Safford, Spring, 2022, for Fluorescent Chalcedony/Opal

01/19/2023

I visited this locality with the D'Oliveiras a few years ago. There is another Recent Activity installment on that memorable trip at https://davidkjoyceminerals.com/activities/recent-activities-safford-arizona-trip/, if you'd like to see it? Daniel Joyce and I decided to go back there to see if we could find some better specimens!

We did. In the wash, just beyond the main collecting area, we found a zone of chalcedony-opal with some nice shapes and excellent fluorescence. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

This is the wash and we were collecting on the north side of it.

The spots we found were amongst copious prockly pears and getting in and out was a little tricky at times. The slope was steep and the prickly pears very prickly! That is me pounding and prying away.

I think that it is layers of opal, under or within the chalcedony that is fluorescent. A lot of the chalcedony is not fluorescent.

Previous Specimen, 5.8cm across (Sorry! A bit blurry. You get the idea!)

I'd like to go back again! It is such a pleasant place to visit and collecting is allowed and encouraged. You can find details about the area at https://www.bing.com/search?PC=QI03&q=black+hills+rockhound+area+safford+az&FORM=QISBDL