Where to Find Sphalerite in North Carolina

North Carolina has 7 mapped collecting spots that report sphalerite, spread across 7 counties. The largest share sits in Alleghany County County with 1 spot. 7 of the spots are on land mapped as publicly accessible.

Spot list checked against source data on April 1, 2026.

Standout sphalerite spots in North Carolina

Hand-picked from the full list below, with the reason each one earns a trip.

Eldorado
Montgomery County County
Eldorado is the Uwharrie-region gold and base-metal pick, tied to the Carolina Slate Belt rather than the Blue Ridge gem belts. Gold, pyrite, sphalerite, smithsonite, malachite, and azurite give the area a compact mining-district mineral suite, with public-land collecting rules requiring close attention to old workings and ownership.
Island Creek
Vance County County
Island Creek represents the Hamme tungsten district, where NCGS work identifies hubnerite-bearing veins with quartz, sericite, fluorite, and scheelite at the Tungsten Queen mine. That tungsten-fluorite-sulfide suite gives Vance County a very different collecting story from the Blue Ridge pegmatites and Macon County corundum fields.

Best counties for sphalerite in North Carolina

Ranked by the number of mapped sphalerite spots. County links open the full rockhounding page for that county.

Every sphalerite spot we track in North Carolina

Sorted by county. Coordinates open in Google Maps.

Spot	County	Minerals	Coordinates	Access
StratfordWalnut Branch Church Road	Alleghany County	Chalcopyrite Cuprite Galena Malachite Molybdenite Pyrite Silver Sphalerite	36.5189, -81.2207	Public
Anson CountyWhite Store Road	Anson County	Gold Calcite Garnet Galena Pyrite Siderite Rutile Sphalerite	34.9570, -80.1227	Public
Reed Gold MineReed Mine Road	Cabarrus County	Azurite Gold Malachite Quartz Scheelite Sphalerite Siderite Cuprite +2 more	35.2852, -80.4665	Public
Davidson CountySilver Hill Road	Davidson County	Chalcopyrite Gold Pyrite Tetradymite Anglesite Calamine Calcite Cuprite +3 more	35.7057, -80.1995	Public
FranklinLyle Mill Road	Macon County	Amethyst Bronzite Epidote Fibrolite Garnet Jasper Kyanite Quartz +6 more	35.2261, -83.3606	Public
EldoradoCoggins Mine Road	Montgomery County	Azurite Calcite Gold Malachite Pyrite Silver Smithsonite Sphalerite +1 more	35.4824, -80.0228	Public
Island CreekTungsten Mine Road	Vance County	Apatite Chalcopyrite Fluorite Galena Hyalite Opal Quartz Rhodochrosite Scheelite +2 more	36.5050, -78.4765	Public

Before you go

Read the sphalerite identification guide so you know what a keeper looks like in the field: Sphalerite in the encyclopedia.

Sphalerite in North Carolina FAQ

Where can you find sphalerite in North Carolina?+

The mapped spots concentrate in Alleghany County County, Anson County County, and Cabarrus County County. Every spot on this page appears on the map above with coordinates and access notes.

How many sphalerite spots are mapped in North Carolina?+

7 spots across 7 counties. The RockHoundR app keeps the same spots on an offline map with public land overlays, geology layers, and your saved finds.

Is it legal to collect sphalerite in North Carolina?+

Hand collecting of common rocks and minerals in small amounts for personal use is generally allowed on BLM and U.S. Forest Service land, with limits set by the local field office. National parks, most state parks, and tribal land are closed to collecting. 7 of the 7 mapped spots here sit on land marked public. Always confirm current rules with the managing agency before you dig.

Where else to find sphalerite

More minerals to hunt in North Carolina

Hunt sphalerite in North Carolina 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.