ABOUT US

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=80 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="1e200500dvldtc.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>Swordfish Mining:   Virgin Valley Opal</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Swordfish Mining: Virgin Valley Opal"><B>home</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="black_precious_opal.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="BLACK OPALS">BLACK OPALS</A>   |   <A HREF="virgin_valley_precious_opal_mining_claims_from_the_miners_for_sale.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CLAIMS">CLAIMS</A>   |   <A HREF="opal_from_nevada.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PRECIOUS OPAL">PRECIOUS OPAL</A>   |   <A HREF="what_we_do.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="WIRE WRAPS, BEADS, JEWELRY">WIRE WRAPS, BEADS, & JEWELRY</A>   |   <A HREF="cut_stones__tops_gemstones_cut_for_years__these_stones_have_all_been_displayed_i.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="GEMSTONES">GEMSTONES</A>   |   <A HREF="opal_twigs.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LIMB CASTS">LIMB CASTS</A>   |   <A HREF="virgin_valley_wood_replacements.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PINE CONES BARK">PINE CONES & BARK</A>   |   <A HREF="precious_opal_snake_head_cast.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="THE SNAKE HEAD">THE SNAKE HEAD</A>   |   <A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="GOODS">GOODS</A>   |   <B>ABOUT US</B>   |   <A HREF="picture_album.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SWORDFISH PICS">SWORDFISH PICS</A>   |   <A HREF="the_sheldon.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CHARLES SHELDON NWR">CHARLES SHELDON NWR</A>   |   <A HREF="numbers.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us">Contact Us</A>   |   <A HREF="map_to_virgin_valley_fee_digs.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Location">Location</A>   |   <A HREF="qa.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="QA">Q&A</A>   |   <A HREF="links_to_friendly_web_pages.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LINKS">LINKS</A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="045d2c00dvldtc.png"> <div> <IMG SRC="055b4ee0.jpg" border=0 width="436" height="238" ALT="Swordfish Mining at Clouds Jamboree Snow bunnies on the Quartzsite town site" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">1996 Leah and I as  Swordfish Mining in Clouds Jamboree. On the Quartzsite AZ town site they called us "Snow bunnies" instead of the regular Gem and Mineral vendors we really are. We didn't run away from the snow we were down to visit friends and family besides all our nice customers. Winter is harsh.</div> </td> <td valign="top" height=400 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> ABOUT US</div> <div> The Owyhee Pink Sandstone is our decoration and construction material. Precious opal is very rare in this formation. It is actually opalized sandstone.  We own the claims on the quarry and sell it on site for $200 a ton, you load at the quarry. Blocks are $500 a ton as are pallets loaded for landscaping use. Call first, don't get arrested loading without prior purchase. </div> <div> <IMG SRC="262d05c0.jpg" border=0 width="464" height="348" ALT="John Church is sorting Opals" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> John Church.</div> <bR> <div>        I'm constantly working hard sorting opals from the claims perched on a wall of the Pink Sandstone from the quarry. I got the opal bug when rockhounding out here with my Stone Healer ex-wife Geri in the 80's. I'm a stone-finder according to the pyschic readers I have seen.  In 1994 I gave up on the power companies answering my resume's, I pulled the knife out of my back, and started vending at Gem and Mineral shows and other events as Swordfish Mining from Oregon selling off my year worth of collecting. In 1995 Leah and I joined our forces in the Virgin Valley of northwestern Nevada putting in the first of our joint claims. Prospecting and digging for opals in Virgin Valley since the 70s & 80s respectively, we found our home here.  From the 90's on together. Leah unfortunately passed away in 2005.   Her mom Marie, daughter Crystal, and Lillian (opal princess in training) continue their opal mining and participation in the lapidary community. Marie is active in many arenas some of which Water for Wildlife and are shown on her website listed in the links.   Swordfish Mining has been offering opals since 1995 and selling claims into the new millennium.</div> <bR> <div>       This very pretty sandstone historically sold as Owyhee Pink and can also be seen in Winnemucca at the US Bank surrounding the Vault door and the Scott Shady Court Motel and on buildings in Salt Lake City, UT, San Francisco, CA, and in Boise, ID. Currently we are selling only stone or  rough blocks and pallets of scrap for landscaping. If you are represent a gold mining company and would be interested in a partnership to exploratory drill the possible precious metal target identified by the Government and described in the Mineralogical survey of the Refuge please contact John or Marie by personal message.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> SHOWS ATTENDED</div> <bR> <div> January 20th to 25th in QUARTZSITE, AZ. 2010. Space 560 against the West fence by the front corner. This year I will be bringing a new assortment of stabilized opal specimens.</div> <bR> <div> 1st Weekend in March  Klamath Falls Rock and Arrowhead Club Annual Gem and Mineral Show.  Klamath Co Fairgrounds in Klamath Falls, Or.  See our Ad in Rock and Gem magazine.</div> <bR> <div> March 16 17 Running Y Arts and Crafts show.</div> <bR> <div> Labor day weekend 2011: Snyder's Rockhound Ranch Pow Wow. Valley Springs, CA. Held at the Snyder's Hereford Ranch in Valley Springs, CA  it's the largest outdoor show north of Quartzsite. Details, information, and flyers on the web at  <A HREF="http://www.valleyspringspowwow.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.valleyspringspowwow.com/">http://www.valleyspringspowwow.com/</A> </div> <div> <IMG SRC="2b1d9ef0.jpg" border=0 width="729" height="495" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Memorial Day Weekend.  I set up at the Denio Jct Art and Craft show on the lawn. Hours are from 10 am to 3 pm Sunday and Monday. Also that weekend The Ryals 4th Annual Virgin Valley Gem and Mineral Show takes place in Virgin Valley.  Vendors are welcome to tailgate or set up their booth. It is hosted by the Opal Negra Gift Shop at their millsite in Virgin Valley. 2 miles south of the CCC campground towards the Rainbow Ridge Opal Fee dig mine. For more information contact Pat or Scott Ryals at <A HREF="http://thegemdealer.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://thegemdealer.com/">http://thegemdealer.com/</A> .</div> <bR> <div> 1st weekend in June 6-5-10 is the Denio Community fund raiser Steak and Chorizo B-B-Q, $15. It's the biggest local annual event with a community fundraising raffle. Prizes are expensive firearms or community handmade quilts, opal Jewelry, and more. Team roping, steak feed, and dance with live music. Kids events with prizes.  Come on out and enjoy a real old west get together and hospitality.  <A HREF="http://www.denio-nv.net/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.denio-nv.net/">http://www.denio-nv.net/</A> </div> <bR> <div> Fourth of July is spent here in the valley whenever possible. The Madras show is a possibliity in 2011. </div> <bR> <div>   </div> <div>   <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><IMG SRC="292b0040.jpg" border=0 width="688" height="516" ALT=""Mrs Lockheeds" Dugout. More likely a sorting shed on her Green Fire Mine" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <div> The dugout on the Swordfish is now a coyote den. Please do not disturb the residents in their den. Burros also shelter here in storms.</div> <bR> <div>    BE SAFE THIS FAR AWAY FROM TOWN! You are quite away's from any hospital or ambulance. I takes 2 1/2 hours for them to get here and then 3 hours to get back, and not everybody deserves either the Reno, or Boise helicopter. The closest available first responders come from Denio. 45 min for us to get there, on our own unreimbursed nickels which also means 2 hours out of our day at least or 5 if something really needs us.  Lakeveiw, OR is the closest hospital, but the ambulance comes from Winnemucca, NV. There is no reliable cell phone service except at the pullout part way down the Thousand Creek grade, towards Denio, where I put up an orange traffic marker.  Most miners here have regular phones not cells. Bring your own phone cards if you want to use one. </div> <div> <IMG SRC="204b1450.jpg" border=0 width="433" height="325" ALT="Swordfish Mining adopts the highway here" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div>      You won't see much litter on Highway 140 here as I participate in Nevada's Adopt-A-Highway program. A decade of adopting the 3 1/2 miles from the Rest Area to the top of the Thousand Creek grade. You will see nothing but recent trash on the road.  You do own the highway...Keep it Clean.  I might change my sign next year to this website from the current Swordfish Mining signs.</div> <bR> <div>       There is no trash service on the refuge.  Please take all your garbage and refuse to the rest area canisters contained in a bag and shut the lid.  Contain your load please. Pickup truck beds aren't a trash can but a moving litter dispenser.   </div> <bR> <div>      Calls for fee mine digging information will not be returned. You have to call the 3 fee digs themselves and leave messages if they are not there for information. Their website's are all listed on my Links page here,  Messages about me will get returned as soon as possible. Just maybe not this week, so don't fret. Miners and gem sellers have to spend a lot of time away from the phone to survive.  Please do leave a message. </div> <bR> <div> ABOUT MY SWORDFISH GROUP OF CLAIMS:</div> <bR> <div>      The discoverer, or least the miner living on site was  Mrs. Lockheed (Loughead). She was the Queen of the Valley in many minds. She mined on every property worth mining out here that had been discovered. She prospected outside the current mining district also for other local precious opal outcrops. She walked to the high opal deposits on and past Catnip mountain. No, I can't tell you where those are, and neither can the BLM even tho' they admit they were there on the map they no longer have. Those areas have all been withdrawn from claiming by an act of Congress.  I'm looking for a copy of the Winnemucca BLM rockhound handout map which they no longer furnish. They "lost" the map, so I want to get one from you if possible. </div> <bR> <div>       She raised her "second" family for awhile on the old Green Fire Mine located on what is now the Swordfish Claim Group (not the new Green Fire claim which the Krol's now control. After it was moved in the 60s). There are many different stories about Mrs. Lockheed (Loughead). The original Green Fire mine is reported on by John Sinkakis in "Gemstones of America". I claimed this same area as the Swordfish in 1994. It is not open for public opal digging. </div> <bR> <div>        The Swordfish claims were underground mined where the fabulously rich pocket made underground precious opal mining feasible. Opal is not just automatically everywhere in the opal bearing clay layer.  Historically the only way to have excellent opal recovery was to mine it by hand like we still do. There is a stunning black opal with multicolor flagstone broad flash on display in Gaumers Museum in Red Bluff, CA that was mined from this deposit by myself. It is a true 5 bright.</div> <bR> <div>      I would trade an cut opal for a definitive photo that actually shows her tunnel mine (NOT the Rainbow Ridge tunnel or the abandoned Virgin Queen mine). Please just scan your original and e-mail me the digital picture. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is the repository of John Sinkakis' vast library of books, magazines, field trip notes, and gemstone cutting records. They are not available to the public or common members. I would like the information of his actual locations collecting contained therein if anyone will provide it. HINT HINT.</div> <div>  </div> <div>      As a side note The GIA was gifted an excellent collection of polished dry Virgin Valley opals from Rainbow Ridge Fee Dig by the current owners and some from the other mines too. These stones came from the students who mined them and the mine owners who donated them to provide a definitive representation of the Virgin Valleys' fine opals suitability for gemstones. The GIA can document the stability of all these stones from the first weigh in to those found in the existing collection along with their representative samples from other world mining districts. I would think,but it's not like I've paid to join that club.</div> <bR> <div>      The Guide (published for GIA members to wholesale price all gemstones)  makes no differentiation in price for opals except for Mexican and Boulder as to where they came from. Once an opal is a gemstone it can be fairly graded and can no longer be readily told apart from other stones of the same type.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="1072cc30.jpg" border=0 width="300" height="451" ALT="The Stone Tree Richard & Crystal Carlyle 1989. " ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFF00" FACE="Arial" >The Stone Tree with the future claimholders from almost 30 years ago. Time flies; Make the most of your life and try not to sweat the small things or small people. Something I waste way too much time on. </FONT></div> <bR> <div>      <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFF00" FACE="Arial" >This Opalized log is from a layer usually found weathered out on top of the ground or upright as stumps. These are Leah's' children perched on the NON PRECIOUS OPAL log which is on one of the oldest claims they are on. These original discovery placer claims have been mined continuously since the first days of the mining district with a clear chain of title. </FONT></div> <bR> <div>      This is a privately owned claim and isn't a public collecting area.  I do still have 4 claims adjoining these for sale. Felony Mineral Trespass is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to a $25,000 fine. Don't let us or the rangers catch you damaging the tree because you are too cheap to buy some woods from the miners. I will immediately place you under citizens arrest and turn you over to the Sheriff pressing charges. Thge fragile tree just shards and it isn't a "cute" wood.  A Civil Suit would follow to recover damages and expenses from court proceedings if you make us go there. Swordfish mining does not operate any fee digs, only personel guide services. All claims are private. If you are caught illegally mining on any of my claims, even if you were defrauded by people who should be convicts,  you WILL have to give back everything you mined as stolen property evidence, you'll be talking to the Sheriffs, and booked if you cop an attitude. Then you'll get to make excuses to our local judge. I live here and do not have to travel far to testify at your trial. BLAH BLAH BLAH  This a published formal warning that I shouldn't have to state if it weren't for stupid thieves that will be rotting in jail when caught.  Ahhh, that's out of my system.</div> <bR> <div>       They're thankful the Refuge management put up a large informational sign on their Stone Tree claim by THEIR tree.  I'm sure it has slowed the disintegration from souvenir hunters.  Please remember that you are visiting a valid claim with permission to look, not collect, and should not vandalize their log.  It is not precious, it is a landmark fossil. WE claimed all opal AND petrified wood in the good old days and all those valid claims are still valid with all their rights concerning ALL materials and timber found on the ground.  </div> <bR> <div>        The rest of the wildlife refuge is always open to rock hound the legal 7 pounds of material a day. That limit has been enforced - be warned that the rules are published, posted, and available so you can't play dumb treating the refuge like BLM land.. </div> <bR> <div> Contact usopal@lycos.com or call 775-941-0725, 1-866-698-5666 toll free.</div> <bR> <div> Swordfish Mining<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> PO Box # 124<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> Denio, NV<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> 89404-0124</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0b480e00.jpg" border=0 width="640" height="480" ALT="Swordfish setting up in the dew fog to sell in the Sun later on. Snyders Pow Wow Valley Springs,CA" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Leah setting up at Snyder's. No Building - Opals in the direct sun, the opals take it fine after the initial selection and cutting. Dewy mornings and sunny afternoons mean that they are taking in and releasing moisture constantly.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Marie and Leah relaxing after a day of opal digging. </div> <div> <IMG SRC="26398e20.jpg" border=0 width="152" height="226" ALT="Marie and Lerah Brashear at their families Cherokee Yellowbird Millsites." ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> Marie is the home stone that brought our entire group up here after her love of the valley and opals opened the door.</div> <bR> <div>  10-20-2005    Leah Brashear died in a car accident. </div> <div> <IMG SRC="250f0400.jpg" border=0 width="240" height="320" ALT="Leah Brashear with her 1000ct plus Black Opal from her Toni Fire Opal Mine. " ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">12-24-60  to 10-20-05.</div> <div> My words for Leah:</div> <bR> <div>      Life has always been an adventure and Leah was a willing participant.  So tender a soul, but with the backbone of steel that these lonely mountains hone, she would bravely jump to defend those who would be hurt by mean people.</div> <div>        She could be a real handful too as some squabbling buckaroos found out after they got man-handled right out the front door one wild night at the Diamond Inn. She needed people around her but not like that.</div> <div>         I know that when she got to that last river we all must cross from this earthly realm to the life hereafter, that everyone else is going there, has already been there, or is getting into the waters.  All that have gone before us await on the spiritual side for our arrival and everyone we must leave behind in their loss are just living until the day that they too get caught up in Gods net.</div> <div>          I can only imagine all the wondrous places that Leah re-visited on that shore to the gathering drums before she crossed.  I truly believe that Leah is alive with all her loving ancestors. I bet they saw the sun come up at her rebirth celebration.  I imagine she is still having opal dreams as she sleeps with the angels. </div> <div> <B>........................................................</B></div> <bR> <div> NOTE:  Love is the biggest memory of all and might be all you take with you when you go.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> Note: All text and photographs copyrights reserved by John Church.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> Re-publication not for gain is permitted with proper URL credit given.</div> <div>  <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript1.2" src="http://www.altavista.com/help/free/inc_translate"></script> <noscript><a href="http://www.altavista.com/babelfish/tr"></noscript>  <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFF00" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div>  <img align=bottom src="http://www.thebook.com/cgi-bin/thebook/Counter1/Count.cgi?ft=0|tr=0|prgb=0;255;0|md=7|dd=B|st=333332|sh=1|df=virginvalleyopal_15_own.dat">  </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>