PROVO -- At first, Jeff Keith thought it was a hoax.
The Brigham Young University geology professor didn't think it was possible that emeralds could be indigenous to the Uinta Mountains.In 1995, a Roosevelt man found an irregular stone in the Uintas near Hanna, about 50 miles northeast of Provo. He took the rock to a Salt Lake gemologist, who was unable to determine its composition. The gemologist asked BYU graduate student Tim Thompson for help, and Thompson took the stone to Keith.
When Keith identified it as a 30-carat emerald, he was surprised and highly skeptical that it had been formed naturally. So Keith and Thompson decided to check out the area for themselves.
Their search for emeralds in the Uinta Mountains led to a serendipitous discovery. The pair of researchers didn't find emeralds, but they did find fibrous calcite -- a rare mineral that could prove to be extremely valuable.
Keith and Thompson stumbled upon 170,000 tons of fibrous calcite, a marblelike stone that possesses a honeycomb color. In the sun, Keith says, fibrous calcite bleaches translucent white.
"It was luck," Keith said of the find. "We weren't walking around looking for it, but we found it. Calcite is very common. This one is unusual, especially in large veins."
Some of the fibrous calcite from Utah will be displayed at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show in Tucson, Ariz., this week.
Thompson gave several large blocks of the mineral to friends in the decorative stone business. The fibrous calcite has since been used for carvings and other collectibles. "When I took the fibrous calcite to my friends, I had no idea what kind of potential the find would lead to," Thompson said.
Tests on the fibrous calcite are being conducted to determine if it is strong enough to be used for architectural products such as counter tops and floor tiles.
The value of the deposits on the surface is approximately 60 cents a pound, translating into an estimated $120 million windfall, presuming there is a market for fibrous calcite.
"This is a significant, mine-able resource," Keith said. "The question is, how well can the marketing of it be done?"
Also in question, four years after the discovery, is who has the right to the fibrous calcite. As of now that issue is tied up in legal red tape. Keith and Thompson are involved with four others, including investors, who lay claim to the find. A company named Honeycomb was formed by the group, and lawyers are trying to find out if the corporation is set up correctly.
"Once people see something is valuable, they tend to haggle over it," Keith said.
The fact there is an abundance of fibrous calcite indicates there are deposits of emeralds buried deep in the Uintas. Keith says the area is similar to the Villeta Formation in Colombia, which produces the most valuable emeralds in the world. Research and soil sampling reveal that there are more than 20 similarities between the Uintas and the Villeta Formation.
As for the emerald that started all of this, it is in possession of the mother of the man who found it, though the stone has little market value.
But Keith knows that where there is fibrous calcite, emeralds will also turn up as well. But probably not in his lifetime.
"We discovered that the Uintas have exactly the right setting for emeralds," Keith said. "Eventually, people might discover more, but it will take a lot of time, effort and money to locate them.
"Maybe geologic changes and erosion will make them easier to find in about a million years."