A Little About Amateur Diamond Mining

It is common knowledge that people mine for diamonds in countries like South Africa, South America, India and other foreign places. Who knew that the average Joe could mine for diamonds right here in the good old United States of America? Evidently you can at The Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. It is the only public diamond mine in the world, so they say. You can pay by the day for the opportunity to hunt for your own diamonds and you get to keep any you find!

The first diamond was found here in1906. The business was opened to the public in 1956, and the park was opened in 1972. Over 19,000 diamonds have been found. Most of the diamonds found by tourist are relatively small, but there have been numerous large ones found during the history of the site. A 15.33 caret white diamond was found in 1952, all the way up to a 40.23 caret diamond found in 1924. Thousands of visitors have dug here searching for a big one.

The diamonds here are thought to have been formed by a volcanic eruption who knows how many millions of years ago, resulting in an area of approximately 35 acres where the diamonds are concentrated. The site is thought to be the eighth largest in the world.

If you are like so many other adventure seeking Americans, the idea of mining for diamonds can be extremely appealing. This tourist attraction, like so many others across the country, offers the usual amenities for vacationers and thrill seekers. Campgrounds, souvenir shops, restaurants and other activities are available for your entertainment.

The mining excursions are paid for by the day. There are several different ways to search for the diamonds. Just walking along and looking for them on the ground is the most common way, or you can dig for them. They will rent you the tools you need for digging or you may bring your own. Wearing clothes appropriate for the job is probably a good idea. The area of 37 acres is a plowed field and can be messy if it is wet. The park is not open on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day or New Years Day.

Although The Crater of Diamonds State Park is the only place where the public can mine for diamonds, there are other tourist attractions in America where you can mine for other gem stones and gold. Even if you do not get rich, you can probably at the very least dig up some good old, maybe not so clean fun!