RockWoofFound alongside
Pyrite
Mohs 6–6.5. Brassy “fool’s gold,” often cubic. Mindat
19 sites
Quartz
Mohs 7. Six-sided points; smoky quartz is NH’s state gem. Mindat
13 sites
Galena
Mohs 2.5–2.75. Heavy, silvery lead ore that breaks into cubes. Mindat
10 sites
Fluorite
Mohs 4. Cubes in purple, green or yellow; many glow under UV. Mindat
2 sites
Copper
Mohs 2.5–3. Native copper is soft and turns green as it weathers. Mindat
1 site
Counts are sites whose USGS record mentions the mineral or commodity. Hardness from Mindat.
By county
Dubuque County (11) · Black Hawk County (2) · Clayton County (2) · Linn County (1) · Story County (1) · Marion County (1) · Monroe County (1)
Sites
| Site | Commodity | Minerals recorded | Status | Approx. location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pint's Quarry | Fluorine-Fluorite, Zinc, Lead, Barium-Barite, Iron | Barite, Fluorite, Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite | Past Producer | 42.470, -92.205 |
| Waterloo South Quarry | Iron, Fluorine-Fluorite, Barium-Barite, Copper | Barite, Fluorite, Pyrite | Past Producer | 42.355, -92.297 |
| Holmes Mine | Lead | Galena | Unknown | 42.814, -91.151 |
| Beadle Mine | Lead | Galena | Unknown | 42.469, -90.727 |
| Level Mine | Lead | Galena | Unknown | 42.509, -90.708 |
| Stewarts Cave Mine | Lead | Galena | Unknown | 42.525, -90.703 |
| Levens Mine | Lead | Galena | Unknown | 42.513, -90.717 |
| Kilbourne Mine | Lead | Galena | Unknown | 42.506, -90.696 |
| Kann Mine | Lead | Galena | Unknown | 42.818, -91.166 |
| Brugh and Amsden Mine | Lead | Galena | Unknown | 42.474, -90.727 |
| Stewart and Bartlett Mine | Lead | Galena | Unknown | 42.525, -90.708 |
| Martin Marietta Quarry | Zinc, Iron | Pyrite, Sphalerite | Past Producer | 41.913, -91.522 |
| Bonson Mine | Zinc | Sphalerite | Unknown | 42.551, -90.771 |
| Fourteenth Street Mine | Zinc | Sphalerite | Unknown | 42.493, -90.686 |
| Fitzpatrick Mine | Zinc | Sphalerite | Unknown | 42.639, -90.929 |
| Durango Drybone Mine | Zinc | Sphalerite | Unknown | 42.555, -90.786 |
| Iowa State Univ. Coal Prep. Plant | Bituminous | — | Producer | 42.028, -93.640 |
| Iowa Fuel & Minls. Coal Prep. Plant | Bituminous | — | Plant | 41.200, -93.017 |
| Star Coal Co. Coal Prep. Plant | Bituminous | — | Plant | 41.128, -92.967 |
Back to Rockhounding in Iowa.
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