Sniff around Iowa County and you’ll be following old miners and prospectors. USGS records 468 named mineral sites here, not counting sand, gravel, crushed stone and clay pits.
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
111 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
Beach Copper Mine
We picked it because its USGS record mentions 1 gem or collectible mineral (Quartz) and 3 of our card minerals overall. That ties with 3 other site(s), so we broke the tie by mine status (past producers first), then USGS record quality, then name. USGS lists it as unknown for Copper. Minerals mentioned: Quartz, Pyrite, Copper. Approx. location 42.850, -90.146. 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?
350
Past Producer
Produced ore or material at some point in the past.
95
Unknown
Status not recorded.
15
Occurrence
The mineral was noted here, without development.
8
Prospect
Explored or test-dug, with no recorded production.
Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.
Mineral cards
Quartz
Mohs 7. Six-sided points; smoky quartz is NH’s state gem. Mindat
94 sites
Pyrite
Mohs 6–6.5. Brassy “fool’s gold,” often cubic. Mindat
93 sites
Copper
Mohs 2.5–3. Native copper is soft and turns green as it weathers. Mindat
26 sites
Galena
Mohs 2.5–2.75. Heavy, silvery lead ore that breaks into cubes. Mindat
4 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.
RockWoof