Ponderosa Campground can be found close to Nephi, UT. Here you can find a hill full of great quality, banded, red and white onyx. Most of the onyx found at the Ponderosa Campground is fine grained and can easily be polished. To get the best specimens bring a sledge hammer, chisels, and pry bars. These are used to break the tough onyx out of the hill. While at Ponderosa Campground be sure to survey your surroundings. Some areas will have better deposits than others. Also be sure to look at large boulders at the base of the quarry because you can sometimes find regions of nice material. Some find it easier to work the boulders than the side of the mountain.  If you forgot your hand tools, don’t worry. There are specimens found all over Ponderosa Campground.


To get to Ponderosa Campground go six miles east from Nephi on Highway 132. At this location a road leading to Mt. Nebo intersects from the left. Follow that road 3 ½ miles to the Nebo Scenic Loop. Turn right and continue 2/10ths of a mile farther until ruts can be seen on the left, heading up the hills to the trees.  Those ruts represent the old mining road to the quarry. It is not possible to drive to the diggings anymore so you will need to park on the pavement by Ponderosa Campground and walk the short distance to the site.

Treasures found at Ponderosa Campground:
Onyx

GPS Stats (approx):

U Dig Fossils is a great location for collecting trilobites. A trilobite is form of invertebrate marine life that lived more than 500 million years ago, but are now extinct. These hard-shelled prehistoric critters roamed the sea floor and coral reefs in search of food. Due to their great diversity and often perfect preservation in fine-grained rock, they are one of the most popular fossils among collectors. U Dig Fossils offers an opportunity to find these specimens for a nominal fee. Please check their website for more information at http://www.u-digfossils.com/. If you don’t want to pay the fee, don’t worry. There are areas of collecting all around the U Dig Fossils quarry. Just look for black shale rock and carefully try to break it open. I came back w/ a large bag of specimens that I collected outside of the U Dig Fossils site.


U Dig Fossils is located approximately west of Delta, Utah. Once you reach Delta, travel 32 miles on Highway 6/50. At the Long Ridge Reservoir sign between mile markers 56-57, turn right. There is a U-DIG Fossils sign at this intersection. Then travel 20 miles down a well-maintained gravel road to reach the U Dig Fossils quarry.  Just about any vehicle should be able to travel on this road.

Treasures found at U Dig Fossils:
Trilobites

GPS Stats (approx):
North Latitude- 39° 21.17’
West Longitude- 113° 16.43’

The KOFA mountain range is a mix of hills and canyons that parallel Arizona’s western boundary. This area contains many mines and prospects. KOFA is an area great for finding fire agate and chalcedony. Surface collecting of rocks and minerals is permitted, but digging for rocks and minerals is prohibited. The chalcedony found in KOFA is found in the narrow cracks within the rhyolite. The chalcedony is attached to each wall of the crack. You can even find quartz crystals attached the walls. The cracks that carry the chalcedony are dirt filled. It can be hard finding surface material. When you do find it, it can be magnificent.

Treasures found at KOFA:

Chalcedony

Fire Agate

GPS stats (approx):

The Lost Dutchman Gold Mine is reportedly a very rich gold mine hidden in the Superstition Mountains, near Apache Junction, east of Phoenix, Arizona in the United States. The land is a designated Wilderness Area, and mining is now prohibited there. The mine is named after German immigrant Jacob Waltz.  It is perhaps the most famous lost mine in American history: Arizona place-name expert Byrd Granger notes that, as of 1977, the Lost Dutchman story was printed or cited at least six times more often than two other fairly well-known tales, the story of Captain Kidd’s lost treasure, and the story of the Lost Pegleg mine in California. According to many versions of the tale, the mine is either cursed, or protected by enigmatic guardians who wish to keep the mine’s location a secret.

The Superstition Mountains are a great location for finding marble. The marble here is fine grained and polishes like most other types of marble. You will mostly find colors of red and green. Superstition Mountains should be accessed by four-wheel drive vehicles only. The road leading to it (Forest Service Rd 172) is only occasionally maintained. The Superstition Mountains are well known for the legendary location, The Lost Dutchman Mine.


To get to Superstition Mountains take I-60 and head north on Queen Valley Dr. Take this road 1.7 miles and make a right on to Hewitt Station Rd. Set your odometer and take this road 3.3 miles. At this point you will make a left and take this road 4.3 miles. You will then make a right and travel 0.5 miles to the site.

Treasures found at Superstition Mountains:
Marble

GPS Stats (approx):

Oatman is a site that houses chalcedony and fire agate. There is a daily access fee of $15 per person and you must make a reservation by calling 928-565-4145. Come prepared to do work; little surface material is available. Each collector will have the job of locating and chiseling the agate pockets. Look for above ground features to learn about the underground features. Seeing a stringer of above ground chalcedony might lead to a larger vein underneath the ground. Oatman offers different specimens of chalcedony, sardonyx, and fire agate. The best time for locating these minerals in Oatman is during the winter months.

Treasures found in Oatman:
Chalcedony
Fire agate

GPS Stats (approx):

Joseph City houses a lot of specimen quality petrified wood. It can be found within the low hills of north of I-40 between Joseph City and Holbrook. The color of this wood is a dull tan or gray. A hearty search may turn up petrified wood with color in it. Agate has also been seen at Joseph City. Better quality wood has been found north of Joseph City near the south boundary of the Navajo Reservation. There are a number of washes that expose the wood. The wood at this location is sometimes a dark black color with lines of white, a top pick for any collector.


To get to Joseph City take I-40 to exit 277. Head north and make your first right. Travel 0.3 miles to a power line road. Take this road for 0.5 miles until you reach your site.

Treasures found:
Agate
Petrified wood

GPS stats (approx):

The Ajo Pit produced a large amount of minerals when it was active. Some people say that the best specimens of native copper came from Ajo . Sometimes the crystals of copper were found encased in calcite. The protective calcite was etched away to expose the undamaged crystals of copper. Some other gems found in Ajo include: azurite, chrysocolla, and malachite. The hills around Ajo are line with prospects and idle mines. Be sure to check these dumps for a variety of specimens.


Treasures found:
Copper
Chrysocolla
Malachite

GPS Stats (approx):
North Latitude: 32°22.53’
West Longitude:  112°52.10’

Topaz Mountain’s name says it all. It is one of Utah’s most famous sites for collecting gemstones. The most common and easiest to find gemstone located here is topaz. Most topaz you find will be a crystal clear color, but you may even find sherry or golden topaz. The site also boasts large amounts of agate, jasper, and apache tears.


There are two main ways for finding topaz. The first way is sifting through the sand in the base of the mountains. A screen may be helpful in sifting through the sand. The second way to find topaz is to go at the mountain with a chisel and hammer. There are crystal cavities all over the mountain. The easiest way to find golden topaz is to chisel it out of the mountain. Make sure you keep it out of prolonged sunshine because it will “bleach” the crystal to a clear color.

To get to Topaz Mountain drive 37 miles west from Highway 6 on Highway 174. You will see a sign that says “Topaz Mountain”. Make a right here and travel two miles on the dirt road to get you to Site A. To get to Site B continue past the “Topaz Mountain” sign for another 6.5 miles. You will find it easily because it’s where the pavement ends. At site B you will find Apache tears, which are a black color. The last site is Site C. Travel 2.5 miles from the “Topaz Mountain” sign and you will find the site on the left side of the road. Here you will find jasper and agate.


Topaz Mountain is a free area that is open to hand tools only.

Treasures found:
Topaz
Garnet
Red Beryl
Agate

Silver City is at the south end of the Tintic Mining Distric and there are many dumps in the area. Many minerals can be found in this once bustling mining area. You can find pyrite, malachite, azurite, quartz, chrysocolla and many others. At one time minerals like gold, silver, lead, zinc, and copper were mined here. Silver City has a large area for collecting, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time to search different sites. Mines to the south can have different minerals than mines to the north. Better minerals are typically found buried within the dump sites or in less accessible areas. Remember to be careful walking into any mines. Some of them are very old so they could collapse.


To get to Silver City go south on Highway 6 about 1 1/5 miles from where highway 36 intersects. At that point there is a sign that designates the turnoff to Silver City, head east. Continue about a mile until you reach a fork in the road. Either direction will lead you to a dump site.

Treasures Found:
Silver
Gold
Pyrite
Malachite
Quartz

GPS Stats (approx):

North Latitude- 39° 55.03’
West Longitude- 112° 06.25’