It was the winter of 1969-1970 when Cheri Saunders discovered a deposit of Blue Opal in southern Arizona. She and her husband Jim were avid prospectors and campers (it was the uranium boom in the 1950's that brought the couple west) and they never passed up a chance to head for the hills in search of gold, silver, mineral specimen, crystals, or a pan full of sizzling trout. It was actually a fishing trip that was responsible for Cheri's discovery of that dazzling blue gemstone. When the trout refused to bite several hand-tied flies Cheri decided that prospecting the hills near the lake might be more productive, so off she went in the direction of some brightly colored outcroppings on a mountainside in the distance.

            The clear desert air can play tricks with your distance perception and Cheri found that after several hours of hiking, the outcroppings didn't appear to be much closer than when she started, so she began chipping on some quartz veins she found exposed on the surface where she was. What at first appeared to be quartz turned blue at about a half inch in depth and was unlike any material she had ever seen. After gathering more samples, Cheri hiked back to camp to show Jim her discovery. Consulting their field guide, the Saunders speculated that the blue gem might be Moonstone, but decided to do some more sampling before making a decision. Their expertise had always been in uranium ores and precious metals with little exposure to gemstones of any kind. And never had they seen a mineral showing this particular shade of sky blue

            Cheri hiked back to gather more samples and this time discovered some material showing a faint play of color—multi-colored sparkles scattered through the translucent to opaque blue body of the stone. There was no doubt at this point the two needed outside help to identify their find. A visit to a Tucson rock shop was first on the list of stops. Time has blurred the details, but it seems the rock shop was on Grant Road and the owner's name was Bill Watkins. The Saunders came away with a tentative identification of precious opal albeit unlike any other opal that Watkins had ever seen. The next stop was the offices of ANACONDA Corp. where an engineer by the name of Judash confirmed Watkins' suspicions. Mr. Watkins eventually polished the surface of one of the samples and this was the first time this unique precious blue opal had been cut and shaped to determine its' suitability for the rigors of lapidary and jewelry applications. Watkins pronounced the opal nearly as hard as an agate and easily polished. His enthusiasm was infectious and after showing their opal around to some interested parties (big mistake!), Jim and Cheri decided to stake some claims on the opal. First opal polished by Bill Watkins.

The Hard Work Begins...

A camp was established as near to the opal deposit as their Chevy sedan could get them on the primitive ranch roads in the area. The Saunders were still about four miles from the area when they acquired a small Honda trail bike that could carry them over the torturous trail to the digs. Some type of transport was essential as Jim was suffering from lung problems and couldn't handle the hiking.

            It was the year 1969 and the Federal Mining Law of 1872 hadn't changed much. Each "lode" mining claim had to measure 600 ft. by 1500 ft. with stone monuments marking the corners, the center of each end line, and a central "location" monument that would hold the Location Notice giving the layout of the claim, its name, and name and address of the owner(s). By the spring of 1970 three claims had been staked out with the necessary monuments and copies of the location notices had been filed at the county courthouse. The old mining law also required that a certain amount of "location" work be done on each claim to prove that the claimant was serious about his intentions. It was common practice at the time to dig a location hole measuring 4 ft. by 6 ft. by 8 ft. deep to "prove up." This location work must be completed within 90 days of the filing date and the Saunders were getting short of time.

            The "interested parties" referred to earlier enter the picture at this time. These individuals staked out some perimeter claims and then offered to throw their claims in with those of Jim and Cheri for an equal split of the proceeds. Cheri had prospected the area thoroughly and although the perimeter claims held some promise they didn't show the concentration of opal evident on the original three claims. The Saunders quickly turned down the offer and continued their struggle to beat the location work deadline. A young man was hired to sit on a hilltop and watch the work in progress. If Jim and Cheri couldn't make the deadline, their claims would be declared invalid and would be open to re-staking and all that hard work would have been wasted.

            Jim, suffering the debilitating effects of chronic bronchitis chose to dig the first two location pits in the only "soft" ground he could find to speed things up. What looked like soft soil quickly turned to solid rock at a shallow depth and he and Cheri were forced to resort to hand drilling of blast holes using black powder obtained, of all places, at a general store in Nogales. Help in the form of a rented compressor and air drill came along for the third and final pit although it was a nightmare hacking a trail to the claims by hand in order tow the compressor to the site. The Location work was completed in the nick of time giving Jim and Cheri some breathing room. The "vultures" were forced to quit circling and eventually drifted off empty handed abandoning their perimeter claims.

The part Cheri Saunders played in this drama was that of a 120 lb. dynamo. From hand drilling blast holes to mucking out the rubble of the location pits, she proved herself to be every bit as tough as any seasoned miner. Her real passion however, lay in prospecting for and finding those elusive pockets of precious blue opal. She never failed to return to camp without some of the "good stuff." The Honda's odometer logged over 5000 miles on her daily treks to the opal digs and she slowly began to collect an impressive display of opal rough. Her efforts however, still only amounted to scratching the surface. There is just so much a prospector can do with hammer and chisels. Cheri had more than established the value of the claims as far as the surface yield was concerned, but it was time to explore their potential at depth. The location pits had been dug in barren ground in areas chosen for ease of digging and access so they were useless in determining how deep the opal might be found. As luck would have it, the Saunders had made the acquaintance of a miner in Arivaca who had the necessary equipment and was willing to do the work, but the funds just didn't exist to hire him. He eventually agreed (due to the urging of his wife) to perform the work in exchange for a mining claim to be staked out adjacent to the original claims. A jeep trail was dozed to the claims and an exploratory pit was dug yielding two pockets of dark blue opal with good color flash, proving the opal wasn't merely a surface deposit. It was hard rock mining at its most difficult, but the potential of the deposit had finally been established without a doubt.

            Jim began making contacts in order to find an outlet for the opal. The Charles F. Winson Co. on 5^th Avenue in New York became very interested, but wanted guaranteed production quotas, which were impossible to meet. Mark Stetler who owned opal mines in Idaho visited the mine with thoughts of buying it, but decided large-scale mining would be too expensive. Numerous companies and individuals determined that logistics, access, and expense were hurdles too high to climb. In addition, the local District Ranger was seeking to turn the whole region into a wilderness area that would preclude mining of any sort. He resorted to harassing the Saunders by importing truck loads of rockhounds who were turned loose on the property as well as driving into camp in the middle of the night with spot lights glaring. The Saunders weren't intimidated and forged an alliance with the local rancher whose grazing rights were also threatened. The Ranger's Wilderness proposal fizzled and he toned down his rhetoric, but remained uncooperative until his transfer in the mid 1970's.

            With a stockpile of good opal on hand, the Saunders bought a crude little lapidary machine from Sears. A gas engine provided the motive power as Jim set himself up at camp and learned the art of gem cutting. Picture if you will, bouncing along on a primitive road in your Jeep 4X4 in the absolute middle of nowhere and coming across a camp where a rather distinguished gentleman sits beneath an oak tree polishing beautiful blue opals!! The truth is, Jim cut and polished several hundred carats of precious blue opals in just this fashion. A few skinny Hereford steers would watch from the hillside as he would periodically glance down the trail to see if the tiny Honda was on its way with a worn out miner lady and a bag of opal on board. This would signal time to shut down the earsplitting gas engine and kindle the cook fire.

            Cheri's work was hard and added to that was the burden of worry over Jim's condition. Trips to the Doctor became frequent and eventually Jim was diagnosed with lung cancer. The hard labor of mining was replaced by the demands of caring for her terminally ill husband. Part of the opal property had to be sold during his illness and the remainder was kept valid by hiring out the annual assessment work. In 1973, James Robert Saunders lost his struggle with cancer and left a young widow with a mining claim, some beautiful opals, and a million memories.

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