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Brown and black gems8/5/2023 ![]() ![]() The area is reworked at present and access to the collecting sites is prohibited. Agates remained on the surface when mining was abandoned. Full carnelians with patterns inside are scarce. Always worn and eroded or smooth pebble on the outside. No new supplies available.Ī beautiful yellow, orange, red or brown semi-translucent chalcedony, which originated in volcanic rock and transported within the alluvial diamond gravels. Rehabilitated early 2004, and all dumps containing superb carnelian returned to the open pit. Alluvial diamond mine, mechanical excavations up to 40 metres deep. Cavities often lined with quartz crystals and sometimes centre of crystals filled with chalcedony. Inside white, grey, blue or black bands and lines within grey or brown chalcedony. The origin of these agates is unknown.ĭark blue grey pitted outside with signs of erosion, also rounded pebbles. Mainly full agates found on the waste dumps extracted from the diamond gravel. Mechanical excavations 6 to 10 metres deep. Inside brownish transparent to translucent with colour inclusions and organic looking patterns in various colours. Centre of cavity often filled with quartz crystals.īrown to dark brown outside, smooth, eroded by water. Banded in white, grey, brown and black within grey or brown translucent chalcedony. It is not known where these agates originated.īlack to dark brown outside, deep pitted, often eroded by water or outside layers broken or partly broken away. ![]() The agates were transported by the Vaal River together with other gemstones and diamonds. There will be no further supply once the known deposits are exhausted.Īlluvial diamond diggings along the Vaal River. These are mined for diamonds, and the agates are deposited on the dumps. This is an extremely slow source of a constant supply as the erosion takes place.Īgates also occur in the alluvial sediments of the Orange, Vaal, Limpopo and Caledon Rivers. The Drakensberg basalts contain a variety of agates, which erode from its outcrops within Kwa Zulu Natal, Eastern Cape, Free State and Lesotho. AFRIGEMTEC - SOUTH AFRICAN GEMS AND MINERALS ![]()
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