Morrisonite (Morrison Ranch Jasper) is considered one of the finest Jaspers in the world, and is often referred to as “The KING of Jaspers”. Unfortunately it has not been commercially mined from its source in SE Oregon, along the Owyhee River, since 1996.
Marvelous coloration is a trademark of the finest Morrisonite. The slab needs to be a piece of Jewelry.
The rockhound’s favorite government agency, the Bureau of Land Management, closed the hunting area and dynamited some of the mines, deeming them unsafe. I heard Gene Mueller of The Gem Shop speak on hunting the area before it was closed. It took a lot of material to produce any “good stuff”.
The combination of the area closing and the limited production in the past has driven priced to several hundred dollars a slab in recent years.
I recently discovered that I had some Morrisonite from an old collection I acquired last fall. I suspect this material may be 40 years old.
It did indeed need to be a pendant. Morrisonite like this is so very rare!
When we bought this collection I hardly checked the material. We just loaded all the rock in buckets, loaded the truck, and drove it home. The buckets ended up in storage, then winter set in, so I’m just now discovering what I bought… .Gotta love it!
