Rockhounding in Lincoln County, NM: 354 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

66 paw pins; nearby sites are grouped into one pin. Hover or tap a pin for the site name. 4 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

Silver Contact Claims 1980's

We picked it because its USGS record mentions 4 gem or collectible minerals (Quartz, Gold, Fluorite, Silver) and 7 of our card minerals overall. No other named site here scores as high on both counts. USGS lists it as past producer for Silver, Gold. Minerals mentioned: Quartz, Gold, Pyrite, Galena, Fluorite, Copper, Silver. Approx. location 33.400, -105.712. 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?

111

Occurrence

The mineral was noted here, without development.

101

Past Producer

Produced ore or material at some point in the past.

Unknown

Status not recorded.

Prospect

Explored or test-dug, with no recorded production.

Producer

Was producing when the record was made.

Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.

Mineral cards

Silver
Mohs 2.5–3. Native silver tarnishes black. Mindat
101 sites
Gold
Mohs 2.5–3. Soft, heavy and bright yellow; it doesn’t tarnish. Mindat
90 sites
Copper
Mohs 2.5–3. Native copper is soft and turns green as it weathers. Mindat
83 sites
Fluorite
Mohs 4. Cubes in purple, green or yellow; many glow under UV. Mindat
58 sites
Quartz
Mohs 7. Six-sided points; smoky quartz is NH’s state gem. Mindat
48 sites
Pyrite
Mohs 6–6.5. Brassy “fool’s gold,” often cubic. Mindat
30 sites
Magnetite
Mohs 5.5–6.5. Black and strongly magnetic. Mindat
28 sites
Galena
Mohs 2.5–2.75. Heavy, silvery lead ore that breaks into cubes. Mindat
16 sites

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

Minerals recorded here

Magnetite 27Fluorite 23Gold 20Galena 15Barite 13Chalcopyrite 12Allanite 11Sphalerite 10Malachite 9Hematite 9Molybdenite 7Pyrite 6

Commodities

Iron 109Silver 98Gold 89Copper 73Lead 41Fluorine-Fluorite 36Zinc 28Thorium 26Uranium 22Barium-Barite 12

Sites (first 40)

Site	Commodity	Minerals recorded	Status	Approx. location
Pine Lodge Deposits	Uranium, Thorium	Allanite	Occurrence	33.611, -105.466
Barry Prospects	Thorium, REE	Allanite	Occurrence	33.611, -105.451
El Tigre Prospect	Thorium, REE	Allanite	Occurrence	33.589, -105.473
San Pedro-Link- Nob Hill	Uranium, Thorium	Allanite	Occurrence	33.564, -105.251
Wee-Three 1-3	Uranium, Thorium	Allanite	Occurrence	33.599, -105.458
Koprian Springs	Uranium, Thorium	Allanite	Occurrence	33.630, -105.442
Mina Tiro Estrella	Uranium, Thorium	Allanite	Occurrence	33.567, -105.351
Monzo Group	Uranium, Thorium	Allanite	Occurrence	33.599, -105.458
Drunzer Prospect	Thorium	Allanite, Fluorite	Occurrence	33.607, -105.456
King Prospect	Thorium	Allanite, Fluorite	Occurrence	33.607, -105.456
Mccory Prospects	Thorium	Allanite, Fluorite	Occurrence	33.642, -105.430
Conqueror Mine	Copper, Lead, Fluorine-Fluorite	Anglesite, Barite, Bastnaesite, Bornite, Chalcocite, Chrysocolla, Fluorite, Galena, Malachite, Pyromorphite, Wulfenite	Past Producer	34.193, -105.739
Crow Mine	Lead, Silver	Argentite, Chalcopyrite, Galena, Silver, Sphalerite	Past Producer	33.473, -105.785
Fox Lode Prospect	Barium-Barite	Barite	Occurrence	33.828, -105.640
Red Cloud Mine	Fluorine-Fluorite	Barite, Bastnasite, Fluorite	Past Producer	34.197, -105.744
Eagle Nest Prospect	Fluorine-Fluorite	Barite, Bastnasite, Fluorite	Occurrence	34.208, -105.738
All American Mine	Fluorine-Fluorite	Barite, Bastnasite, Fluorite	Past Producer	34.213, -105.767
Eureka Prospect	Fluorine-Fluorite	Barite, Chrysocolla, Fluorite, Galena	Occurrence	34.201, -105.734
Conqueror No. 4 and Hilltop Prospect	Fluorine-Fluorite	Barite, Fluorite	Occurrence	34.204, -105.739
Summit Prospect	Fluorine-Fluorite	Barite, Fluorite	Occurrence	34.201, -105.732
Congress Prospect	Fluorine-Fluorite	Barite, Fluorite	Occurrence	34.206, -105.731
Bottleneck Prospect	Fluorine-Fluorite	Barite, Fluorite	Occurrence	34.207, -105.737
Big Ben Prospect 1966	Fluorine-Fluorite	Barite, Fluorite	Occurrence	34.221, -105.760
Hoosier Girl Prospects	Fluorine-Fluorite	Barite, Fluorite	Occurrence	34.210, -105.731
Old Hickory Mine	Fluorine-Fluorite	Barite, Fluorite, Galena, Malachite	Occurrence	34.206, -105.736
Pride 2 and E and M 13	Thorium, REE	Bastnaesite	Occurrence	34.183, -105.771
Old Hickory Mine	Fluorine-Fluorite, REE	Bastnaesite, Chalcocite, Chrysocolla, Fluorite, Galena, Malachite	Past Producer	34.206, -105.730
All American Fluorspar Mine	Fluorine-Fluorite	Bastnaesite, Fluorite	Past Producer	34.213, -105.759
Rialto Molybdenum Prospect	Molybdenum, Copper	Bornite, Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite, Gold, Molybdenite, Turquoise	Occurrence	33.495, -105.783
Turkey Group	Gold, Silver	Bornite, Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Malachite, Sphalerite	Past Producer	33.483, -105.810
Commercial Mine	Copper, Lead, Silver	Bornite, Chalcopyrite, Galena, Sphalerite	Past Producer	33.554, -105.826
Silver Contact Claims 1980's	Silver, Gold	Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite, Chrysocolla, Galena, Gold, Sphalerite	Past Producer	33.400, -105.712
Estey City Copper Mines	Copper	Chalcocite, Malachite	Past Producer	33.575, -106.268
Maud Mine	Lead, Silver, Gold	Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Molybdenite, Sphalerite	Past Producer	33.463, -105.794
Helen Rae Mine	Gold	Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Sphalerite	Past Producer	33.530, -105.745
Suprise Group	Copper, Silver	Chalcopyrite, Galena, Malachite, Molybdenite, Sphalerite, Tennantite, Tetrahedrite	Occurrence	33.509, -105.831
Renowned O.K. Mine	Lead, Silver	Chalcopyrite, Galena, Sphalerite	Past Producer	33.473, -105.787
Homestake Group	Copper, Lead, Zinc	Chalcopyrite, Galena, Sphalerite	Past Producer	33.558, -105.823
Apex Claims	Gold	Chalcopyrite, Gold, Pyrite	Occurrence	33.843, -105.672
Bonita Claims	Copper	Chalcopyrite, Quartz	Occurrence	33.465, -105.806

Fossil collections

The Paleobiology Database lists 9 fossil collection records in Lincoln County. These are research records, not public dig sites.

Nearby counties

De Baca County · Torrance County · Socorro County · Otero County · Doña Ana County

New Mexico mineral guides

Back to all New Mexico 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 Lincoln County, New Mexico

Sketch map

Silver Contact Claims 1980's

Field cards: what kind of sites?

Mineral cards

Silver

Gold

Copper

Fluorite

Quartz

Pyrite

Magnetite

Galena