At the mine, you buy a bucket of essentially dirt that is "salted" with rough gemstones. Typically, the bigger and/or more expensive the bucket, the bigger, better, and more plentiful the gems. Mining at the shop is a fun activity for anyone who loves rocks or likes to play in the water(only hands and wrists have to get wet). My kids loved it when they were little and we still love it now that they are adults. At most mines, if you tell the staff what your priorities are, they will help you find the best fit. Years ago at Gem Mountain, I went to "tour a working mine" and was taken to an open pit type mine where they blast and let you come look for ore. My family found aquamarine, garnet, and golden beryl still in the surrounding stone. It was an awesome adventure, but out in the sun and you walk across some rough stone. It's not for those who don't do well on an easy-to-moderate hike. If you are moderately fit, you will have no problem. Take water and be ready to get a scrape or two.
My birthstone is emerald and it would mean the world for me to go an find some emerald stones to go with the stones I've been collecting for my kids and grandbabies
We went ant the beginning of August and went to the actual emerald mine. For the emerald mine you drive up to the actual mine and when you get there they already have a big pile of sand and rocks for you to dig through a little at a time. They give you buckets and digging material. And you go through this big mound looking for the gems. We found the most out of anyone on that tour which was like 10 people (3 families). And you keep what you find. Then when you get back they will go through what you found and let you know if anything is worth cutting. A few of our emeralds were pretty big.
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