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Field CollectingHelp Bisbee Arizona

2nd Jan 2015 03:50 UTCNancy Gerlach

Hi-- I am currently in Bisbee, Arizona and am stumped! There are tons of mines here but how and the heck do I get access to them? It seems everywhere we turn there are NO TRESPASSING signs. Anybody have any info about how to go about finding anything worthwhile?

Much appreciation to any tips--

Nancy

2nd Jan 2015 09:07 UTCBob Harman

NANCY, You have got to be kidding! I have only been to Bisbee as a tourist passing thru, but if you are serious about going there or, for that matter anywhere, and just "getting into the mines" or dumps virtually anywhere in the US , you have got to be a verrrrry naive individual. They are dangerous places on private lands and are posted "no trespassing" for a reason. And that simply means "no trespassing!". This almost always includes the mines, dumps, and quarries thru out the US.

The only exceptions might be the occasional site converted to a tourist fee for collecting locale or the occasional site having an over collected dump in a safe area as part of a company public outreach program.

Unless I am majorly mistaken about current Bisbee, Az, I would just enjoy Bisbee for what it is now and look for local rock shops. That also goes for most other mining areas as well.

Someone out there correct me or help me if you know differently! CHEERS…….BOB

2nd Jan 2015 11:06 UTCsteven garza

Dear Nancy & Bob:

Bob is correct; for the "tourist" (who has never collected, or, even has collected all their lives), access to ANY site (for mineral, fossils, cabbing rough, plants, animals, fish, .... you get the idea), that's NOT your property, & has a "no trespassing" sign on it, won't be available for any of those activities, without PREVIOUS permission & agreement to conditions (this is what trespassing means). Without ANY previous collecting & knowledge/tools to do so, safely, I wouldn't let you collect on my property, even if you were my brother/any relative. What Bob didn't mention (several things, actually) is there ARE ways to get that permission (thus changing "trespasser" to "allowed visitor"), &, MANY do, even to the mine dumps you visited. Next trip, contact any of the local (and not so local) mineral clubs in that area; they MAY have a trip planned for there, or, have a contact # where you might get some positive results; because clubs have liability insurance & are likely to "birddog" new collectors, THIS is why they can get in, as well as invite you on such a trip. I recommend doing some collecting, at NON-mine sites, with a club, to get some knowledge & safety training, before going to a mine site. You will reflect that learning, which will give the site owner confidence that you might know what you're doing, &, might offer you openings, on non-club times, to be allowed on that site, &, OTHERS!

Your friend, Steve

2nd Jan 2015 12:04 UTCRolf Luetcke Expert

Nancy,

I lived in Bisbee from 1971 to 1985 and can tell you that collecting at the old mines has not been allowed all the time I lived there. Only way collecting was done was illegally and in todays time that comes with stiff penalties if you are caught. Only place I ever found stuff was on a couple of the railroad beds in Warren where pretty much all you could find was pyrite.

If you want a Bisbee mineral or two the people at the mine tour have affordable specimens and the person in charge is an expert on Bisbee minerals.

But, as has been said, no legal collecting except on the rare occasion they allow a tour in around the Tucson mineral show.

Just enjoy the sights and history.

Rolf

2nd Jan 2015 15:56 UTCSteve Pegler

Nancy,

Join a mineral club. Don't try to do it alone. You'll learn a lot about collecting, locations, etc. You'll go on their field trips, which almost guarantee that you will find something worthwhile, and then, after learning all about this crazy hobby, if you want, you can go out on your own to collect. I do both, club field trips and independent collecting.

Mineral clubs run monthly field trips to all kinds of collecting locations. Field trip locations include collecting sites on Forest Service or BLM land, surface collecting at abandoned mine dumps, (w/o no trespassing signs), stay out of the underground (most of the time anyway :-) ), etc. Even if you could get into some of the famous collecting sites on your own, many of them are totally picked over with nothing worthwhile to collect.

The mineral clubs in this area are constantly checking out "new" locations for field trips for all the members. The mindat database is a huge help for this. The club that I belong to occasionally gets into operating mines such as the Ray Mine for native copper and the Johnson Camp Mine for azurite and malachite. The other club that i belong to just ran a field trip to the famous Red Cloud Mine near Yuma. There are also helicopter trips to the famous Four Peaks Amethyst Mine twice a year (otherwise, it's a 10 mile tough round trip hike to the mine and you would get turned away). You could NOT get into those kinds of famous locations on your own.

PM me for more information on the Phoenix area clubs. Also, there is the Flagg Foundation Mineral Show coming up in Mesa this month. All the major Phoenix area mineral clubs will have booths there.

One thing that can help get into operating mines is to get a Mine Safety and Health Act (MSHA) new miner safety certificate. The Arizona Mine Inspector's office offers this training several times a year. It takes three full days of classes but it shows the mines that you know how to stay safe in a VERY dangerous business. You can't even get into a Freeport McMoRan mine on official business without one of these.

If you are still in Bisbee, be sure to go on the Copper Queen underground mine tour. You can't get off of the tram to dig but it is a great tour to understand how underground mining is done.

Steve

2nd Jan 2015 16:38 UTCSteve Pegler

Nancy,

One more thing, the field collecting situation in Arizona is not as grim as some of the comments to your post might lead you to believe. This is still the wild west in spite of the Forest Service's annoying road closures, a few no trespassing signs, operating mines whose visiting policies are ran by liability shy lawyers, etc. There are thousands of old abandoned mines in the middle of no where Arizona to be explored.

There are also new mineral locations being found that are not economical to mine but have decent specimens to be collected. One person in my club found a fluorite vein in the desert that has produced some great specimens. See photos. There was no old mine here, just float found by a good prospector rock hound. Prospecting in Arizona is one of the mineral collecting things I love to do.

A little digging revealed a 12" thick fluorite vein with occasional big vugs. Our club set up a field trip to the site and I found the specimen shown in the attached photos. This specimen has deep purple octahedral crystals on both sides, is more than 12" tall, and weighs about 40 lbs. When I found it, it looked like a big ball of red mud with a few octahedral crystals sticking out. Including the weight of the mud, I had to lug out over 50 lbs of muddy, wet rock back to my Jeep. It took a LOT of cleaning to get it into the shape shown in the photos but mineral preparation is something else you will learn about in a mineral club.

Don't give up, Steve

2nd Jan 2015 19:19 UTCDave Owen

Nancy; Stop by my store at 45 Main. Jewelry designs by Owen I can give you a lot of info.

2nd Jan 2015 19:31 UTCIan Merkel

Nancy,

Bisbee used to run a fee dig on the turquoise dumps, but that is all the field collecting available in Bisbee (I believe). Check in at the Copper Queen, they'll know the deal. As Stephen stated there are so many localities in Arizona to collect (alone or in groups). If you are comfortable in the desert pick up a rock-hounding guide or two and have some fun. Of course you need to respect peoples claims and properties, but there are too many locales to visit in a lifetime. I lived in southern Arizona for 5 years and wend out to the hills 50-60 times and I barely feel like I scratched the surface.

Good luck, have fun and always think safety first. Often the most successful folks are the ones who dare to believe!

Regards,

Ian

2nd Jan 2015 20:06 UTCDave Owen

Ian is correct. October is the turquoise hunt. One place they sllow collectinh called gold gulch no copper minerals just quartz and fluorite.

3rd Jan 2015 17:36 UTCRock Currier Expert

Nancy,

What is your background? Have you ever had any experience collecting underground or are you only interested in collecting on the dumps?

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