We Found RARE Turquoise in Arkansas Gem Mine!

[@TheCrystalCollector]

I’m finally back at putting fresh videos out for y’all! Should have one out every Saturday for a while now!! 🎉

[@missypolk71]

@@TheCrystalCollector Awesome!👍

[@BiffTannenBTTF]

Excellent news!

[@binayveersandhu1688]

So glad, I love watching

[@FjHenderson]

Hope everything is going well with you and matrix

[@KCoda1248]

@@TheCrystalCollector You’ve been working so hard for long periods of time. But I’ve noticed you’re also getting some “me time” as well. I pray you find your balance. 🙏💜

[@northeasthunter7658]

I would love to see a video of you stabilizing the turquoise.

[@briancunningham3283]

Thats the part i wanted to see most and how its done.

[@machoman5472]

@@briancunningham3283 Stabilized turquoise is created by using a resin to fill in the pores and create a uniform hardness. Not sure if you knew but for others.

[@RippingEyesOutPluto]

Hope life is doing good for you, Brain. Love to see all your treasures and Matrix playing around.

[@jeanneamato8278]

It’s a lot of work so I understand you need a break. But glad to see you again.

[@KCoda1248]

I think I might start liking turquoise now! Questions: 1. What is the white stuff on the pieces? 2. How do you know, without cutting it open, if it’s solid blue all through? And Bryan Major got a new joke! Instead of trying to pretend steal someone’s good piece by slipping it into his pocket, he cleans it and tells you it’s a dud! You totally had me on that one Bryan! But when you pulled that huge nugget shortly after, that was awesome! I think you did another video on stabilizing? Yes, no? Is that so the pieces that are “chalky” stay together? Great to see you back!

[@TheCrystalCollector]

The white is the host rock that it formed within, at this point it is pretty chalky, but can be stabilized and made part of the jewelry piece. You don’t always know that it’s solid blue unless it looks to be pretty blue on the outside, sometimes it can be some things included.

[@MrsRCope]

@@TheCrystalCollectoryes, but what is that host rock or medium it grew in?

[@naeemrasheed6714]

@TheCrystalCollectorHello. I couldn't find Turquoise on your eBay store. I would like to buy some turquoise mixed with beautiful veins. 🤩

[@MelRoseCov]

Thank you so much for the opportunity to dig with you! 😊 I was shocked to see myself in your video! 😮 Thanks for that little surprise! 😁 I look forward to future digs! So happy youre back to posting videos! 🙌

[@lann2bme7516]

Wow! Love that vein . That huge piece is incredible!

[@VividAuroraSkies]

Had a great time at the rainy day dig! Thank you so much!

[@jamesblake7338]

Beautiful stuff thanks for sharing! Been waiting for new videos! 👍

[@TheCrystalCollector]

Thanks for watching! I will try to get out more videos! 🙏

[@Unk13Dave]

New place added to my list of places to visit. I am in Tulsa and can't wait to get into the dirt!

[@missypolk71]

Sooo bummed I had to miss it! Thanks for sharing the experience!🙌👏💎

[@ronalira7426]

WHAT!!!!!?!!!!! Good boy Matrix, take the money and run!! ❤

[@TheCrystalCollector]

We will have more in the future! 🤙💎💜

[@missypolk71]

@TheCrystalCollector definitely a priority for me this year!

[@tracy85777]

Gosh I wish I could've been there. Such beauty in the dirt! Amazing.

[@TheCrystalCollector]

We will do more future digs , Maybe you can make it 💎

[@FreeformLapidary]

That huge polished turquoise piece is epic! Turquoise is my favorite rock to make cabs out of.

[@TheCrystalCollector]

Yeah, it’s so massive! I’m looking forward to see some of the future pieces that were sent off to get stabilized from this past day, I plan on making another future video showing a bit of it

[@Jordan__Sloan]

I love it when this dude takes me to crazy town

[@TheCrystalCollector]

😂 you know it’s serious when we go to Crazy Town 😆

[@Meowmeowingz]

Woooo new video! Looked fun!

[@TheCrystalCollector]

Yes, I’m finally back at putting out videos, should get out one a week from here on out for a while! Thanks for tuning in!

[@JakubChrusciel-k9e]

I wish I could go to all the locations you've gone to, so I could collect all the crystals and minerals you've collected. Every time I watch one of your videos I just wish I could be there to collect amazing crystals with you. I remember one video where you went to a cave in Thunder Bay, Canada and found massive amethyst clusters, I wish I could have a cluster like that for my tiny collection.

[@sarahbartell8654]

Brian, I love your Mona Lisa videos! yay

[@ThirdPlanetRocks]

You’re on a roll, man. I just saw your gigantic smoky quartz + Brookite pop up on my fb. Happy to see you’re back at it!

[@Abudamonkee]

I didnt know we had turquoise here too. Thats pretty cool

[@timdobbs2283]

Great news, I've really missed your videos

[@GREEKEXPLORERS]

Amazing video!! Thanks for sharing!!

[@janicegelbhaar7352]

Love your turquoise finds , great finds , love the video ❤❤

[@LTD.exploring]

Oh man. I wish we could've made this dig!!!

[@TheCrystalCollector]

We will do more in the future!

[@thatlindgirlinutah5829]

Welcome back! Glad to see you and Matrix out doing what you love. Those were some gorgeous, vibrant blues and greens. Just one problem for me. I had to stop the video about halfway thru. I have Meniere's Disease and the fast spinning and zooming of the camera made me dizzy and nauseous. I tried watching it at a slower speed, but whoa!, that was so much worse! LOL Give Matrix some good scritches from me and my woofers and I can't wait to see what you create from all of that beautiful turquoise! 😊👍

[@candicejones4422]

I love this i need to find me a group here, nevada

[@CK800-f9m]

THE CRYSTAL COLLECTOR IS BACK!!!

[@deb_DC]

Awesome!!!

[@madiB3881]

Awesome video! Didn’t know Arkansas had such good quality turquoise

[@TheCrystalCollector]

Yeah, it’s really great stuff!💎

[@donaldfitzgerald8950]

Deep Greens & Blues are the colors I choose! Nice material.... great mine, I'd love to visit it sometime in the future... WHAT! Lol! ⛏️💪💙💚🏔️🤠

[@robbybobby64]

I’ve heard of a duck and a buck but Matrix and a hunder, it’s a new one for me. Awesome turquoise.

[@TheCrystalCollector]

😂 thats a good one!

[@jerihayes4018]

Thank you for sharing from Arkansas rockhounder Jeri

[@TheCrystalCollector]

You're welcome! 💎🙏💜

[@demetriadavisboyd7060]

I love Matrix. He is so cute.

[@TheCrystalCollector]

🐶 💜💎

[@jamieharrison5946]

I would absolutely love to go there

[@BonnieHuestis]

Thank you

[@triple_A_rockhound]

theres a Cool fb friend ✌️ Interesting turq rough good finds

[@michaelsadventures4261]

I've been missing your uploads.

[@TheCrystalCollector]

I'm glad you are enjoying the content! I am working on a few more videos, they will be out soon! Thanks for watching 💎💜

[@OH.A.M.]

Extra! Extra! Calling all parks…. Have you seen a fluffy doggie with money on its mouth and his cool owner? Whaaaat!

[@TheCrystalCollector]

😂 yeah he was running fast with it and wasn’t coming back! Maybe he knows that we buy him 10 bags of his favorite treats 😆

[@KCoda1248]

@@TheCrystalCollector Let me know when you need more “cookies.”

[@frankmacleod2565]

670K subs! Excellent work

[@DontHateItsBased]

Rock hound in NWA. Rare indeed m. Very nice

[@michael61985]

Turquoise is my favorite

[@JakubChrusciel-k9e]

What do you even do with all the crystals and minerals you collect, you definitely keep many of them, and you definitely sell many of them, but what do you do with the rest?

[@northeasthunter7658]

Hi Brian great dig! I'm curious what you mean by stabilize. I'm not familiar.

[@TheCrystalCollector]

Stabilizing Turquoise is a process that fills in the natural cracks and voids with epoxy resin or similar materials to make it more durable and less prone to breakage.

[@vickimartintingle3391]

😍😍😍

[@JakubChrusciel-k9e]

I don't suppose there's any places to mine crystals in the UK, is there?

[@lann2bme7516]

Hi!🌞 So beautiful! Awsome!!🎵🎵💯💕 Are you going to the Tucson Gem show this year? 🏜️

[@harlanbell5343]

Can you do a video on how to stabilize turquoise? I am very interested.

[@TheCrystalCollector]

Yes, I am going to do a video of that in the future 💎🙏

[@thefrostypea4040]

What is the process to stabilize them? BEAUTIFUL

[@DonnaAllen-s9r]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@LucidLifeVibes]

I love Arkansas

[@IucidDreaming]

Do you have any information on selling/ donating crystals? (And if yes, where?)I have a lot of them that I never display. You’re the expert at all this kind of stuff. Btw and I grew up watching you. Thanks for showing me how interesting crystals are.

[@CricketsBay]

University geology departments might be interested in specimens. Sometimes local museums want specimens. Science teachers might want specimens (even not so great pieces) for their classrooms, and kids like to learn about rocks, geology, geography based on where rocks are found, etc. The County Courthouse in the town where I used to live had a surprising collection of things to rival any small museum displayed in a gallery on the 2nd floor. Maybe courthouses near you could take some things off your hands. Also, small-time booths at the gem shows in Tucson, Albuquerque, etc. are a thing if you want to sell interesting rocks.

[@Counterculturecasualty]

Can the public come here? I would love to visit Arkansas for a few weeks in the spring to find rocks and gems.

[@TaneKarnes]

My sister found a nugget on the cossatot river many years ago, downstream of mines. Looked like a piece of chewed up blue bubblegum.

[@markkilley2683]

Very noice.

[@art-familylife2028]

Love your videos 😊. Is there a place where I can take my family to dig/mine for crystal in Los Angeles area?

[@TheCrystalCollector]

I did a video several years ago on the location that you can find benitoite, its a rare gem, hopefully I will make it back this year and do an updated video, but it is just north of Los Angeles if I’m remembering correctly

[@jerihayes4018]

yes we have it. but I was told poor quilty

[@TheCrystalCollector]

It all needs to be stabilized to make jewelry but as you can see, it makes them fantastic stones!

[@jonchisholm6807]

WHAT!!!

[@natebyars2439]

👍👍

[@maryjaynemay3410]

Hi there ☺️. Do you ever finish pieces yourself?

[@kxrv6629]

How do you stabilize turquoise?

[@pinkerbot]

I would like to know that too!

[@TheCrystalCollector]

I will do a future video on the stabilization process

[@pinkerbot]

@TheCrystalCollector 👍🙂

[@thatlindgirlinutah5829]

Soak it in epoxy or use a vacuum process so the epoxy fills in the porous cracks. It hardens it so it can be worked into beads, cabs, or stabilized nuggets. You can usually tell if it's been stabilized because it tends to have a glossy finish and the colors are deeper. I have some stabilized turquoise jewelry that my dad bought years and years ago and, sadly, it all has a yellowed hue on them from the epoxy.

[@nevadaminer5977]

With resins….look at it as plastic infused rock. There are other methods as well that more closely mimic natural high grade turquoise.

[@Spikedgriffon]

What do you stabilize the turquoise with? What material?

[@Rivkah777]

How do I get involved in rockhounding ? I have always had an affinity for finding beautiful stones,jade ,rasta rocks ,and even a rust-red amethyst (I believe) in montana crystal campground when I was young,and I would love to go and have a great time treasure hunting !!

[@DollianneWright]

Looks like wavelite

[@TheCrystalCollector]

Yeah, sometimes it can form introit like Wavellite and has a similar chemical scenario, but still different

[@DollianneWright]

@TheCrystalCollector well I wonder if I have wavelite in my yard or turquoise now hahaha come visit. Mt pine ar.

[@misslanie23]

How do you stabilize your stones?

[@doreenflannery8270]

I would love to go on one of your trips. How do I go about it?

[@D-train69]

Does turquoise and gold go together. Or is it found together or with any other precious metals found with turquoise???

[@TheCrystalCollector]

I believe at this location they were looking for copper and silver mostly, I don’t think they found much of either here but lots of turquoise

[@D-train69]

@TheCrystalCollector so it all pretty much can be found together and everything else it just depends on the mineral deposits what actually is together, ya???

[@religionoffreedom]

That turquoise is part of the plumed serpent’s feathers.

[@jameswelch1054]

The color of some of that turquoise reminds me of the top quality Amazonite from Colorado. What % of the turquoise there is low quality chalky hardness?

[@jimmy_kirk]

Could you make your own nuggets by squishing a bunch of the chalky stuff together and then stabilizing it?

[@graemero5532]

blue is the colour 🔘

[@quinton3997]

I would love to have a big one to carve pyramid

[@SuperKabookie]

Show us how to stabilize them nuggets!

[@blu_eyed_girl]

How do you go about stabilizing turquoise?

[@michaelasinger3245]

What do you mean stabilize? How do you do that?

[@jerihayes4018]

Please where is this mine located.

[@TheCrystalCollector]

Near Mena

[@jerihayes4018]

@@TheCrystalCollector that's what I thought. have to try it out.

[@jerihayes4018]

@@TheCrystalCollector thank you.

[@frankmacleod2565]

anybody else noticing these wildly inappropriate, Ai commercials about boner medication? Not just on this channel but on all of youtube. really weird stuff. Anyhoo..... Beautiful turquoise!!!!! Great work dude

[@marcingromek9685]

50 / 5 000 In many cases it looks like turquoise mud 😃

[@higherlearnings1272]

nice color but looks extremely chalky. Gonna need lots of glue to stabilize

[@djbonitasamericandream5002]

Its the cleaner powder Comet and slaughter cannibal of…

[@frankyensan]

That turquoise is chalk! You have to stabilize it be able to make anything from it. Nothing you showed coming out the ground is hard enough to be cut naturally.

[@TheCrystalCollector]

Yes, during the video I specifically talked about everything you just said here so we are in agreement. We did find a few pieces that were hard enough to cut naturally, but very few.

[@frankyensan]

@ sorry I missed that.

[@MrsRCope]

Tell us what kind of rock that is around the veins. Shale, granite, clay. What’s the white?

[@quinton3997]

What do you mean stabilize

[@thetemplelaboratory]

Twahk-whyze

[@desckUgah000]

What is the fee to dig turquoise there?

[@TheCrystalCollector]

We only do the digs a couple of times each year, it will be next fall until we likely get back up there. It was 100 to fill up a small bucket.

[@deborahparkhurst8181]

They don't look good like turquoise They look like chalk so yes you'll have to definitely stabilize it!!!!!

[@TheCrystalCollector]

The quality varies a lot at this location, the stuff that we were digging out of the main pit. The larger pieces were more chalk, but they will stabilize excellent. We have had much of it stabilizing cut, and it looks great.

[@DimasFajar-ns4vb]

david west youtube channel

[@RobertHarrison-br5iz]

KZbin lies showing old Videos calling them New

[@TheCrystalCollector]

I just edited this video last night for several hours, this is a brand new video. We just shot the footage last November.

[@MelRoseCov]

As someone who was at that dig, and is in that video, I can guarantee it's new!! I dug there December 13 and 14th 2024, for my birthday.

[@katherinepoulson3457]

I am so psyched for the crystal 2025 season here in Maine! Thanks for keeping us all pumped for Mother Earth's best! 💙🩵💙🩵🩵💚🩵💎😎👏👏👏

[@ThatOpalGuy]

did you tell @lapidary dave yet?