When I was a kid living in La Mesa, California, my mother got to poke around in the tailings at local tourmaline and mica mines as part of weekend classes we took at the natural history museum. Are there any kinds of similar gemstone mines anywhere near where I live now - Sacramento, California - that offer similar opportunities?
posted by luriete on Jun 30, 2008 - 7 answers

Which gem mines in and around Franklin, NC should we go to? [more inside]
posted by julen on Jun 4, 2008 - 4 answers

How do sites like Terapeak and Hammertap get their data from eBay? [more inside]
posted by omnipotentq on Feb 21, 2008 - 1 answer

I'm no lapidary but I need to separate some sapphires from the surrounding rock and polish them (slightly, I want them to stay rough, no shaping/mounting.) How can I do this without spending multiple paychecks on professional lapidary stuffs? [more inside]
posted by Phyltre on Jun 10, 2007 - 6 answers