QuestionI have some lava rocks,can there be diamonds inside of them ,and if ther is, how can I tell if the stones that I've recovered from theme are dimonds.
AnswerHi Joshua,
Diamonds normally are found in gravel beds and or in place in the earth.
They are formed in formations called kimberlite. One of the features of diamond is they seem to repel water. They dont get wet like other stones do. So they use that trait to recover them from screened gravels. They apply grease to a belt. Quartz,limestone and other types of gravel wash off and the diamonds stick. The belt is like a conveyor belt and moves the stones to a device that scrapes them off. Diamonds are sometimes found while mining the gravel for gold. Garnets, zirons,
sapphires and other types of gemstones can also be found but have to be sorted by hand from concentrates.
I would think that if the diamonds were found in lava, it would have gotten there by a lava flow crossing over a gravel bed.
To identify you could try a scratch test. You would need a ruby or sapphire. They could be a synthetic. Take the suspected crystal and scratch the ruby with it. If the crystal makes a scratch mark then it is more than likely diamond. If the ruby scratches the crystal. It is not a diamond. Another good tests could be run by a gemologist, such as a refractive index test.
I hope this helps you, good luck.
Regards,
Steven D.Covey
