Michigan Rockhound’s Work Pays Off in Crater of Diamonds

Arkansas’ Crater of Diamonds State Park is a very unique natural wonder. The park is a dream for amateur geologists who wish to hunt for diamonds or over forty other varieties of stones and minerals. The Crater of Diamonds is the only diamond-bearing site in the world that is open to the general public. Daniel Kinney III, of Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan, has frequented the park for many years. Kinney reaped a great reward when he, along with the team that accompanied him on November 28, 2011, made a major discovery.

The team, lead by Kinney, were only two days into their expedition when they found the 9th largest diamond discovered in the Crater of Diamonds State Park since it was first established. The team unearthed a 6.67-carat deep yellow diamond. The diamond is roughly the size of a marble, and the second largest that was found within the park in 2011. An 8.66-carat white diamond was the largest diamond discovered at The Crater of Diamonds in 2011. Beth Gilbertson made this significant discovery in the spring of 2011.

This expedition was the first for Kinney’s girlfriend, Jessica Higley, and he states that she was a good luck charm for him. Kinney does not take sole credit for the stunning yellow diamond, which has been registered as the “teamwork diamond.” The Crater of Diamonds Park provides free identification and registration of diamonds found by visitors. In an effort to encourage future explorers and geologists, the park is happy to offer their visitors tips for searching and identifying diamonds.

While this was only the team’s second day, it was not Kinney’s second day of searching for diamonds by far. Kinney has found approximately 35 diamonds in the park after much hard work. Kinney works as a bear guide in Alaska during the summer months, and spends six weeks in the spring and the fall in the park exploring and hunting from sun up to sun down. It was roughly three years before Kinney was able to find his first diamond. His perseverance has certainly been rewarding, but his search is not complete. As any true explorer would, Kinney is always searching for bigger and better treasure.