How to Mine Rose Quartz & Gold

Prospectors have depleted major gold lode locations, but gold can still be found in the hills.
••• old mining town 3 image by Pierrette Guertin from Fotolia.com

Location is key to mining for rose quartz and gold. Precious and semi-precious minerals are found in rocky regions of the United States where minerals combined and created crystals and gold formations. Rose quartz and gold may be mined today by the amateur or the serious prospector. Active and inactive mines, in many locations, are open to the public for a fee. At these mines, you can be a prospector for a day, digging and panning for quartz or gold. At other locations, it is possible to stake a claim and mine for minerals.

Things You'll Need

  • Safety googles
  • Hammer
  • Pick
  • Tin pan

    Locate a gem mine on Federal property open to the public for mining. Search the Internet using the State name and mineral you want to mine to locate mines in that particular State, if a mine exists in that area. Locate Federal property through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Contact the BLM of the State in which you desire to prospect to obtain information on available locations.

    Pay entry fees or obtain owner permission to mine on privately owned land.

    Observe all written rules. Back fill any holes that you dig on private property.

    Dig to remove possible pay dirt from the ground. Pay dirt is soil containing precious or semi-precious minerals.

    Place approximately 1/2 cup of dirt in a pan. Pour water in the pan and slosh dirt around to separate soil from rocks and minerals.

    Stake a claim if you find precious or semi-precious minerals on land that is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

    Tips

    • As of January 2011, the following U.S. states still have land open for prospecting: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

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