Fee Mining and Digging for Gems, Minerals, Gold, Crystals
Hunt For Gems - Keep What You Find!
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What are Fee Mining Sites?
Fee mining sites are places where you can pay a fee to dig, pan, or search for rocks, minerals or gemstones and keep whatever you find.
There are many places in the United States where you can pan for gold, wash gravel for gemstones, or split rocks to find fossils and have a reasonable chance of being very successful. We have been to fee mining sites many times, had lots of fun, and found some nice materials. We did not make a great find every time, but it was a good experience overall. Two of our favorites are: 1) looking for Herkimer "Diamonds" at the Ace of Diamonds Mine near Herkimer, New York; and, 2) looking for tourmaline at the Ocean View Mine near San Diego, California.
If you own a fee mining site not listed here, please let us know. To be listed, a site must have a website and pass our review. We do not include sites where collectors search through materials that have been "salted" with things to find or where materials from other mines or locations are hauled in. Most of the sites listed below require a fee.
Alabama |
| Alabama Gold Camp | Gold |
Alaska |
| Chicken Gold Camp | Gold |
| Crow Creek Gold Mine | Gold |
Arizona |
| Arizona BLM collecting sites | Agate, Apache tears, fire agate, jasper, onyx, petrified wood |
Arkansas |
| Board Camp Crystal Mine | Quartz crystals |
| Crater of Diamonds State Park | Diamonds and 40 other types of rocks and minerals including: lamproite, amethyst, banded agate, jasper, peridot, garnet, quartz, calcite, barite, and hematite. |
| Jim Coleman Crystals | Clear and White quartz crystal. You can also expect to find some interesting pieces with Adularia and Calcite |
| Ron Coleman Mining | Quartz crystals |
| Sweet Surrender Crystals | Quartz crystals |
| Twin Creek Crystal Mine | Clear Quartz and Phantom Quartz |
| Wegner Crystal Mines | Crystal Forest Mine and Phantom Mine group dig and tailings collecting area. |
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California |
| Benitoite Gem Mine | Benitoite |
| Golden Caribou Mining | Gold |
| Gold Prospecting Adventures | Gold |
| Himalaya Mine | Tourmaline, quartz crystals, lepidolite, topaz, morganite, and other pegmatite minerals |
| Modoc National Forest | Obsidian |
| Oceanview Mine | Tourmalines, kunzites, morganites and more. |
| Roaring Camp Mining Company | Gold |
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Colorado |
| Bachelor-Syracuse Mine | Gold |
| Bob's Rocks 4 U - Prospector Tours | Dinosaur bones, gold, petrified wood and more |
| Colorado Gold Camp | Gold |
| Country Boy Mine | Gold |
| Phoenix Gold Mine | Gold |
| Pinnacle5Minerals | Topaz, smokey quartz, amazonite |
| Vic's Gold Panning | Gold |
Connecticut |
| Simpson Quarry | Pegmatite |
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Florida |
| Fossil Expeditions | Mammal, reptile and shark fossils. |
| Rucks Pit, Fort Drum Crystal Mine | Fossils and crystals. |
Georgia |
| Consolidated Gold Mines | Gold |
| Crisson Gold Mine | Gold |
| Diamond Hill Mine | Quartz crystals (smokey, amethyst, some doubly terminated, some skeletal) |
| Gold 'N Gem Grubbin' | Gold, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, amethyst, topaz and more |
| Graves Mountain | Barite,quartz, rutile, ilmenite, kyanite, pyrite, lazulite, pyrophyllite, hematite, goethite, limonite, iridescent hematite |
| Hogg Mine | Beryl, star rose quartz, black tourmaline, and aquamarine |
Idaho |
| Emerald Creek Star Garnet Area | Star Garnet |
| Gold Mine Adventures | Gold |
| GoldFever Mining Supply | Gold |
| Spencer Opal Mines | Opal |
Illinois |
| Keokuk Geodes | Geodes |
Iowa |
| Fossil & Prairie Park | Fossils |
Kentucky |
| Clement Mineral Museum | Fluorite and related minerals |
Maine |
| Coos Canyon Rock and Gift | Gold |
| Maine Mineral Adventures | Quartz, tourmaline, beryl, lepidolite and more |
| Maine Mineralogy Expeditions | blue beryl, golden beryl, amethyst, tourmaline, rose quartz, smoky quartz, clear quartz, mica, feldspar, apatite, lepidolite |
| Poland Mining Camps | Pollucite (gem grade), spodumene, kunzite (cab grade), muscovite and perhamite (tan spheres) with white fluorapatite. |
Maryland |
| Calvert Cliffs State Park | Fossils |
Michigan |
| Caledonia Mine | Native copper, silver, datolite, quartz, feldspar, calcite, and epidote |
Minnesota |
| Hill Annex Mine State Park | Fossils |
Missouri |
| Sheffler's Rock Shop and Geode Mine | Geodes |
Montana |
| Baisch's Dinosaur Digs | Fossils |
| Blaze-N-Gems | Sapphire, Garnet |
| Crystal Park | Quartz crystals |
| Gem Mountain Sapphire Mine | Sapphire |
| Spokane Bar Sapphire Mine | Sapphire |
| Two Medicine Dinosaur Center | The Two Medicine Dinosaur Center runs scheduled digs for dinosaur and other types of fossils. Note: Fossils found become the property of the Two Medicine Dinosaur Center. Check their website for full details. |
Nebraska |
| High Plains Homestead | Fossils |
Nevada |
| Bonanza Opal Mines | Opal |
| Kokopelli Opals | Opal |
| Rainbow Ridge | Opal |
| Royal Peacock Opal Mine | Opal |
New Hampshire |
| Twin River Campground | Gold panning |
New Jersey |
| The Franklin Mineral Museum | Fluorescent minerals |
| The Sterling Hill Mining Museum | Fluorescent minerals |
New Mexico |
| Desert Rose Mine - Blanchard Rock Shop | Fluorite, barite, galena, quartz, smoky quartz, linarite, brochantite, wulfenite and more |
| Kelly Mine | Pyrite, allophane, calcite, brochantite, phyllite |
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New York |
| Ace of Diamonds | Herkimer Diamonds (doubly terminated quartz crystals) |
| Barton Garnet Mine | Garnet |
| Crystal Grove Diamond Mine and Campground | Herkimer Diamonds (doubly terminated quartz crystals) |
| Herkimer Diamond Mines | Herkimer Diamonds (doubly terminated quartz crystals) |
| Paradise Falls | Herkimer Diamonds (doubly terminated quartz crystals) |
North Carolina |
| Brushy Creek Mine | Aquamarine, tourmaline, garnet, beryl |
| Cherokee Ruby and Sapphire Mine | Ruby, sapphire |
| Cowee Gift Shop and Mason Mountain Mine | Rhodolite and ruby |
| Crabtree Emerald Mine | Emerald |
| Eureka Gold Panning, Gem Fluming, & Pearls | Gold, Gems, and Pearls |
| Emerald Hollow Mine | 63 different gems and minerals. |
| Emerald Village | Emerald, semi-precious stones |
| Little Pine Garnet Mine | Garnet |
| Lucky Strike Gold and Gem Mine | Gold |
| Mason Farm Staurolite Prospect | Staurolite, corundum, ruby, sapphire and even gold has been found here |
| Mason's Ruby and Sapphire Mine | Ruby, sapphire |
| Rose Creek Mine | Ruby, sapphire, garnet, amethyst, citrine, moonstone, topaz, smoky quartz, rose quartz, quartz crystals and more! |
| Sheffield Mine | Star ruby, sapphire |
North Dakota |
| North Dakota Geological Survey | NDGS runs scheduled dinosaur and fossil digs from late June to mid-August. Note: All fossils found go to the North Dakota State Fossil Collection in Bismarck, ND. Check the NDGS website for full details. |
Ohio |
| Caesar Creek Lake Spillway | Fossils |
| Nethers Farm - Flint Ridge | Flint |
Oklahoma |
| Great Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge | Selenite crystals |
Oregon |
| BLM Sunstone Collection Area | Oregon Sunstone |
| Double Eagle Mine | Oregon Sunstone |
| Dust Devil Mining Company | Oregon Sunstone |
| Lucky Strike Mines | Agate, Thundereggs |
| Public Rock Hounding Sites (central Oregon) | Petrified wood, agate, jasper, obsidian, thunder eggs |
| Richardson's Rock Ranch | Agate, Thundereggs |
| Spectrum Sunstone Mines | Oregon Sunstone |
South Carolina |
| Diamond Hill Mine | Amethyst, quartz |
South Dakota |
| Big Thunder Gold Mine | Gold |
| PaleoAdventures | PaleoAdventures runs scheduled dinosaur digs in the Badlands area of South Dakota. Note: Your guide will inspect the fossils that you find. Diggers can keep common fossils that they find and purchase commercial-grade fossils that they find. Scientific-grade fossils are given to museums and universities. Check their website for full details. |
Texas |
| Bar M Ranch Services | Topaz |
| Mineral Wells Fossil Park | Invertebrate Fossils |
| Seaquist Family Ranch | Topaz |
| Stillwell Ranch | Many different kinds of agate and gemstones. |
| Teri Smith Rock Hunts | Agate hunts to numerous locations in the Big Bend Region |
Utah |
| Blue Crystal Mines | Azurite |
| Gem Tours | Bixbyte, pink topaz, red beryl and more |
| Topaz Mountain Adventures | Topaz |
| Trilobyte Me! Quarry Fossil Dig | Trilobite fossils |
| U-Dig Fossils | Trilobite fossils |
Virginia |
| Morefield Gem Mine | Over 80 different minerals. |
Washington |
| Geology Adventures | Guided trips to gem and mineral collecting sites. |
| Stonerose Interpretive Center & Eocene Fossil Site | Eocene Fossils (you can keep three per day) |
Wyoming |
| Fossil Safari | Fossil fish from the Green River Formation |
| Tynsky's Fossils Inc. | Fossils from Fossil Lake |
| Ulrich's Fossil Gallery | Fossil fish |
| Wyoming Dinosaur Center | The Wyoming Dinosaur Center runs scheduled digs for dinosaur and other types of fossils. Note: Fossils found become the property of the Wyoming Dinosaur Center. Check their website for full details. |
Australia |
| Gemtree Gemfields Fossicking Tours | Garnet and Mud Tank zircon |
| Mt. Hay Gemstone Tourist Park | Thundereggs, Rainforest Rhyolite |
Canada |
| Opal Resources Canada | Opal |
Please Let Us Know About a Fee Mining Site!
If you own a fee mining site not listed here, please let us know by emailing the URL of your website to:
To be listed, a site must have a website and pass our review. We don't include sites where collectors search through materials that have been "salted" with things to find.
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