthing” one of those beauties makes me a little emotional so I can’t even imagine how you must have felt. Thank you so much for taking us all on the journey with you and sharing your experience and knowledge. Great tips for when I am ready to plan my adventure.
Hi Hibiscus, I know you are super busy, but I was wondering if you would consider putting together a little tour to this place with peeps who admire you? Birthing crystals WITH you would be amazing. I would definitely sign up 🙂 Thanks for all you do.
I’m a medical laboratory technologist with a specialty in histotechnology – 18yrs. in a hospital lab setting, and 2 in a Pharm. lab setting. I spent 2 years perfecting the special staining technique manual at my hospital. It was a lot of fun and a whole lot of science. I used Oxalic acid in a couple of staining techniques – to remove potassium permanganate after treating slides of tissue to it. Ultimately we were staining reticulum fibers in the liver with silver nitrate. I’m familiar with how to handle it yada yada etc. Is Oxalic acid good for any iron based deposits? Also, have you found it useful in removing other kinds of contaminants? Got a recipe for a strong de-calcifier – stonger than things like CLR but not quite as strong as the stuff we used to decalcify teeth? Some of the specimens I’ve had benefitted from a decal soln. but it wasn’t strong enough. Don’t have access to a lab anymore. 🙁
For those of us who are not scientists or chemical workers, how would we have the hemitite removed from the crystals? Thank you.
My hubby and I are going digging for crystals this weekend at Ron Coleman’s! I am so so so excited about it 🙂 Years ago when I was in high school I went digging for thundereggs in Oregon and that was a fantastic experience I’m surprised it took me a while to go rock hounding again! Still haven’t cracked them open yet…lol 😉
I have the pleasure of living very near these mines. I have been to Ron Colemans Many times but have much better luck when I go to Coleman Miller Mine. Its more rustic but the precious ones I pull from there are amazing.
Hi Hibiscus…Thank you for this wonderful presentation of this ‘must do’ activity. My husband and I are planning a trip from Colorado to birth crystals. You said you did this in an RV. We have a 26′ travel trailer and would like to know where you stayed. Were there full hook ups (preferred) and how was the facility in general. Do you have any other information about RV parks in the vicinity of the mines? Thank you, and great information you provided!
My husband and I went digging for diamonds a few years ago, and even though we didn’t find anything, we had a lot of fun. Hot Springs is just an hour away from Crater of Diamonds, so we’ll definitely have to make a trip and hit up both!
I live in Missouri and just returned from Hot Springs. This was my 4th visit there. The 2sd time that we actually dug. The first time I got to because the Miller Mountain Mine caretaker brought me up a front loader of fresh mine mud. I am in a wheelchair and that sure net my needs in order to actually dig myself. This last time 2 weeks ago my husband just did the digging while I sit back in the shade and enjoyed Nature and knowing what I was the middle of. The equipment was broke and the rains had also made it to too slick to go down into the mine. But there’s plenty in those tailings. He didn’t get as much as the we did the first time . We are still waiting to see what they look like. The small ones are in the acid now. I also brought home several gallons of the drinking water. I’ll share pictures when they are all cleaned.????
Hi Hibiscus,
what would you recommend to us crystal hotties who are not scientists how to clean our crystals we find?
Thanks for the info! I am heading to dig next week and your video was super helpful!
Hello,
I’m wondering what you thought about Hot Springs and where you went for the dig?
Since this post was originally from July 2015, I’m wondering if you have any updates regarding Hot Springs? I’m wondering if it’s still a good spot to go for clear quartz?
Thanks!
Yes, Hot Springs is still abundant in crystals as well as many other minerals as of 2018. There are multiple places to mine, but odds are if you’re nice to a local they can tell you a spot to go for free that’s even better. After a good rain I can’t step out my door without seeing more than I can count. It’s a shame that some of the mines around here are making huge profits off of what almost all of us have buried in our yards.
Love your video, very informative! In fact, we went to Ron Coleman yesterday and deciding whether we shall go to Jim Coleman, and then we saw your video. We did find some good quartz from Ron Coleman yesterday, although the points are not as big as yours, but I got a pretty clusters (not very big again) with clear points on top of it that I love.
[…] A few years back, my hubby and I hit the road to Arkansas for an RV Mining experience. I vlogged our bucket list experience over here: The Best Crystal Mining Adventure Ever! […]