Rockhounding in Chaffee County, CO: 449 USGS Mineral Sites (2026)

Check access before you go. Most sites listed here are old mines, quarries or prospects, and many are on private land or active mining claims. Get the landowner's permission, check the rules of the agency that manages any public land, and never enter mine workings. Locations are approximate.

Sketch map

Past ProducerProducerProspectOccurrenceStatus unknown

127 paw pins; nearby sites are grouped into one pin. Hover or tap a pin for the site name. 28 site(s) with USGS coordinates outside the outline are not pinned. County outline: US Census Bureau cartographic boundary file (2023). Locations approximate.

Woof’s favorite find

Sedalia Mine

We picked it because its USGS record mentions 5 gem or collectible minerals (Beryl, Tourmaline, Quartz, Gold, Silver) and 11 of our card minerals overall. No other named site here scores as high on both counts. USGS lists it as past producer for Zinc, Copper. Minerals mentioned: Beryl, Tourmaline, Quartz, Gold, Mica, Feldspar, Magnetite, Pyrite, Galena, Copper, Silver. Approx. location 38.590, -106.020. USGS record.

Ask first: a USGS record doesn’t mean you can visit. Find out who owns the land and get permission before collecting.

Field cards: what kind of sites?

288

Past Producer

Produced ore or material at some point in the past.

107

Occurrence

The mineral was noted here, without development.

Producer

Was producing when the record was made.

Prospect

Explored or test-dug, with no recorded production.

Unknown

Status not recorded.

Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.

Mineral cards

Gold
Mohs 2.5–3. Soft, heavy and bright yellow; it doesn’t tarnish. Mindat
196 sites
Silver
Mohs 2.5–3. Native silver tarnishes black. Mindat
123 sites
Copper
Mohs 2.5–3. Native copper is soft and turns green as it weathers. Mindat
78 sites
Fluorite
Mohs 4. Cubes in purple, green or yellow; many glow under UV. Mindat
65 sites
Quartz
Mohs 7. Six-sided points; smoky quartz is NH’s state gem. Mindat
60 sites
Pyrite
Mohs 6–6.5. Brassy “fool’s gold,” often cubic. Mindat
39 sites
Mica
Mohs 2–3. Peels into thin, flexible, shiny sheets. Mindat
31 sites
Feldspar
Mohs 6–6.5. Blocky crystals with flat cleavage faces. Mindat
31 sites

Counts are sites whose USGS record mentions the mineral or commodity. Hardness from Mindat.

Minerals recorded here

Gold 38Chalcopyrite 24Molybdenite 23Beryl 19Fluorite 15Scheelite 13Silver 11Muscovite 11Euxenite 9Galena 9Feldspar 9Malachite 9

Commodities

Gold 175Fluorine-Fluorite 60Lead 46Copper 45Silver 44Molybdenum 25Feldspar 25Beryllium 23Tungsten 18Zinc 17

Sites (first 40)

Site	Commodity	Minerals recorded	Status	Approx. location
Newett Quarries	Feldspar	Albite	Past Producer	38.853, -105.998
Homestake Mine	Feldspar	Albite, Apatite, Beryl, Muscovite	Past Producer	38.627, -105.957
Silver Rocker Group	Feldspar, Mica	Albite, Beryl, Columbite, Garnet, Muscovite, Orthoclase, Tantalite	Producer	38.626, -105.956
Shirley Group	Beryllium, Niobium (Columbium), Tantalum, REE	Albite, Beryl, Microcline, Muscovite	Occurrence	38.608, -105.994
Rock King Prospect	Feldspar, Mica	Albite, Beryl, Microcline, Muscovite	Past Producer	38.632, -105.959
Clora May Mine	Feldspar	Allanite, Beryl, Bismutite, Euxenite, Xenotime	Past Producer	38.860, -105.995
Luella Pegmatite	Feldspar	Allanite, Bismutite, Euxenite, Fluorite, Microcline	Past Producer	38.849, -106.052
Crystal No. 8	REE	Allanite, Euxenite	Occurrence	38.834, -106.024
Crystal No. 8 Mine	Feldspar	Allanite, Euxenite, Microcline	Past Producer	38.829, -106.024
Stewart Mine	Gold	Altaite, Arsenopyrite, Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Pyrite, Pyrrhotite, Sphalerite	Prospect	39.042, -106.578
Sedalia Mine	Zinc, Copper	Anglesite, Aurichalcite, Chalcanthite, Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite, Chrysocolla, Covellite, Cuprite, Gahnite, Galena, Gold, Hydrozincite, Malachite, Silver, Smithsonite, Sphalerite, Tenorite, Willemite	Past Producer	38.590, -106.020
Atlas Group	Beryllium	Aquamarine, Beryl, Phenacite	Occurrence	38.657, -106.234
Blue Brute	Beryllium	Beryl	Producer	38.621, -105.966
Rock King Prospect	Niobium (Columbium), Tantalum, Beryllium	Beryl	Producer	38.633, -105.984
Bonus Extension Group	Beryllium	Beryl, Columbite, Microcline, Muscovite, Tantalite	Producer	38.599, -106.001
Coffey Pot Claims	Feldspar	Beryl, Feldspar	Occurrence	38.629, -105.983
Old Glory Claim	Feldspar, Mica	Beryl, Feldspar, Muscovite	Past Producer	38.631, -105.963
Combination Prospect	Mica, Feldspar	Beryl, Feldspar, Muscovite	Occurrence	38.633, -105.983
Riegel Feldspar Prospect	Mica, Feldspar	Beryl, Feldspar, Muscovite	Occurrence	38.630, -105.967
Mica-Beryl Mine	Feldspar, Mica	Beryl, Marble, Microcline, Muscovite	Producer	38.656, -105.969
Beryl Gem Claims	Beryllium, Tantalum, Niobium (Columbium)	Beryl, Microlite, Phenacite	Occurrence	38.673, -106.344
California	Molybdenum, Beryllium	Beryl, Molybdenite	Producer	38.644, -106.270
California Mine	Beryllium	Beryl, Molybdenite, Molybdite	Occurrence	38.650, -106.267
Mica - Beryl Mine	Niobium (Columbium), Tantalum, Mica, Beryllium	Beryl, Muscovite	Producer	38.683, -105.967
Parakeet	Beryllium	Beryl, Phenacite	Producer	38.674, -106.254
Banker Mine	Molybdenum, Bismuth	Bismuthinite, Molybdenite	Occurrence	38.967, -106.451
Yard Mine	Feldspar	Bismutite, Euxenite, Fluorite, Gadolinite, Malachite, Microcline, Monazite	Past Producer	38.888, -106.087
Tamarack	Copper, Silver, Gold	Bornite, Chalcopyrite, Chrysocolla, Cuprite, Gold, Malachite, Silver	Occurrence	38.949, -106.246
Ace High-Jackpot Prospect	Copper, Iron	Brochantite, Chalcanthite, Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite, Chrysocolla, Hematite, Limonite, Magnetite, Malachite	Occurrence	38.633, -106.005
Wapaca	Copper	Chalcopyrite	Occurrence	38.934, -106.265
Calumet Mine	Iron	Chalcopyrite, Corundum, Hematite, Limonite, Magnesite, Magnetite, Malachite, Pyrite, Scheelite, Vermiculite	Past Producer	38.637, -105.948
Independence Mine	Copper	Chalcopyrite, Gahnite, Magnetite, Molybdenite, Pyrite	Past Producer	38.642, -105.997
Gold Eagle Mine	Lead, Zinc, Silver, Copper	Chalcopyrite, Galena, Molybdenite, Sphalerite	Occurrence	38.599, -106.213
Moss Flower, Half Moon	Lead, Zinc	Chalcopyrite, Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite	Occurrence	38.567, -106.301
Copper King Mine	Copper	Chalcopyrite, Gold, Magnetite, Sphalerite	Past Producer	38.640, -105.992
Grand View Mine	Copper	Chalcopyrite, Gold, Malachite, Scheelite	Past Producer	38.517, -105.939
Gold Bug Mine	Gold, Silver	Chalcopyrite, Gold, Silver	Past Producer	38.640, -105.977
Vivandiere Mine	Silver, Gold	Chalcopyrite, Gold, Silver	Past Producer	38.640, -105.984
Turret District	Gold, Silver	Chalcopyrite, Gold, Silver	Past Producer	38.640, -105.977
Mute Lode Prospect	Tungsten	Chalcopyrite, Malachite, Scheelite	Occurrence	38.526, -105.940

Nearby counties

Saguache County · Gunnison County · Fremont County · Kit Carson County · Lake County

Colorado mineral guides

Back to all Colorado counties.

Is It Legal to Collect Rocks on Public Land? BLM, Forest Service and National Park Rules

How we built this page: we counted named sites in the USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) for this area, left out sand, gravel, crushed stone, clay pits and unnamed sites, grouped them by Census county, and linked every site to its USGS record. We did not visit these sites, and MRDS does not tell you who owns the land or whether collecting is allowed.

Source: USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS). USGS ceased systematic updates to MRDS around 2011, so status and details may be out of date. Each site links to its USGS record.

Updated October 2026

Rockhounding in Chaffee County, Colorado

Sketch map

Sedalia Mine

Field cards: what kind of sites?

Mineral cards

Gold

Silver

Copper

Fluorite

Quartz

Pyrite

Mica

Feldspar