Rockhounding in Shannon County, MO: 80 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

50 paw pins; nearby sites are grouped into one pin. Hover or tap a pin for the site name. 20 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

Horner Mountain Mine

We picked it because its USGS record mentions 2 gem or collectible minerals (Quartz, Fluorite) and 3 of our card minerals overall. That ties with 1 other site(s), so we broke the tie by mine status (past producers first), then USGS record quality, then name. USGS lists it as past producer. Minerals mentioned: Quartz, Feldspar, Fluorite. Approx. location 37.089, -91.249. 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.

Prospect

Explored or test-dug, with no recorded production.

Occurrence

The mineral was noted here, without development.

Producer

Was producing when the record was made.

Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.

Mineral cards

Copper
Mohs 2.5–3. Native copper is soft and turns green as it weathers. Mindat
17 sites
Quartz
Mohs 7. Six-sided points; smoky quartz is NH’s state gem. Mindat
10 sites
Pyrite
Mohs 6–6.5. Brassy “fool’s gold,” often cubic. Mindat
10 sites
Feldspar
Mohs 6–6.5. Blocky crystals with flat cleavage faces. Mindat
2 sites
Fluorite
Mohs 4. Cubes in purple, green or yellow; many glow under UV. Mindat
2 sites
Galena
Mohs 2.5–2.75. Heavy, silvery lead ore that breaks into cubes. Mindat
1 site

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

Minerals recorded here

Chalcocite 4Malachite 4Cuprite 3Chalcopyrite 2Goethite 1Limonite 1

Commodities

Iron 43Copper 15Manganese 7Silica 1Flagstone 1

Sites (first 40)

Site	Commodity	Minerals recorded	Status	Approx. location
Slater Mine	Copper	Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite, Cuprite, Malachite	Past Producer	37.145, -91.332
Jerktail Prospect	Copper	Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite, Cuprite, Malachite	Occurrence	37.223, -91.294
Sutton Mine	Copper	Chalcocite, Cuprite, Malachite	Past Producer	37.098, -91.316
Casey Mine	Copper	Chalcocite, Malachite	Occurrence	37.177, -91.356
Bryson Bank	Iron	Goethite, Limonite	Past Producer	37.001, -90.523
Carr Land	Iron	—	Occurrence	37.345, -90.590
Chrisco Land	Iron	—	Occurrence	37.380, -90.600
Chilton Bank	Iron	—	Producer	37.161, -90.625
Embree Land	—	—	Occurrence	37.117, -90.656
Hearst Mine	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.008, -90.717
Hurt Bank	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.388, -90.596
Missouri Lumber and Mining Co., Mine No. 15	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.203, -90.498
West Eminence Bank	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.726, -90.300
Grandin Bank	Iron	—	Occurrence	37.358, -90.575
Missouri Lumber and Mining Co., No 32	Iron	—	Occurrence	37.282, -90.452
Missouri Lumber and Mining Co., No. 34	Iron	—	Occurrence	37.326, -90.492
Tripp G.W. Land	—	—	Occurrence	37.138, -91.680
Piatt Land	—	—	Occurrence	37.329, -90.595
Woodside-Chrisco Bank	Iron	—	Occurrence	37.371, -90.616
Government Land No. 5	Iron	—	Occurrence	37.084, -90.671
Missouri Lumber and Mining Co., No. 33	Iron	—	Occurrence	37.240, -90.483
Willis Mine	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.022, -90.726
Dean J.H. Land	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.745, -90.342
Iron Hill Mine	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.008, -90.534
Unknown Manganese	Manganese	—	Prospect	37.204, -91.234
Thorny Mountain Mine	—	—	Prospect	37.105, -91.182
Cutler Land	Iron	—	Past Producer	36.965, -91.509
Culpepper Prospect	Manganese	—	Prospect	37.119, -91.353
Unknown Tripoli	Silica	—	Past Producer	37.353, -91.363
Miley Noble Land	—	—	Past Producer	36.989, -91.397
Clarence Ballance Land	—	—	Past Producer	36.999, -91.487
Missouri Mining & Lumber Co # 34	Iron	—	Prospect	37.328, -91.508
Elliot Prospect	Manganese	—	Prospect	37.056, -91.251
Melton Mine	Iron	—	Past Producer	36.937, -91.604
Willis Mine	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.022, -91.276
Ozark Land & Lumber Co Land # 1	Iron	—	Past Producer	36.920, -91.345
Noble Mine	Iron	—	Prospect	36.990, -91.397
Hearst Mine	Iron	—	Past Producer	37.007, -91.285
Esther B. Detwiler Land	—	—	Occurrence	37.031, -91.508
White Prospect	Manganese	—	Prospect	37.048, -91.225

Fossil collections

The Paleobiology Database lists 36 fossil collection records in Shannon County. These are research records, not public dig sites.

Nearby counties

Reynolds County · Carter County · Oregon County · Texas County · Dent 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 Shannon County, Missouri

Sketch map

Horner Mountain Mine

Field cards: what kind of sites?

Mineral cards

Copper

Quartz

Pyrite

Feldspar

Fluorite

Galena