RockWoofSketch map
Woof’s favorite find
Bunch Hollow Mine
We picked it because its USGS record mentions 2 of the minerals on our cards and 2 of our card minerals overall. That ties with 21 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 for Zinc, Lead. Minerals mentioned: Pyrite, Galena. Approx. location 36.442, -83.739. 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?
The mineral was noted here, without development.
Explored or test-dug, with no recorded production.
Produced ore or material at some point in the past.
Status not recorded.
Was producing when the record was made.
Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.
Mineral cards
Pyrite
Mohs 6–6.5. Brassy “fool’s gold,” often cubic. Mindat
57 sites
Galena
Mohs 2.5–2.75. Heavy, silvery lead ore that breaks into cubes. Mindat
42 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.
Minerals recorded here
Sphalerite 45Galena 42Pyrite 28Smithsonite 19Limonite 15Calamine 3Cerussite 2Marcasite 1Greenockite 1Commodities
Zinc 24Lead 13Iron 11Cadmium 1Sites (first 40)
| Site | Commodity | Minerals recorded | Status | Approx. location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bunch Hollow Mine | Zinc, Lead | Calamine, Cerussite, Galena, Pyrite, Smithsonite, Sphalerite | Past Producer | 36.442, -83.739 |
| Lewis Phelps Prospect | — | Calamine, Galena, Greenockite, Pyrite, Smithsonite, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.393, -83.634 |
| Matt Evans Prospect | — | Calamine, Galena, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.459, -83.733 |
| Ritchie Prospect | — | Cerussite, Galena, Limonite, Pyrite, Smithsonite, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.449, -83.702 |
| C. Profitt Prospect | Lead | Galena | Occurrence | 36.436, -83.766 |
| F. Carey Prospect | — | Galena | Occurrence | 36.423, -83.737 |
| W. J. Lynch Prospect | — | Galena | Occurrence | 36.460, -83.693 |
| R. E. Johnson Prospect | — | Galena | Occurrence | 36.426, -83.744 |
| Fortner Prospect, Southern | — | Galena | Occurrence | 36.452, -83.711 |
| Shot Wilson Prospect | — | Galena | Occurrence | 36.441, -83.746 |
| S. J. Robinson Prospect | — | Galena, Limonite | Occurrence | 36.465, -83.737 |
| Odell Prospect | — | Galena, Limonite, Marcasite, Pyrite, Smithsonite | Occurrence | 36.413, -83.746 |
| Howard Lynch Prospects Northern & Southern | — | Galena, Limonite, Pyrite, Smithsonite | Occurrence | 36.457, -83.719 |
| Straight Creek Mine | Zinc | Galena, Limonite, Pyrite, Smithsonite, Sphalerite | Past Producer | 36.389, -83.643 |
| Robert Welch Prospect | — | Galena, Limonite, Smithsonite | Occurrence | 36.451, -83.747 |
| J. D. Braden Prospect | — | Galena, Pyrite, Smithsonite | Occurrence | 36.449, -83.830 |
| Gap Creek Prospect | — | Galena, Pyrite, Smithsonite, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.521, -83.688 |
| Gardner Prospect | — | Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.521, -83.674 |
| Tuttle Prospect | — | Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.464, -83.699 |
| L. F. Snyder Prospects | — | Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.466, -83.704 |
| F. M. Day Prospect | — | Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.458, -83.709 |
| Kings Bend Mine | Zinc, Lead, Iron | Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite | Producer | 36.500, -83.648 |
| Robert Bruce Prospect | — | Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.504, -83.708 |
| Medley and Leach Prospect | — | Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.445, -83.843 |
| W. P. Day Prospect | — | Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.457, -83.714 |
| Ford Prospect | — | Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.486, -83.635 |
| Logan Prospect | — | Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.483, -83.622 |
| B. G. Goin Prospect | — | Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.434, -83.710 |
| Gardner-Tva Prospect | — | Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.503, -83.683 |
| J. F. Lynch Prospect | — | Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.456, -83.720 |
| Fortner Prospect, Northern | — | Galena, Pyrite, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.456, -83.712 |
| Honeysuck Prospect | — | Galena, Smithsonite | Occurrence | 36.439, -83.735 |
| Deane Prospect | — | Galena, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.418, -83.792 |
| Ford Prospect | — | Galena, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.434, -83.824 |
| Charles Braden Occurrence Eastern | — | Galena, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.435, -83.826 |
| Charles Braden Prospect Western | — | Galena, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.435, -83.833 |
| O.B. Jones Prospect | — | Galena, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.402, -83.623 |
| J.D. Keck Prospect | — | Galena, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.415, -83.785 |
| Treece Prospect | — | Galena, Sphalerite | Occurrence | 36.208, -83.681 |
| J. P. Welch Prospects | — | Galena, Sphalerite | Past Producer | 36.445, -83.745 |
Fossil collections
The Paleobiology Database lists 1 fossil collection records in Claiborne County. These are research records, not public dig sites.
Nearby counties
Union County · Grainger County · Hancock County · Jefferson County · Hamblen County
Tennessee mineral guides
- Quartz in Tennessee
- Gold in Tennessee
- Mica in Tennessee
- Magnetite in Tennessee
- Pyrite in Tennessee
- Galena in Tennessee
Back to all Tennessee counties.
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