Rockhounding in Unicoi County, Tennessee

Sketch map

Woof’s favorite find

Unnamed Copper Prospect

We picked it because its USGS record mentions 1 gem or collectible mineral (Silver) and 4 of our card minerals overall. No other named site here scores as high on both counts. USGS lists it as occurrence for Copper, Lead. Minerals mentioned: Pyrite, Galena, Copper, Silver. Approx. location 36.046, -82.455. 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?

Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.

Mineral cards

• Pyrite

  Mohs 6–6.5. Brassy “fool’s gold,” often cubic. Mindat

  3 sites

• Galena

  Mohs 2.5–2.75. Heavy, silvery lead ore that breaks into cubes. Mindat

  2 sites

• Copper

  Mohs 2.5–3. Native copper is soft and turns green as it weathers. Mindat

  2 sites

• Silver

  Mohs 2.5–3. Native silver tarnishes black. Mindat

  2 sites

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

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 USGS ceased systematic updates to MRDS around 2011, so status and details may be out of date.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