Where to Find Copper in Nevada
Native copper and copper-rich ores show up across central and eastern Nevada, mostly as secondary mineralization in old porphyry and skarn systems. Ely in White Pine County (the Robinson district) is the largest historical copper camp, and its dumps carry chrysocolla, malachite, and small native copper sheets. The Yerington district in Lyon County produces native copper in basalt amygdules and skarn-hosted copper carbonates near the Anaconda pit. Smaller showings at Battle Mountain and Tuscarora add malachite-stained quartz and minor cuprite. The Goodsprings district near the Arizona-Nevada line yields wulfenite and vanadinite alongside oxidized copper minerals.
Spot list checked against source data on April 1, 2026.
Map of 35 copper collecting spots in Nevada
Standout copper spots in Nevada
Hand-picked from the full list below, with the reason each one earns a trip.
Best counties for copper in Nevada
Ranked by the number of mapped copper spots. County links open the full rockhounding page for that county.
- Clark County4 spots
- Esmeralda County4 spots
- Lander County4 spots
- Douglas County3 spots
- Humboldt County3 spots
- Nye County3 spots
- Churchill County2 spots
- Elko County2 spots
- Eureka County2 spots
- Lincoln County2 spots
- Lyon County1 spot
- Mineral County1 spot
- Pershing County1 spot
- Storey County1 spot
- White Pine County1 spot
Every copper spot we track in Nevada
Sorted by county. Coordinates open in Google Maps.
Before you go
Read the copper identification guide so you know what a keeper looks like in the field: Copper in the encyclopedia.
Copper in Nevada FAQ
Where can you find copper in Nevada?+
How many copper spots are mapped in Nevada?+
Is it legal to collect copper in Nevada?+
Where else to find copper
More minerals to hunt in Nevada
Hunt copper in Nevada with the map in your pocket
RockHoundR puts these spots on an offline map with BLM and Forest Service overlays, geology layers, and a log for your finds.
