Rockhounding in Johnson County, WY: 238 USGS Mineral Sites (2026)

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

78 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

Big Horn Mine

We picked it because its USGS record mentions 2 gem or collectible minerals (Quartz, Gold) and 2 of our card minerals overall. No other named site here scores as high on both counts. USGS lists it as past producer for Manganese, Gold. Minerals mentioned: Quartz, Gold. Approx. location 44.030, -107.103. 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?

174

Occurrence

The mineral was noted here, without development.

Past Producer

Produced ore or material at some point in the past.

Unknown

Status not recorded.

Prospect

Explored or test-dug, with no recorded production.

Producer

Was producing when the record was made.

Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.

Mineral cards

Gold
Mohs 2.5–3. Soft, heavy and bright yellow; it doesn’t tarnish. Mindat
4 sites
Copper
Mohs 2.5–3. Native copper is soft and turns green as it weathers. Mindat
4 sites
Quartz
Mohs 7. Six-sided points; smoky quartz is NH’s state gem. Mindat
3 sites

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

Minerals recorded here

Carnotite 5Coffinite 4Jarosite 3Tyuyamunite 2Uraninite 2Pyrolusite 2Gold 2Quartz 1Allanite 1

Commodities

Bentonite 145Uranium 83Gold 4Manganese 4Copper 4Selenium 1Thorium 1REE 1

Sites (first 40)

Site	Commodity	Minerals recorded	Status	Approx. location
Horn Venture	Thorium	Allanite	Occurrence	43.990, -107.119
Desert Queen	Uranium	Carnotite	Occurrence	43.713, -106.488
Del Linch Claim	Uranium	Carnotite	Occurrence	43.638, -106.219
Del Linch Claim	Uranium	Carnotite	Occurrence	43.642, -106.209
Irvine Ranch Area	Uranium	Carnotite, Pyrolusite	Occurrence	43.730, -106.099
Irvine Ranch Area	Uranium	Carnotite, Pyrolusite, Quartz	Occurrence	43.727, -106.089
Jerrie Marie Prospect	Uranium	Coffinite	Occurrence	43.724, -106.819
Jerrie Marie	Uranium	Coffinite	Occurrence	43.723, -106.823
Kell Roy #3	Uranium	Coffinite, Jarosite, Tyuyamunite, Uraninite	Occurrence	43.628, -106.229
Kell Roy #3 Prospect	Uranium	Coffinite, Tyuyamunite, Uraninite	Occurrence	43.624, -106.238
Kelly Creek	Gold	Gold	Past Producer	44.260, -106.833
Big Horn Mine	Manganese, Gold	Gold	Past Producer	44.030, -107.103
Sad Sack Claims	Uranium, Selenium	Jarosite	Occurrence	43.785, -106.098
Sad Sack Claim	Uranium	Jarosite	Occurrence	43.784, -106.089
Hannah #1	Uranium	—	Occurrence	43.614, -106.129
Loc. 118	Uranium	—	Occurrence	43.628, -106.169
Loc. 111	Uranium	—	Occurrence	43.712, -106.118
Figure 8 #3	Uranium	—	Occurrence	43.713, -106.488
Loc. 77.	Uranium	—	Occurrence	43.784, -106.029
Loc. 90	Uranium	—	Occurrence	43.798, -106.169
Lode #1	Uranium	—	Occurrence	43.810, -106.803
Irigaray Mine	Uranium	—	Producer	43.886, -106.121
Loc. 157	Uranium	—	Occurrence	43.727, -106.129
Loc. 115	Uranium	—	Occurrence	43.699, -106.109
Sunset Mines	Uranium	—	Past Producer	43.937, -106.040
J.L. Masek's Lode #1	Uranium	—	Occurrence	43.810, -106.806
Slate Ridge Number Eleven	Bentonite	—	Occurrence	43.794, -106.781
Kaycee Bent Corp #92	Bentonite	—	Occurrence	43.733, -106.668
Kaycee Bentonite Corp #30	Bentonite	—	Occurrence	43.580, -106.763
Slate Ridge Number Two	Bentonite	—	Occurrence	43.790, -106.770
Kaycee Bentonite Corp #1	Bentonite	—	Occurrence	43.699, -106.727
Kaycee Bentonite Corp #32	Bentonite	—	Occurrence	43.593, -106.764
Ram #3 & #4	Uranium	—	Occurrence	43.829, -106.861
Durande Mine	Bentonite	—	Producer	43.647, -106.793
Kaycee Bentonite Corp #71	Bentonite	—	Occurrence	43.699, -106.631
Top Hand Group	Copper	—	Occurrence	44.013, -106.899
Frank Claims	Uranium	—	Occurrence	43.791, -106.063
Kaycee Bentonite Corp #90	Bentonite	—	Occurrence	43.728, -106.697
Kaycee Bentonite Corp #27	Bentonite	—	Occurrence	43.571, -106.752
Mayworth # 10	Bentonite	—	Unknown	43.839, -106.777

Fossil collections

The Paleobiology Database lists 88 fossil collection records in Johnson County. These are research records, not public dig sites.

Nearby counties

Campbell County · Washakie County · Natrona County · Converse County · Sheridan County

Wyoming mineral guides

Back to all Wyoming counties.

Is It Legal to Collect Rocks on Public Land? BLM, Forest Service and National Park Rules

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

Rockhounding in Johnson County, Wyoming