Bayard Mining Park

On the corner of Central Avenue and Poplar Street in downtown Bayard, New Mexico, the Bayard Mining Park commemorates Grant County miners with a collection of mining equipment and educational plaques. While the park does not warrant a trip in and of itself, the park, like a fine wine, is paired nicely with a trip…

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University Of Arizona Mineral Museum

In the basement of the Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium in Tuscon, Arizona is the University of Arizona Mineral Museum. While the footprint of the museum may be small, it contains a core collection of over 35,000 mineral specimens and a micromount collection with over 7,000 additional specimens of crystals too small to appreciate with the naked eye. The collection spans 1,561 different species and 2,000 types of minerals.

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Cullen Hall of Gems And Minerals

The Cullen Hall of Gems And Minerals in Houston, Texas’s Houston Museum of Natural Science sports a world class collection of 750 gem and mineral specimens. The darkened room sets off brilliant crystalline gold samples, along with a 2000 carat crystal emerald, the largest found in North America.

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Chihuahuan Desert Mining Heritage Exhibit

The Chihuahua Desert is the third largest desert in the Western Hemisphere, spanning parts of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico. Along with several mountain ranges and dramatic vistas, the desert is home to deposits of lead, zinc, barite, copper, manganese, sulfur, oil, gas, fluorite, talc, potash, water, quarry stone, gypsum, mercury, bentonite, salt, silver,…

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October 2016 Review

Over the month of October, the total number of mining claims on public land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) dropped by 165 claims. This is due to a low number of claims staked in the month—down 93% compared to October 2015—as well as a high number of abandoned claims—up 321% compared to…

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Copper Queen Mine

Bisbee, Arizona is built along the side of the Mule Mountains.  Houses cover the slope from the valley floor nearly to the peak.  The roads through Bisbee are narrow, steep, and aging.  Many of the highest houses are only accessible by stairs.  This was a town established not out of convenience, but out of opportunity.  In…

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September 2016 Review

Mining claim activity on public land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management was relatively slow and small but positive over the month of September. While the number of mining claims staked in September 2016 was 80% less than the number staked in September 2015, it remained a positive trend given the 1,416 staked claims…

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