Rockhounding in Jefferson County, MT: 986 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

212 paw pins; nearby sites are grouped into one pin. Hover or tap a pin for the site name. 6 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

Mount Washington Mine

We picked it because its USGS record mentions 5 gem or collectible minerals (Tourmaline, Quartz, Gold, Agate, Silver) and 8 of our card minerals overall. No other named site here scores as high on both counts. USGS lists it as past producer for Silver, Copper, Gold, Lead. Minerals mentioned: Tourmaline, Quartz, Gold, Agate, Pyrite, Galena, Copper, Silver. Approx. location 46.356, -112.144. 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?

515

Past Producer

Produced ore or material at some point in the past.

187

Occurrence

The mineral was noted here, without development.

146

Prospect

Explored or test-dug, with no recorded production.

Unknown

Status not recorded.

Producer

Was producing when the record was made.

Plant

A processing plant site.

Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.

Mineral cards

Silver
Mohs 2.5–3. Native silver tarnishes black. Mindat
672 sites
Gold
Mohs 2.5–3. Soft, heavy and bright yellow; it doesn’t tarnish. Mindat
669 sites
Copper
Mohs 2.5–3. Native copper is soft and turns green as it weathers. Mindat
396 sites
Quartz
Mohs 7. Six-sided points; smoky quartz is NH’s state gem. Mindat
186 sites
Pyrite
Mohs 6–6.5. Brassy “fool’s gold,” often cubic. Mindat
176 sites
Galena
Mohs 2.5–2.75. Heavy, silvery lead ore that breaks into cubes. Mindat
161 sites
Tourmaline
Mohs 7–7.5. Long striated crystals, often black (schorl) or green and pink (elbaite). Mindat
23 sites
Magnetite
Mohs 5.5–6.5. Black and strongly magnetic. Mindat
8 sites

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

Minerals recorded here

Gold 179Galena 153Sphalerite 116Chalcopyrite 86Tetrahedrite 40Silver 21Pyrite 15Malachite 9Chalcocite 8Molybdenite 8Quartz 8Lead 5

Commodities

Gold 528Silver 371Lead 366Copper 223Zinc 178Uranium 52Manganese 23Silica 15Quartz 11Iron 9

Sites (first 40)

Site	Commodity	Minerals recorded	Status	Approx. location
Helena-Jefferson Mine	Silver, Lead, Zinc	Alabandite, Chalcopyrite, Galena, Molybdenite, Rhodonite, Sphalerite	Past Producer	46.357, -112.047
Pohndorf Mine	Gemstone	Amethyst	Past Producer	45.869, -112.354
Silver Tip Mine	Silver, Lead	Anglesite, Galena, Gold, Sphalerite	Past Producer	46.368, -112.008
Lone Eagle Quartz Mine	Uranium	Argentite, Galena, Pitchblende, Sphalerite	Past Producer	46.408, -112.158
Meadow Mine	Zinc, Silver, Lead	Argentite, Galena, Pyrargyrite, Sphalerite, Tetrahedrite	Past Producer	46.566, -111.967
Liverpool Mine	Silver, Lead	Argentite, Galena, Pyrite	Past Producer	46.488, -111.993
Ruby Mine	Silver, Gold	Argentite, Gold, Silver	Past Producer	46.198, -112.435
Indian Head Rock Deposits	Barium-Barite	Barite	Occurrence	46.268, -112.310
Columbia Claim	Gold, Silver, Copper	Barite, Copper, Gold, Silver	Past Producer	45.917, -112.029
Montreal Star	Gold, Lead, Silver	Bismuth, Bismuthinite, Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Marcasite, Sphalerite, Tetrahedrite	Past Producer	46.122, -112.463
Mount Washington Mine	Silver, Copper, Gold, Lead	Bismuth, Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Sphalerite, Tetrahedrite	Past Producer	46.356, -112.144
Elkhorn	Silver, Gold, Lead, Copper	Bismuthinite, Bournonite, Galena, Magnetite, Pyrite, Sphalerite, Tetradymite, Tetrahedrite	Past Producer	46.283, -111.951
Bertha Mine	Copper, Silver	Bornite, Chalcopyrite, Gold, Tetrahedrite	Past Producer	46.380, -112.088
Blue Bird Mine	Gold, Silver	Bornite, Galena, Gold, Malachite, Sphalerite, Tetrahedrite	Past Producer	46.359, -112.167
Salvail Mine	Copper, Gold, Silver	Bournonite, Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Sphalerite	Past Producer	46.350, -112.145
Elkhorn Mine	Lead, Zinc, Silver	Bournonite, Galena, Silver, Sphalerite, Tetradymite, Tetrahedrite	Past Producer	46.272, -111.943
Dunbar Calcite Property	Calcium	Calcite	Occurrence	45.969, -111.732
Basin Creek Placer	Gold	Cassiterite, Gold, Silver	Past Producer	46.271, -112.263
Morning Mine	Silver, Lead	Cerussite, Chalcopyrite, Covellite, Galena, Gold, Sphalerite, Tetrahedrite	Past Producer	46.365, -112.272
Bunker Hill Tunnel	Copper	Chalcanthite, Chalcopyrite, Galena, Sphalerite	Occurrence	46.346, -112.095
Shamrock Copper Prospect	Copper	Chalcocite	Occurrence	46.255, -112.495
Golden Sunlight	Gold	Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite, Covellite, Tetrahedrite	Plant	45.899, -112.014
Baltimore Mine	Silver, Zinc, Lead, Gold	Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Sphalerite	Past Producer	46.287, -112.151
Daily	Silver, Copper, Lead	Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Sphalerite, Tetrahedrite	Past Producer	46.351, -112.104
Blue Bell Mine	Lead, Copper, Silver, Gold	Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite, Galena, Pyrite	Past Producer	45.966, -112.319
Inspiration Mine	Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead, Zinc	Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite, Galena, Sphalerite	Past Producer	45.917, -112.026
Lucky Hit Mine	Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead, Zinc	Chalcocite, Galena, Malachite, Sphalerite	Past Producer	45.922, -112.039
Chalcopyrite Mine	Copper, Silver, Gold	Chalcopyrite	Producer	46.372, -112.090
Loeber Mine	Silver, Lead	Chalcopyrite, Covellite, Galena, Gold, Tetrahedrite	Past Producer	46.447, -112.209
Montana Tunnels/Diamond Hill	Silver, Lead, Gold, Zinc	Chalcopyrite, Electrum, Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite, Proustite, Pyrargyrite	Plant	46.372, -112.134
Sunny Corner Mine	Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead	Chalcopyrite, Galena	Past Producer	45.914, -112.045
Jupiter	Silver, Gold	Chalcopyrite, Galena	Past Producer	45.881, -112.299
Hattie Ferguson Mine	Silver, Lead, Gold	Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold	Past Producer	46.333, -112.248
Grubstake Lode	—	Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold	Prospect	45.982, -112.307
Sirius Mine	Lead, Silver, Gold	Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold	Producer	46.336, -112.245
Golden Point	Lead, Silver, Copper	Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold	Past Producer	46.285, -112.135
East Katie Mine	Silver, Gold	Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold	Past Producer	46.272, -112.266
State Mine	Gold, Silver	Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold	Past Producer	46.107, -112.227
Cracker Mine	Silver	Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold	Past Producer	46.326, -112.237
Josephine Mine	Silver, Lead, Gold	Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold	Producer	46.415, -112.313

Fossil collections

The Paleobiology Database lists 66 fossil collection records in Jefferson County. These are research records, not public dig sites.

Nearby counties

Broadwater County · Lewis and Clark County · Powell County · Silver Bow County · Deer Lodge County

Montana mineral guides

Back to all Montana 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 Jefferson County, Montana

Sketch map

Mount Washington Mine

Field cards: what kind of sites?

Mineral cards

Silver

Gold

Copper

Quartz

Pyrite

Galena

Tourmaline

Magnetite