A Quick Search for Camptonite

Why don’t more rockhounds collect rocks? I don’t know. As to me, I like rocks, the odder the better. Today I’ll spend a little time looking for camptonite south of Las Vegas. I have some specific coordinates so I shouldn’t be wandering too much. This particular spot is not within the LMNRA. The rock will be there or it won’t.

Camptonite might win a prize for strangeness, with Mindat.org classifying it as an “Exotic crystalline igneous rock.” It looks better than the rocks I have which are peppered with black tourmaline.

Here’s a picture of my reference sample, a display quality piece I got last year from RC at Geological Specimen Supply. It’s out of stock right now but you should check his website frequently to keep building your reference collection. Yes, of rocks.

“The lessons of geology are clear and it is foolish not to take advantage of them: to be successful in hunting for minerals and gemstones, the collector and prospector must know not only the minerals themselves, but the rocks in which they are most likely to be found. He must also learn what minerals make up the various kinds of rocks and the rock formations which appear favorable for mineral deposits.”

John Sinkankas John. Prospecting for Gemstones and Minerals (Van Nostrand: New York. 1970)




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