4 legal places to look for gem rough and gemstones in Nevada — fees, seasons, and official sources below. The historic record adds the underground story: 286 entries.
Hours, fees, and access rules change. Verify with the operator or land agency before you go.
NV
precious opalfire opalopalized wood
Fee dig · Fee, seasonal · $75 per person for a full day and $50 for a half day; children 12 and under free with a paid adult. Rock club members with proof and groups of five or more receive a $10 discount. Checks and cash accepted at the mine; credit cards only at the Bonanza store near the campground, which opens 7-8 am and roughly 4:45-5:30 pm on fee dig days.
Checked against its source August 16, 2026
Otteson Brothers Turquoise Mining Tours
NV
turquoiseroyston turquoisevariscite
Fee dig · Fee · $150 per person for a half day and $300 per person for the all-day tour. Children 13 and under dig free with a paying adult. Mine tour gift certificates are available.
Checked against its source August 16, 2026
NV
black fire opalprecious opalopalized wood
Fee dig · Fee, seasonal · Tailings $100 per person per day, no half-day rate; children 10-15 half price and children under 10 free with an adult. A virgin ground load is $900 for up to three adults, with half loads on a limited basis for $600 and additional adults $100 each; minor children are included. Load reservations are required and must be made by phone.
Checked against its source August 16, 2026
NV
black fire opalprecious opalopalized wood
Fee dig · Fee, seasonal · Bank digging $210 per person per day; tailings raking $85 per person per day. Discounts for active military, veterans and 65+ with valid ID. Tools on site are very limited — hand picks in the gift shop run $45 small and $100 large — so arrive equipped.
Checked against its source August 16, 2026
Mineral history, not an invitation. This mineral history comes from a federal record of historic mines, prospects, and occurrences. It is not a list of places to collect. Historic mine sites are usually on private land, under active mining claims, or unsafe to enter — and often all three. The places you can actually collect are in the legal-access directory below.
The federal record lists 286 historic entries involving gem rough and gemstones in Nevada , clustered in Lander, Esmeralda, Nye counties. That geography is the honest clue about which corners of the state carry the right rocks — read it as geology, then pick a legal place to test it.
Records from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System, a legacy federal database last revised August 2022 and no longer updated.
Start with the 4 legal places listed on this page — each shows what you can find, its fees, and its season, with a link to the official source. Hours, fees, and access rules change. Verify with the operator or land agency before you go.
Treat Nevada's historic mines as history, not destinations. Most sit on private land or active mining claims, and old workings are dangerous even to walk. The mineral record on this page tells you what the ground holds — the directory tells you where you are welcome to look for it.