RockWoofFound alongside
Fluorite
Mohs 4. Cubes in purple, green or yellow; many glow under UV. Mindat
22 sites
Quartz
Mohs 7. Six-sided points; smoky quartz is NH’s state gem. Mindat
11 sites
Copper
Mohs 2.5–3. Native copper is soft and turns green as it weathers. Mindat
8 sites
Pyrite
Mohs 6–6.5. Brassy “fool’s gold,” often cubic. Mindat
5 sites
Silver
Mohs 2.5–3. Native silver tarnishes black. Mindat
4 sites
Galena
Mohs 2.5–2.75. Heavy, silvery lead ore that breaks into cubes. Mindat
3 sites
Counts are sites whose USGS record mentions the mineral or commodity. Hardness from Mindat.
By county
Madison County (11) · Beaufort County (5) · Halifax County (1) · Swain County (1) · Cleveland County (1) · Burke County (1) · Vance County (1) · New Hanover County (1)
Sites
| Site | Commodity | Minerals recorded | Status | Approx. location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kings Mountain Mine | Gold | Altaite, Bismutite, Chalcopyrite, Fluorite, Galena, Gold, Nagyagite, Pyrite, Pyrrhotite, Tetrahedrite | Past Producer | 35.210, -81.339 |
| Aurora Operations | Phosphorus-Phosphates | Apatite | Prospect | 35.333, -76.771 |
| Stackhouse Mine | Barium-Barite | Barite | Past Producer | 35.878, -82.755 |
| Betts Sandy Bottom Property | Barium-Barite | Barite, Chalcopyrite, Fluorite, Galena, Pyrite | Past Producer | 35.867, -82.755 |
| Gahagan Mine | Barium-Barite | Barite, Chalcopyrite, Pyrite | Past Producer | 35.902, -82.744 |
| Mine Ridge Prospects | Barium-Barite, Fluorine-Fluorite | Barite, Fluorite | Occurrence | 35.920, -82.905 |
| Long Mountain Mines | Barium-Barite | Barite, Fluorite | Past Producer | 35.842, -82.853 |
| Boy Scout | Molybdenum | Chalcopyrite, Molybdenite, Pyrite | Occurrence | 36.258, -77.880 |
| Pamlico River | Phosphorus-Phosphates | Collophane | Prospect | 35.404, -76.791 |
| Pungo River Deposit | Phosphorus-Phosphates | Collophane | Prospect | 35.480, -76.514 |
| Tungsten Queen Mine | Tungsten | Covellite, Galena, Rhodochrosite, Scheelite, Huebnerite, Chalcopyrite, Molybdenite, Sphalerite | Past Producer | 36.515, -78.469 |
| Ball Feldspar Mine | Feldspar | Feldspar | Past Producer | 35.855, -82.568 |
| Cox No. 1 Feldspar and Kaolin Mine | Feldspar | Feldspar, Kaolin | Past Producer | 35.449, -83.460 |
| Unnamed Fluorite Occurrence Hi-012 | Fluorine-Fluorite | Fluorite | Occurrence | 35.911, -81.764 |
| A. G. Betts Sandy Bottom Prospect | Barium-Barite | — | Past Producer | 35.867, -82.755 |
| Aurora Operations | Phosphorus-Phosphates | — | Producer | 35.361, -76.807 |
| Mine Ridge Barite Prospect | Barium-Barite | — | Occurrence | 35.919, -82.904 |
| Long Mountain Barite Mine | Barium-Barite | — | Past Producer | 35.846, -82.852 |
| Stackhouse Barite Mine | Barium-Barite | — | Past Producer | 35.873, -82.754 |
| Gahagan Barite Mines | Barium-Barite | — | Past Producer | 35.900, -82.746 |
| Uss Agri-Chemical Corp/Willmington | Fluorine-Fluorite | — | Unknown | 34.375, -77.950 |
| North Carolina Phosphate District | Phosphorus-Phosphates | — | Producer | 35.342, -76.806 |
Back to Rockhounding in North Carolina.
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