3 Ways to Look for Diamonds at the Diamond Crater State Park

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

At Craters of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas, there are three common methods of searching for diamonds: surface search, dry sieve, and wet sieve. Learn more about these methods to have as much fun as you can in the only public diamond mine in the world!

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Surface Search

Step 1. Choose a small area to search for

Step 2. Look closely at the ground for diamonds exposed by rain or wind

Don't move anything from one spot until you've inspected it.

Step 3. Search under stones and clods of earth

Method 2 of 3: Dry Sieving

Step 1. Inside the search area, choose a point where the soil is loose and dry

Step 2. Pour only two handfuls (or two scoops) of dry soil into the sieve at a time

Step 3. Sift the soil with a quick shaking motion over the search point

Step 4. Sprinkle the remaining gravel in the sieve to see if there are any diamonds

Method 3 of 3: Wet Sieving

Step 1. Grab a bucket of soil from the search area and take it to one of the washing pavilions

Step 2. Pour some of the soil into the sieve until it is full

Step 3. Sift the soil into the water with a quick shaking motion

Step 4. Remove all coarser material (wider than half a centimeter) from the sieve

Step 5. Hold the sieve with two hands and immerse it evenly in the water, so that the liquid covers the soil for three or four centimeters

Step 6. With a quick movement, rock the sieve back and forth so that the water moves the smaller material to the center of the sieve

Step 7. Keep the sieve balanced on your fingertips, immerse it in water and tap up and down until the water distributes the material back into an even layer

Step 8. Turn the sieve a quarter of a turn

Step 9. Repeat steps 6, 7, and 8 for about a minute (8-10 repetitions). Swing, tap and spin

Step 10. Tap the sieve once more to scatter the material

Step 11. Remove the sieve from the water and wait a few seconds for the remaining liquid to come out

Step 12. Turn the sieve over onto a flat surface with a smooth motion, so the material is evenly spread out (as if you were tipping a cake from a pan to a plate)

Step 13. Look for diamonds on the gravel surface, focusing your attention on the center of the pile

Advice

• Dry sieving:

  • This is another easy way to search for diamonds using diamond tools. All you need is a fine mesh box sieve (available for rent at the park).
  • Organize the sieving in a precise area so as not to take the same soil several times.
  • Sift the soil a little at a time. The more you put in the sieve the more gravel you will find yourself, risking to cover a diamond with a lot of other material.
  • On a hot summer day, there is nothing better than dry sifting in a nice little place in the shade!

  • Wet sieving:

    • This is the most challenging method but also the one that ensures the greatest success!
    • A sieve (available for rent at the park) is the ideal tool for wet sieving. Two sieves with different mesh widths (the larger mesh one on top of the narrower mesh one) work together to separate larger material from the small one.
    • Don't forget to inspect the coarser gravel for large diamonds!
    • Sifting in the water is refreshing on a hot summer day, but it may not be as pleasant during the winter!

    • About diamonds:

      • Diamonds have an oily surface and repel almost anything that touches them. This means that they will be found free in the topsoil and will rarely be inside other rocks or trapped in clods of topsoil. They will be clean when you find them!
      • On average, the diamonds found at the Craters of Diamonds are as big as the head of a match and weigh about a quarter of a carat. The three most common colors are white, brown and yellow.
      • The characteristic of diamonds that appears most evident to those looking for them for the first time is their typical metallic brilliance. Diamonds reflect about 85% of the light that hits them, so they shine a lot when discovered!

      • Surface search:

        • If you don't have much time or want a simple method, this is for you. All you need are your eyes!
        • Do not try to search the whole area in a single day. Focus on a small area, you will have a better chance of finding diamonds.
        • Don't worry about breaking stones or moving clods of dirt, diamonds are hardly found inside these.
        • Some of the largest diamonds found in the park were found using this method!

        • Summing up:

          • Have fun! Working together with your entire group will give better results and all of you will have a good memory of the experience.
          • Focus on the right things. Many people leave the park disappointed because they have not found any diamonds. Remember that diamonds are hard to find. The Diamond Crater is special not because you can find diamonds but because YOU can find them: it is the only public diamond mine in the world!
          • You can bring your own research tools. All tools are allowed, except those that have wheels, those with a motor or battery.
          • Even if you don't find a diamond, the park offers over 40 different types of rocks and minerals, you can pick up the ones you like!