Dirt Devil Mine

               The Dirt Devil Mine, on a 20 mile rough dirt road from the nearest town, Plush, Oregon. (that is the writers stretch calling Plush a town) The Dirt Devil and other mines in the area are looking for sunstone which is the official gemstone of Oregon. Sunstone is a labradorite sub-group of the abundant feldspar mineral. The semiprecious stone can be found in several parts of the world in yellow and transparent colors.
     If you prefer to get "down and dirty", for a nominal charge you can hand dig all the earth you want searching for gemstones.

The raw rock travels thru five conveyor belts and hoppers that reject pieces based on size and weight.

All the remaining material is moved into this trailer where a photocell camera identifies by reflection, the right material and then air jets push off the gems quality stones into a holding bucket.

My "Nam" buddy, Don Buford , has run the mine for the last 21 years and was gracious enough to give us a special tour. Don is so knowledgeable about the area and sunstones gems...a pleasure to talk to.