Post by 1dave on Oct 11, 2020 10:17:48 GMT -7
The Deer Creek Fire Agate mine is about 35 miles west-southwest from Safford AZ, and probably at least five times that distance driving back roads.
Leon Dee Hughes owned the Deer Creek Fire Agate mine at Deer Creek near Safford Arizona in the early 70’s.
(Now owned by Dave Penney of Beaver Utah)
His story is told here in 45 pages:
www.sdmg.org/sdmg-public/pdf/prospecting-finishing-fire-agate-hughes.pdf
Author: Leon Dee Hughes, Original Date: 1/5/2008
. . .
I am 71 now and I am compiling this information with the hopes of informing people of the fact that Fire Agate exists also with hopes of selling enough stones to be able to continue my work.
I will start off by giving a copy of this to anyone who will simply ask for it.
We have taken several photos, as I go through the stages of sawing, grinding and polishing. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words.
I hate not to share with the younger generation what I have learned in my life about Fire Agates, it has not come without mistakes, as I did not have any one to help me in any way.
I can only hope that with this information there will be many stones opened up for the world to enjoy because of my efforts. I have a good retirement income so I am not doing what I do for money; it is for my happiness and contentment with and for my self as well as hoping to help others to find what I have found, the JOY of working with Fire Agates.
. . .
I am 71 now and I am compiling this information with the hopes of informing people of the fact that Fire Agate exists also with hopes of selling enough stones to be able to continue my work.
I will start off by giving a copy of this to anyone who will simply ask for it.
We have taken several photos, as I go through the stages of sawing, grinding and polishing. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words.
I hate not to share with the younger generation what I have learned in my life about Fire Agates, it has not come without mistakes, as I did not have any one to help me in any way.
I can only hope that with this information there will be many stones opened up for the world to enjoy because of my efforts. I have a good retirement income so I am not doing what I do for money; it is for my happiness and contentment with and for my self as well as hoping to help others to find what I have found, the JOY of working with Fire Agates.
#1. In this first picture I have sliced a nice big Fire Agate in two vertically, in order to show the reader the many parts that make up the complicated structure of a Deer Creek Fire Agate.
You will notice the spacing in between the dark layers and clear to white layers, this will let you see that nothing is flat and or regular in any given area. Although I do finish many of my stones with a flat top it is not at times advisable to do so.
This picture is your window into your stones structure so it will prove valuable to you if you do finish Fire Agates. Many times the bottom of a finished stone will look like the finished top except for the fact that every thing is concaved in the colors that appear in reverse. There is lots of Chalcedony to saw off in order to ever start grinding on the stone. I do not advise working a stone of this size until you have worked out the challenges of the smaller stones, you will gain confidence in your self very fast after your first few stones. Fire Agates like this one that are carved are beautiful and creative, the fire adds so much to a carving.
You will notice the spacing in between the dark layers and clear to white layers, this will let you see that nothing is flat and or regular in any given area. Although I do finish many of my stones with a flat top it is not at times advisable to do so.
This picture is your window into your stones structure so it will prove valuable to you if you do finish Fire Agates. Many times the bottom of a finished stone will look like the finished top except for the fact that every thing is concaved in the colors that appear in reverse. There is lots of Chalcedony to saw off in order to ever start grinding on the stone. I do not advise working a stone of this size until you have worked out the challenges of the smaller stones, you will gain confidence in your self very fast after your first few stones. Fire Agates like this one that are carved are beautiful and creative, the fire adds so much to a carving.
#2. In this picture you will see mostly the type of country rock that is from the area of Deer Creek in Arizona. Every mining area has a slightly different type of country rock and no 2 are the same in comparison. Some people go to extreme measures of removing this material with Acid that is a total waste of time, as well as not necessary or good for our Environment. It takes fuel to make acid and the process puts acid into our atmosphere, KISS. (Keep It Simple Stupid) You can either saw the soft stuff off or grind it off.
You will know when you hit the Agate, as it is so much harder. The sawing and trimming is very fast as well as simple. I have trimmed most of this type thing off of my stones, as I do not want to sell junk country rock, I only leave the Chalcedony, as that is up to the cutter to leave the part that he or she wishes.
You will know when you hit the Agate, as it is so much harder. The sawing and trimming is very fast as well as simple. I have trimmed most of this type thing off of my stones, as I do not want to sell junk country rock, I only leave the Chalcedony, as that is up to the cutter to leave the part that he or she wishes.
#3. In this photo you are looking down on an unusually large Deer Creek stone that came from a large cavern that was lined with a coating of beautiful sparkling gems as well as beautiful Quartz crystals. This will let you see just how hard it might be to follow all of the contours with Diamond Burs. I have this gem in my personal collection. Some of nature’s creations I refuse to destroy.
#4. In this picture you will notice that the pieces are of a manageable size and that all of the stones from Deer Creek have a distinctive white top and either a small amount of country rock on the bottom or at least a dark bottom. NOTE: When I refer to the bottom, it may have been the top of the stone when it was in a cavity being formed.
I must say that is a little tricky to saw off these tops and I sometimes do not attempt it as I do not want to take a chance on cutting off the top of a stone and rendering it a wasted Gem on my part. Many times I simply whittle off a little all over the stone in order to appraise it and decide just where I think the fire starts, as well as how it might lay. This will come as second nature after a few stones; every cutter has his or her style after only a few stones. Being afraid to start is OK, as that will help you to go slow and not mess up a beautiful Gem.
I must say that is a little tricky to saw off these tops and I sometimes do not attempt it as I do not want to take a chance on cutting off the top of a stone and rendering it a wasted Gem on my part. Many times I simply whittle off a little all over the stone in order to appraise it and decide just where I think the fire starts, as well as how it might lay. This will come as second nature after a few stones; every cutter has his or her style after only a few stones. Being afraid to start is OK, as that will help you to go slow and not mess up a beautiful Gem.
Except for three notes, from here you will have to go to the PDF.
. . .
In my opinion Fire Agates are more prone to hardness change with color change than any other type of Agate. Although it is not true in all agates, I have never found soft and hard places in Agates such as Brazilian Agates with areas of changing colors.
. . .
In Fire Agates the many different layers that were laid down were laid down in different time periods and with different amounts of silica in solution and this in turn might have been interrupted periods of time as much as years or much longer time periods which accounts for the many different hardness’s in layers as well as the contaminates such as iron and other trace minerals in the hot steams.
. . .
Formation of Fire Agate
Fire Agate is a layered stone as I have mentioned but the layers are small enough that light entering them forms interference colors known as (fire), which is dictated not only by the amount of reflection ability but also the amount of the trace minerals present when the stone was formed.
The gem is thought to be formed when hot water saturated with colloidal silica and iron oxides as well as other trace minerals invades cavities in country rock and begin to cool.
I believe that is not so. Rather than the theory of hot water I believe the Agate in Deer Creek mine was formed by super heated steam rather than water, as I have came across many beautiful cavities that were full of stalactites and stalagmites with the stalagmite being directly under the stalactite, which could have only formed in that manner if it were steam condensing and not hot flowing hot water.
I know that Chalcedony with iron oxide begins to grow on any available surface (the iron oxides as well as other trace minerals in solutions gives the basic brown color to the gem). As the solutions began to precipitate and grow, layers of silica and iron oxides along with other trace minerals in the steam deposited minute layers day after day, year after year until the steam no longer carried minerals in it, in sufficient amounts to cause colors in the chalcedony.
Then depending on the relative level of those elements in solutions and underlying conditions, these alternating silica, iron oxide and trace minerals formed the layers (Schiller layers) that in turn would cause the brilliant fire in the gem.
As iron oxide and other trace minerals ran out in the solution, colorless chalcedony continued to grow as long as the steam kept coming up through the cracks in the earth carrying with it enough silica to build up the clear to white chalcedony. This is what covers all Fire Agates from the Deer Creek mine. It is what must be sawed or ground off to reveal the area where the colors begin to show.
Cutting Fire Agate essentially reverses nature's process by cutting, grinding and polishing away the thin layers, following natural contours, until you are happy with that color and shape. It is so easy to go too far so it is so much better to stop short of what you might like and go through some of the polishing process and only then decide if you are happy with your stone.
