Best Pay-to-Dig Native Gem Mining Sites

Dig for Valuable Gems and Minerals and Earn Money

Jun 6, 2009 Beverly Hill

There's more to rockhounding than meets the eye. Find valuable gems such as diamonds, opals, rubies and sapphires at these native gem mines.

Rockhounding is one of those hobbies that people either love or hate. For the most part it's a lot of hard work involving long hours digging and sifting through dirt and mud. But sometimes it pays off in a big way, especially when searching for diamonds, gold, opals, emeralds, sapphires, and rubies. Below is a quick run through of some of the best native gem mining sites in the U.S.A.

Arkansas Diamonds and Quartz

Arkansas's Ouachita Mountains sits atop a 30 to 40-mile wide, 170-mile long swathe of some of the purest quartz crystal in the world. Just outside of Hot Springs Arkansas there are several quartz mining operations that rockhounds can dig at for a fee.

One of the most outstanding is Ron Coleman's Crystal Mine, not to be confused with Coleman's Crystal Mine, which is located in Jessieville, Arkansas. This has been a premiere mine for rockhounds and for $20 rockhounds can dig all day and keep everything they find.

About an hour south of Hot Springs is Crater of Diamonds State Park located in Murfreesborough, Arkansas. Here rockhounds can dig through 37 acres of the plowed remains of an old lava pipe in search of diamonds. Crater of Diamonds State Park is the only diamond mine in the world open to the public for digging and produces hundreds of diamonds each year.

Native Gem Mines in North Carolina

North Carolina has been dubbed the gem capital of the world. Although there are many types of gems to be found in this area, the big draws are the rubies and sapphires. When mining for gems in the Franklin area, focus on the native dirt gem mines and avoid the “enhanced” mines which are mainly for tourists who want to find a large variety of low cost gems.

One of the best native gem mines in Franklin is the famous Sheffield Mine, where $15 gets 2 buckets of native dirt. Additional buckets are $3 each or 2 for $5.00. Two covered and one uncovered flume lines available. The staff are friendly and they do a great job at making sure customers learn to identify what they're looking for.

Mason Mountain Ruby & Sapphire Mine, not to be confused with the other similarly named Mason Mountain Mine allows rockhounds to dig all day in the mine tailings for $30. This mine has four flume lines, two of which are covered. Both Sheffield and Mason Mountain Ruby & Sapphire Mine produce quality specimens well worth the dig.

Virgin Valley Opals in Nevada

With the exception of Australian opal, Nevada has some of the best black opal in the world. The mining season here generally begins in May and lasts through September/October. All of the mines in the Virgin Valley are well off the beaten path and most require a 4WD vehicle to get to. Mining fees are also much higher here, ranging between $75 for tailings up to $500 or more for bank mining.

Other mines of note in the area are the Rainbow Ridge Opal Mine, Royal Peacock Opal Mine, and Bonanza Opal Mine. Before heading out to any of the mines, be sure to check with them for specific hours and days of operation.

Rockhounding is a fun hobby with a lot of potential. Try it and see.

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Native Gem Mining