The Kingman mine in northwestern Arizona is the largest turquoise mine in the United States. Kingman blue has become a color standard in the industry. The mine became famous in the 1960s for its rounded bright blue nuggets with black matrix. Few turquoise mines produced nuggets. High grade natural Kingman is highly collectible because of its intense blue with a black and silver matrix.
This superb grade was found in an area called Ithaca Peak, which yielded the highest grade and hardest Kingman turquoise. This vein has been exhausted since 1972. The Kingman mine re-opened in September 2004 after being closed since the 1970s. The new owners of the copper mine have contracted to dump anything with turquoise veining or nuggets into trucks for Marty Colbaugh Processing. All of today’s rock comes from Turquoise Mountain.
The new highest grade is identical to what came out from Ithaca Peak 30 years ago. About 95% of Kingman is stabilized which makes it very affordable. Less than 5% of the Kingman turquoise stays in its natural state. Silver Sun has a great supply of both the best high grade natural Kingman and Kingman stabilized to use for our jewelry. A pound of Kingman Stabilized that sold for $80.00 last year now demands at least $400.00.
