You could be sleeping on a diamond mine right in your backyard. You may already know this, but diamonds are found worldwide, not just in Africa, the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds.
Diamonds can be found anywhere on the planet if the right conditions exist. For example, you can find diamond pipes in North America.
Finding diamonds is a long shot, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find any. Diamonds are rare, but if there is only one needle in a haystack, it isn’t that difficult to sift through and find it.
This article will explain what diamonds are, how they form, and how to find them in your backyard.
Contents
- Where diamonds are commonly found
- How to find diamonds in your backyard?
- 1. Through alluvial mining
- 2. Using a metal detector
- How do you know if you’ve found a diamond or not?
- How to find diamonds in your backyard FAQs
- What is the easiest way to find diamonds?
- How can you tell if a diamond is in the dirt?
- Author
Where diamonds are commonly found
Diamonds are formed by three types of volcanic activity: hotspot volcanism, ash-flow tuff formed in subduction zones, and kimberlite pipes.
As a result, if your backyard happens to be in a location where the ancient volcanic activity occurred, you’re likely to find diamonds.
A diamond discovered today could be a million years old. Diamonds form deep within the Earth’s mantle. Magma transports the carbon used to make diamonds from the Earth’s crust.
The magma pushes and carries the carbon in the form of diamond crystals through kimberlite pipes, which are funnels. Kimberlite is a dense type of rock.
As it pushes its way to the Earth’s surface, the crystals are carried with it.
But diamonds don’t make it all the way to the surface. When carbon reaches extremely high pressures and temperatures, which exist only hundreds of miles beneath the Earth’s crust, a diamond is formed.
Diamonds are found primarily in areas where volcanoes exist or once existed.
You may be wondering, “But what if my backyard isn’t in an area of ancient volcanic activity or kimberlite pipes. Can I still find these valuable stones in my own backyard?”
You can still find diamonds in your backyard if you live near an area where the right conditions exist.
Diamonds are frequently discovered on riverbeds, beaches, and sandbars because rain transports diamond-bearing gravel into rivers and oceans.
Read: How to find crystals at home
How to find diamonds in your backyard?
Let’s go on a diamond hunt.
If you’re looking for a specific and valuable item, such as diamonds, which are extremely rare, we can assume that you won’t find it by chance. Here’s how to look for diamonds in your backyard.
1. Through alluvial mining
Alluvial mining is one of the most effective methods for discovering gems and minerals in your backyard.
Alluvial mining entails panning for gold or digging up gravel searching for diamonds, gems, gold nuggets, and other valuable minerals.
This method entails washing sand and gravel in water to look for gems or minerals. Panning aids in the separation of gravel and the discovery of valuable gems that are heavier than sand.
Diamonds can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as the tip of your finger. If you believe your backyard contains diamonds or gems, you should begin panning.
Send a sample of the gravel along with some photos to your local geologist or gemologist for testing if you want to be certain of what minerals you have.
If you have a creek running through your backyard, make sure to get permission before panning.
This method is very similar to gold panning.
Because rain transports diamond-bearing gravel into river beds, streams are one of the best places to find diamonds.
Diamond panning is very similar to gold panning.
Step 1: Dredge the river bed material suspected of containing diamonds in a pan.
Step 2: Use water to filter the gravel. Because rocks and gravel are heavier than water, filtering will separate them from the diamonds (small sand faction from larger mineral faction).
You can accomplish this by moving the pan slowly and in a slightly curved or circular motion.
Step 3: Sort the material you’ve gathered into different-sized piles and look for diamonds among them.
Then, inspect and pan your materials, sifting out any potential diamonds in the leftover material in water.
Alluvial mining may sound simple on paper, but extracting diamonds from gravel can take hours. But with more practice, you’re bound to become a pro.
Alluvial mining works best in the spring because rain and water levels rise in the spring, causing gravel and sand to wash down the river and into the river banks.
Start your gold and diamond panning hobby with these Amazon gold and diamond pans.
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2. Using a metal detector
Although metal detectors aren’t the best way to find diamonds, they can still assist you in your search.
Metal detectors function by passing an alternating current through a wire coil that surrounds the detector. This causes the metal detector to generate a magnetic field, which generates a voltage in the coil.
When metal comes into contact with or enters the magnetic field, it causes a disturbance or fluctuation in the magnetic field, which generates an electronic signal.
When this occurs, the user can pinpoint the location of gold or gems. Metal detectors can lead you to gems such as olivine, magnetite, and chromium garnets, which are excellent indicators of diamond availability.
This mining kit will get you up and running.
How do you know if you’ve found a diamond or not?
If you come across something that appears to be a diamond or another valuable gem, you should always have it appraised by a professional.
The best way to do this is to take it to a jewelry store and ask the jeweler for assistance.
This is one of the most secure methods because most jewelers guarantee their assessments.
You can be certain you have found a diamond if they reflect light, are spherical and hard ( Mohs Hardness Test)
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How to find diamonds in your backyard FAQs
What is the easiest way to find diamonds?
Alluvial mining is the best way to find a diamond. You can also use a metal detector to find diamond-related minerals like magnetite.
How can you tell if a diamond is in the dirt?
Check their hardness, reflection, and rounded shape. Remember, diamonds are not wedge-shaped as depicted in movies.
Wrapping up: You can find diamonds in your backyard
I hope you found this article to be beneficial. Start your diamond hunting career and mine like a boss now that you know how to find diamonds in your backyard.
As you can see, if you have a water source in your backyard, you can find diamonds through alluvial mining. Alternatively, you can use a metal detector to find diamond-related minerals such as chromium garnets.
Best wishes on your backyard diamond-hunting adventure.
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