

Mine your own opals at the Rainbow Ridge Opal Mine. Rainbow Ridge Opal Mine, Virgin Valley, NevadaĬolorful and unusual, opal is an eye-catching gem. The Morefield Mine has its own exhibit of stones onsite as well as one at the world-famous Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Prospectors can use the sluicing technique or collect from the mine dumps. There are mining opportunities here for all skill levels. Prospecting here may also reward you with garnet, amethyst, beryl, topaz, and many other minerals. The Morefield Mine, just under an hour from Richmond, VA, is known for its vast amount of amazonite.

You can also purchase sapphire gravel to take home or ready-made jewelry designs featuring the gorgeous Montana sapphires. The staff will help you clean your gems and assess them, so you’ll know which stones are worth saving and possibly turning into wearable pieces. What will you find when you sift through the dirt and gravel at Gem Mountain? Sapphires, and lots of them. Check out Gem Mountain Sapphire Mine for some stellar prospecting. One of the most beautiful states in the country, Montana is also a great place to go gem hunting. Gem Mountain Sapphire Mine, Philipsburg, Montana

The backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains will make it a beautiful summer vacation. The mine is open for gem hunting to the public from April through October. The price of admission is low, and the fun level is high, so make it a family outing. You can sluice through rocks and dirt with a screen and look for precious treasures, including sapphires, garnets, and rutile. Search for rubies inside the Cherokee Ruby Mine. Cherokee Ruby Mine, Franklin, North Carolina

Onsite gemologists can inspect your findings to see if they’re the real deal, and gem-cutters can spruce up and turn your gems into pieces of jewelry before you head home. The Blue Ridge Mountains are the perfect place to prospect for the beautiful blue stones as well as rubies and moonstones. Looking for aquamarines? Head to Spruce Pine’s own Gem Mountain. Gem Mountain, Spruce Pine, North Carolina Read more about this unique diamond named Esperanza). With an estimated value of $1 million, it’s the most valuable diamond ever mined in the US. (UPDATE: In June, 2015, an 8.52-carat diamond was discovered at Crater of Diamonds State Park. As with other diamond deposits, most of the stones are small and included, but some fine gems have been found here. So far, visitors to the park have found well over 30,000 diamonds, including a 16-carat beauty in 1975, so your chances of landing a stone are high. Once you have a pan of stones, head over to the office so an appraiser can check your stash to see how much your sparklers are worth. You’ll see diamonds everywhere, even laying in the dirt, but you can rent equipment at the park for deeper digging. Stay at the park campsite and enjoy wildlife and natural scenery as well as some sparkling stones. The Crater of Diamonds State Park, 120 miles from Little Rock, AR, is the only existing mine where visitors can prospect for diamonds and keep their findings. Want to mine for diamonds? Murfreesboro is the place to go. Crater of Diamonds State Park, Murfreesboro, Arkansas The mine is open year-round and boasts gorgeous scenery, too. Although the 70-acre site is known mostly for its emeralds, you could also end up with sapphire, tourmaline, garnet, topaz, and aquamarine.
