RockWoofSketch map
Woof’s favorite find
Smith Mine
We picked it because its USGS record mentions 1 of the minerals on our cards and 1 of our card minerals overall. No other named site here scores as high on both counts. USGS lists it as past producer for Uranium. Minerals mentioned: Pyrite. Approx. location 29.154, -97.656. 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?
Was producing when the record was made.
Produced ore or material at some point in the past.
Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.
Mineral cards
Pyrite
Mohs 6–6.5. Brassy “fool’s gold,” often cubic. Mindat
1 site
Counts are sites whose USGS record mentions the mineral or commodity. Hardness from Mindat.
Minerals recorded here
Bentonite 4Coffinite 1Uraninite 1Commodities
Bentonite 6Uranium 6Clay 1Sites
| Site | Commodity | Minerals recorded | Status | Approx. location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moesker Pit | Bentonite | Bentonite | Producer | 29.645, -97.239 |
| Kennard Pit | Bentonite | Bentonite | Producer | 29.477, -97.334 |
| Knorr Pit | Bentonite | Bentonite | Producer | 29.478, -97.339 |
| Helms Pit | Bentonite | Bentonite | Producer | 29.490, -97.368 |
| Smith Mine | Uranium | Coffinite, Uraninite | Past Producer | 29.154, -97.656 |
| Griffin Mine | Uranium | — | Past Producer | 29.136, -97.673 |
| Helms Pit | Bentonite | — | Producer | 29.490, -97.367 |
| Conoco Conquista Smith Pit | Uranium | — | Producer | 29.160, -97.642 |
| Southern Clay Pits and Plant | Bentonite | — | Producer | 29.478, -97.339 |
| Thomas Uranium Pit | Uranium | — | Producer | 29.197, -97.503 |
| Conoco Conquista Friar-Knandel Pit | Uranium | — | Producer | 29.125, -97.625 |
| Conoco Conquista Griffin Pit | Uranium | — | Producer | 29.154, -97.655 |
Fossil collections
The Paleobiology Database lists 5 fossil collection records in Gonzales County. These are research records, not public dig sites.
Nearby counties
Goliad County · Fayette County · Zavala County · Karnes County · Bee County
Texas mineral guides
Back to all Texas 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