RockWoof
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

Taylors Prospect (Occurrence)Somerset Mine (Past Producer)Stuart Prospect (Occurrence)Stuart Mine (Past Producer)Young Prospect + 1 more nearby (Occurrence)Young Mine (Past Producer)Walnut Creek Mine (Prospect)Vepiersville Quarry (Past Producer)Grasty Tract Mine + 2 more nearby (Past Producer)Woodman Prospect (Occurrence)Seldon Prospect + 1 more nearby (Occurrence)Grasty, Dickey, Chicago-Va Mine (Past Producer)Jones Prospect (Occurrence)Jones Prospect (Prospect)Indian Town Prospect (Occurrence)Orange Grove Prospect (Occurrence)Partridge Mine + 2 more nearby (Past Producer)Ambler Mine + 1 more nearby (Past Producer)Melville Mine + 3 more nearby (Past Producer)Greenwood Prospect + 3 more nearby (Occurrence)Phyllite and Sandstone Prospect W of Wilderness + 1 more nearby (Occurrence)
Past ProducerProducerProspectOccurrenceStatus unknown
21 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

Partridge Mine

We picked it because its USGS record mentions 3 gem or collectible minerals (Quartz, Gold, Silver) and 3 of our card minerals overall. That ties with 1 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 Gold. Minerals mentioned: Quartz, Gold, Silver. Approx. location 38.357, -77.748. 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?

21
Past Producer

Produced ore or material at some point in the past.

15
Occurrence

The mineral was noted here, without development.

3
Prospect

Explored or test-dug, with no recorded production.

Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.

Mineral cards

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

Minerals recorded here

Gold 22Chalcopyrite 6Pyrite 4Galena 3Sphalerite 1Marcasite 1Phyllite 1Sandstone 1

Commodities

Gold 33Copper 4Talc-Soapstone 2Lead 2Sulfur-Pyrite 2Mica 1Silver 1

Sites

SiteCommodityMinerals recordedStatusApprox. location
Greenwood ProspectGoldChalcopyrite, Galena, GoldOccurrence38.343, -77.724
Vaucluse MineGoldChalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, MarcasitePast Producer38.354, -77.729
Melville MineGoldChalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, SphaleritePast Producer38.361, -77.724
Dickey Tract MineGoldChalcopyrite, Gold, PyritePast Producer38.280, -77.862
Old Tinder MineGoldChalcopyrite, Gold, PyritePast Producer38.278, -77.865
Taylors ProspectCopperChalcopyrite, PyriteOccurrence38.217, -78.233
Saunders ProspectGoldGoldOccurrence38.231, -77.907
Indian Town ProspectGoldGoldOccurrence38.365, -77.801
Woodville MineGoldGoldPast Producer38.333, -77.734
Woodman ProspectGoldGoldOccurrence38.250, -77.866
Somerville ProspectGoldGoldOccurrence38.317, -77.733
Prospect A Orange Co.GoldGoldOccurrence38.321, -77.741
Orange Grove ProspectGoldGoldOccurrence38.335, -77.767
Jones ProspectGoldGoldOccurrence38.353, -77.813
Seldon ProspectGoldGoldOccurrence38.233, -77.876
Young ProspectGoldGoldOccurrence38.226, -77.912
Stuart ProspectGoldGoldOccurrence38.227, -77.936
Ambler MineGoldGoldPast Producer38.319, -77.743
Partridge MineGoldGoldPast Producer38.357, -77.748
Grasty Tract MineGoldGoldPast Producer38.279, -77.862
Gordon's, H., ProspectGoldGoldOccurrence38.348, -77.762
Wilderness MineGoldGoldPast Producer38.336, -77.731
Walnut Creek MineGoldGold, PyriteProspect38.303, -77.883
Phyllite and Sandstone Prospect W of Wilderness—Phyllite, SandstoneOccurrence38.326, -77.728
Ambler MineGold—Past Producer38.319, -77.736
Jones ProspectGold—Prospect38.346, -77.818
Vepiersville QuarryTalc-Soapstone—Past Producer38.271, -77.885
Indiantown QuarryTalc-Soapstone—Past Producer38.000, -77.000
Young MineGold—Past Producer38.215, -77.910
Melville MineGold—Past Producer38.361, -77.724
Vaucluse MineGold—Past Producer38.354, -77.729
Phyllite & Sandstone ProspectMica—Prospect38.326, -77.728
Partridge MineGold—Past Producer38.356, -77.749
Greenwood MineLead, Gold, Copper—Past Producer38.438, -77.691
Grasty, Dickey, Chicago-Va MineGold—Past Producer38.275, -77.852
Seldon ProspectGold—Occurrence38.234, -77.870
Stuart MineGold—Past Producer38.206, -77.937
Somerset MineCopper—Past Producer38.214, -78.228
Wilderness MineGold—Past Producer38.336, -77.731

Nearby counties

Culpeper County · Spotsylvania County · Stafford County · Fauquier County · Louisa County

Virginia mineral guides

Back to all Virginia counties.

Related articles

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