The “blue fever” comes back to Montana, where miles of acres are hiding potential sapphire in Potentate Mining, in Rock Creek. Unlike deep mining, here, they use superficial methods: alluvial mining and colluvial mining. These types of mining work with the deposits that have been removed by water or gravity itself. This is also doing water reuse practices, which is responsible mining, under the supervision of the Montana Department of Quality Control.
There are some rumors that tons of gems “sprout” out of the land every hour, but the picture is a little more sober than that: there are high-volume bulk processes, yes, but only a relatively small fraction of gemological content (gems).
The appeal of Rock Creek sapphires lies in the grading and the heat treatment of sapphires to meet the right colors for the market demand. Between the myths and the real stories, this part of the United States holds a centenary tradition of extraction, technical and environmental changes that define what the activity is today.
252 tons per hour? The myth vs. the reality
The 252 tons per hour figure of “sprouts” sounds just epic, but the calculation would be wrong. For this to be true, it would need more than 6,000 tons daily, which would exceed one million per year. The whole operation describes a very different panorama.
The plant extracts between 10 and 20 kilograms per day, while the “bulk processing” processes tens of cubic yards per hour with a minor percentage that corresponds to the sapphire. With all of this together, the annual sapphire production moves hundreds of kilograms, a number very far from the myth.
It’s still relevant though, sapphire value is more about quality than tons. Besides, most of the extracted material is a mix of sand, rock, and gravel. Only a small percentage of it is the actual gems.
Responsible mining and technology
Potentate Mining underlines clean superficial methods by working colluvial and alluvial deposits, which avoids removing big overloads. It works with the environment. Rock Creek is well known for its trout, and that’s why the company works guided by the Montana Department of Quality Control; the regulations are strict and important.
The classification of little gems in the plant combines manual and technical assistance; the deposit supplies raw material that then is exported to cutters outside the country.
Then, to make sure the sapphire meets the standards, the heat treatments for sapphires come in (and sometimes also raw material, depending on the case), because not all the pieces have the natural shape or the “correct” color for the market.
The recycling of water is about 90%, which is key to reduce the environmental footprint. Until the 20th century, the Rock Creek district produced about 65 metric tons. Since Potentate adopted new practices in 2014, the yearly profits have been less, about hundreds of pounds of raw sapphire. Their way of working leans toward more operational prudence, more traceability.
Blue fever, but without exaggerating
It’s totally comprehensible that there’s a blue fever in Montana. Rock Creek has been fulfilling the sapphires market for a pretty long time. But the “252 tonnes per hour” is an exaggeration that comes probably because of the confusion between the volume of the raw rock and the actual gemological output.
The real value behind the Potentiate Sapphires is the design, the way they process it, the responsible mining, the water recycling, and the traceability from the ground to the gem.
In this case, between the funny myths and the discipline of the process, the last one wins. It’s what allows the company to keep producing, that the creek remains clean, and that the “blue fever” has blue in it.