New Mexico Mining Museum

While many mining museums commemorate the collection of precious metals, the New Mexico Mining Museum in Grants highlights a material that only gained value in the mid-20th century: uranium. Located 78 miles west of Albuquerque, Grants, New Mexico has experienced many booms, from railway to logging to carrots. But when a local Navajo shepherd named Paddy Martinez discovered uranium ore in nearby Haystack Mesa in 1950, Grants was flooded with uranium prospectors and experienced a mining boom spanning the 1950s to the 1980s.

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Crater of Diamonds State Park

Southwest Arkansas is both a literal and metaphorical gem of a location. The Crater of Diamonds State Park is located on a 95-million-year-old eroded volcano were ancient magma had deposited diamonds from the earths mantel on the surface.  Today, a small fee grants anyone the chance to dig up their own diamond.

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Ducktown Basin Museum

At the southern tip of the Great Smoky Mountains is a rich copper deposit with a history of conflict and innovation to out-do that of the Malakoff Diggins.  The Burra Burra Copper mine and its contemporaries are commemorated in the Ducktown Basin Museum.

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Emerald Village

Emerald Village is a privately run collection of mining attractions in the Spruce Pine Mining District of eastern North Carolina. This mountainous section of the Appellation Mountains is unique for its variety and wealth of gems and minerals, including the precious stone that the village is named after: emeralds. Yet, for the emeralds, amethysts, sapphires,…

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Museum of North Carolina Minerals

Nestled in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina, off the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway, is the Spruce Pine Mining District one of the richest deposits of gems and minerals. Of these minerals, over 300 varieties are on display at the Museum of North Carolina Minerals including emerald, amethyst, sapphire, garnet, kaolin, quartz, mica, and feldspar….

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The Nugget

In a quiet corner of the Smithsonian American History Museum, in a small case in the shipping transportation section, next to a few coins from the 1800s, is a small fleck of gold under a magnifying glass.  One would have expected any gold samples to be part of the extensive gold collection held by the Smithsonian…

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Gold at the National Museum of Natural History

The Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum is the third most visited museum in the world. With a quick perusal of the highlights it is easy to understand why. The remarkable gem and mineral collection is world class including 300,000 rock and ore specimens. While we are, only naturally, impressed by the Hope Diamond, a few rooms further…

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Wells Fargo Museum – Part 2

Our last post revolved around the collection of gold and gold history in the Wells Fargo Museum. These riches draw more than just the attention of those hungry for knowledge. Whether it was stage coach robbers or modern thieves, Wells Fargo has had its share of thefts.

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Sacramento History Museum

While most think of San Francisco or Los Angeles as California’s major cities, back in the days of the Gold Rush, Sacramento was not only the state capitol but a major hub, blossoming with nugget-fueled commerce. The Sacramento History Museum devotes a large portion of their displays to gold rush era Sacramento and its environs. Along with many impressive gold nuggets, visitors can view water canons, assayers scales, and the everyday equipment of miners.

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