Rockhounding in Bollinger County, MO: 33 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

22 paw pins; nearby sites are grouped into one pin. Hover or tap a pin for the site name. 1 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

Higdon Mine

We picked it because its USGS record mentions 1 gem or collectible mineral (Quartz) and 4 of our card minerals overall. No other named site here scores as high on both counts. USGS lists it as prospect for Lead. Minerals mentioned: Quartz, Pyrite, Galena, Copper. Approx. location 37.608, -90.142. 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?

Past Producer

Produced ore or material at some point in the past.

Occurrence

The mineral was noted here, without development.

Prospect

Explored or test-dug, with no recorded production.

Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.

Mineral cards

Quartz
Mohs 7. Six-sided points; smoky quartz is NH’s state gem. Mindat
1 site
Pyrite
Mohs 6–6.5. Brassy “fool’s gold,” often cubic. Mindat
1 site
Galena
Mohs 2.5–2.75. Heavy, silvery lead ore that breaks into cubes. Mindat
1 site
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.

Minerals recorded here

Limonite 2Marcasite 1

Commodities

Iron 32Lead 1Zinc 1Copper 1

Sites

Site	Commodity	Minerals recorded	Status	Approx. location
Glenn Emma Mine	Iron	Limonite	Past Producer	37.278, -90.067
Nifong Bank	Iron	Limonite	Occurrence	37.391, -90.131
Myers Bank	Iron	Marcasite	Past Producer	37.230, -90.186
Richards Mine	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.394, -90.139
Glenn Emma Mine	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.278, -90.064
Lutes Diggings	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.237, -90.003
Shell Bank	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.192, -90.036
Gilmore Mine	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.401, -90.120
Lux Bank	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.438, -90.123
Fox Bank	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.446, -90.132
Lemon Land	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.149, -90.098
Bollinger Land	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.138, -90.089
Murdock Bank	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.275, -90.064
Pavlick Bank	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.423, -90.142
Rhodes Prospect	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.389, -90.099
Turkey Hill Bank	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.319, -89.981
Caldwell Bank	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.314, -89.970
Tibbs Bank	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.331, -89.968
Critts Land	Iron	—	Prospect	37.221, -90.012
Shrum Mine	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.472, -90.132
Nifong Bank	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.394, -90.144
Robbins Bank	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.386, -90.039
Higdon Mine	Lead	—	Prospect	37.608, -90.142
Revelle Bank	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.192, -90.045
Mcgregor Bank	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.275, -90.070
Rogers Bank	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.378, -90.139
Baker Mine	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.319, -89.981
Myers Bank	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.229, -90.188
Reed Bank	Iron	—	Occurrence	37.099, -90.203
Gale Slinkard Mine	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.434, -90.091
Howell Land	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.157, -90.139
Cozean Mine	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.395, -90.142
Rhodes Bank	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.359, -90.143

Fossil collections

The Paleobiology Database lists 20 fossil collection records in Bollinger County. These are research records, not public dig sites.

Nearby counties

Madison County · Perry County · Stoddard County · Cape Girardeau County · Wayne County

Missouri mineral guides

Back to all Missouri 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 Bollinger County, Missouri

Sketch map

Higdon Mine

Field cards: what kind of sites?

Mineral cards

Quartz

Pyrite

Galena

Copper