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There are as many stories of how a particular rock was found as there are the rocks themselves. In Barstow, California in the late 60's, Robert Stapp and a friend discovered an agate that was so difficult to mine that he said you need "Paul Bunyon" & his Blue Ox to get the stuff off the mountain.<> Steve Howard prospected for over 30 years in Idaho before he found "Prudent Man" Agate. He then spent countless hours trying to get the claim from the State, battling the old Prudent Man Law.<> Randy Spade bought the "Bull Canyon" Agate Mine, but he never found anything like the pieces that he obtained from the estate of the former mine owner. The rough was hauled in from the mine in the 1970's, unloaded on the former mine owners land and forgotten about. He had to cut back 30 years of blackberries and dig it out of the ground where it had sunk in.<> Big Diggins mine is located near Deming, New Mexico in Luna County. " Little Diggins Mine" is owned by Rich Little and It is located where the "Original Big Diggins" was established and that is where he now mines this wonderful Agate. He considers himself a "Desert Rat" who has enjoyed roaming Luna County for many years surface collecting and hand digging at some of the very different sites within 100 miles of Deming, NM. He always thought, wouldn't it be great to be able to dig down 10, 20, or 30 feet and see what is hidden below the sites where good specimens were once found on top of the ground. He researched the sites he most liked to visit and the existing claims and settled on his favorite site (and a favorite of many around the country) and filed a claim on the "Big Diggins" site. It takes a big commitment and investment in time and money to do this but he put forth the effort. He filed a claim and all the associated paper work, reports, bonds, on-site inspections and met the requirements. After only a year he was finally allowed to go and dig, which he now does regularly. He is now uncovering agate from 10 to 15 feet below the original surface and with each dig he uncovers bigger and better pieces. "Big Diggins mine" was written up in National Geographic in the 1950's as having the most diverse agate found in one location in all of the United States. If you should have a copy of that article, he would be glad to ship 10 pounds of Big Diggins agate to you free, if you can provide him with a copy of that article. <>>>Come on in and read more stories & rumors of how other rock dreamers fared in their quest for a new find.
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