Tourmaline is one of my favorite gemstones. The stone spans an incredible range of color from dark intense blue to pale blue, yellow, olivine, chromium green to all shades of pink and raspberry. When I learned that I could dig through the tailings of Tourmaline mines to find treasures I could not resist. Better yet the mines are about a two hour drive from Los Angeles.
The gems pictured here are just some of what my boyfriend and I found when we went in June last year to the Himalaya Mine and the Oceanview Mine. These have been washed and scrubbed a bit with a bristle brush but nothing further.
The Tourmaline in the photo above and the next two photos are from the Himalaya Mine near Lake Henshaw in San Diego County. The mine was a prominent Tourmaline mine and although it is no longer in operation you can dig through their tailings. We had good luck that day and found a lot including some Aquamarine and Quartz.
We also went to the Oceanview Mine which is an operating mine. The Oceanview Mine is located off a private road near the Pala Casino in San Diego County. It was a hot day and taking a walk into the underground mine was a great way to cool off and see an actual mine shaft. They frequently post on their Oceanview Mine Facebook page the latest finds and what will be in the tailings for the upcoming weekend.
Below are our best finds from the Oceanview Mine. We also found Kunzite, Lepidolite, Mica and Beryl.
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