Description
Indian Blanket Jasper comes from Enterprise, Utah. This beautiful jasper should not be confused with Indian Blanket Stone which a completely different material altogether. Indian Blanket Jasper varies considerably and may be made up of chert, jasper, agate or opalite (common opal). Although it may have many different colors and patterns it is fairly easy to recognize it you are somewhat familiar with it.
Much of this material is not high enough quality to be used for lapidary purposes and is mostly used for landscaping rock. There is a very small percentage of this beautiful jasper that is lapidary grade, some of which is absolutely fabulous.
Rumors abound that this material is now extinct and is no longer available however there may still be some of this beautiful material being extracted at this time. Whether it is still being mined or not, high-quality slabs of this beautiful jasper are difficult to obtain and may be priced accordingly. There was a report at one time that a large amount of this material has been sent to China to be cut. We assume this was for decorative carvings however we haven’t seen any yet.
The high-quality Indian Blanket Jasper and opalite take an excellent polish. As with other forms of opalite, care should be taken to prevent it from getting too hot during the polishing process to prevent cracking.
Our supply of Indian Blanket Jasper originated from the original claim, where it was sold to a local landscaping company in St. George, Utah. We were fortunate enough to obtain permission to search through the substantial piles of landscape rock to identify the limited pieces suitable for lapidary purposes. Over the course of a couple of years, we managed to acquire it in five-gallon bucket quantities. This endeavor was labor-intensive, requiring the examination of tons of rock to yield mere pounds of material. There were numerous instances where, despite hours of searching, we failed to fill our bucket on certain days. Fortunately, the company allowed us to utilize their garden hose to moisten the rocks, which facilitated our search process.
Update: While we have no information as to the disposition of the original claim, however it is our understanding that there is still lots of this or similar material being rock hounded near Enterprise, Utah.
