Where to Find Sphalerite in Utah
Utah sphalerite is the zinc counterpart to the galena that drove the state's lead-silver districts. Tintic sphalerite from Eureka and Mammoth is often dark brown to black, with cleavable masses in dolomite alongside galena and pyrite. Park City–Ontario carries lighter honey-brown sphalerite in vugs of dolomite breccia, and the San Francisco district at Frisco adds resin-amber crystals on quartz. Smaller occurrences in the Gold Hill district produce green-tinted sphalerite from the lead-zinc-arsenic ore bodies. Surface dump material is usually weathered to smithsonite or hemimorphite; fresh sphalerite needs underground or deep-dump access.
Spot list checked against source data on April 1, 2026.
Every sphalerite spot we track in Utah
Best spotFriscoBeaver County, UtahPublic access · Azurite, Barite, Calamine +12- Best spotGold HillTooele County, UtahPublic access · Azurite, Cerussite, Chalcopyrite +11
Dugway mining districtTooele County, UtahPublic access · Agate, Amethyst, Apatite +12- Park City mining districtSummit County, UtahPublic access · Barite, Calcite, Chlorite +12
- San Francisco MountainsBeaver County, UtahPublic access · Diopside, Fluorite, Galena +12
- Vipont MineBox Elder County, UtahPublic access · Azurite, Cerussite, Copper +12
Bullion CanyonPiute County, UtahCheck locally · Azurite, Barite, Cerussite +11- Pilot RangeBox Elder County, UtahPublic access · Alunite, Azurite, Barite +11
- Star RangeBeaver County, UtahPublic access · Bismutite, Rhodochrosite, Fluorite +11
- Big Cottonwood mining districtSalt Lake County, UtahPublic access · Actinolite, Barite, Orthoclase +10
- Monticello mining districtSan Juan County, UtahPublic access · Anhydrite, Carnotite, Gypsum +9
- Bradshaw MountainsBeaver County, UtahPublic access · Amethyst, Tourmaline, Tremolite +8
- East Erickson mining districtTooele County, UtahPublic access · Galena, Pyrite, Quartz +8
- Fish SpringsJuab County, UtahPublic access · Gold, Lead, Silver +8
- Deep Creek MountainsJuab County, UtahPermission required · Beryl, Fluorite, Scheelite +6
- Lucky Strick and other mines in San Rafael districtEmery County, UtahPublic access · Bieberite, Chalcopyrite, Galena +4
- OphirTooele County, UtahPublic access · Galena, Gold, Pyrite +3
- Raft River MountainsBox Elder County, UtahPublic access · Gold, Arsenopyrite, Chalcopyrite +3
- Salina CreekSevier County, UtahPublic access · Azurite, Chalcopyrite, Galena +2
- AxtellSanpete County, UtahPublic access · Galena, Marcasite, Pyrite +1
- Wood CanyonMillard County, UtahPublic access · Galena, Sphalerite
Standout sphalerite spots in Utah
Hand-picked from the full list above, with the reason each one earns a trip.
Frisco
Beaver County
Frisco combines a major historic silver-lead camp with a long mineral list that includes copper carbonates, galena, sphalerite, pyrite, opal, and wulfenite.
Gold Hill
Tooele County
Gold Hill is one of Utah's most mineralogically varied old districts, with arsenic, gold, copper, lead, silver, tungsten, and zinc production tied to skarn, vein, and replacement deposits.
Best counties for sphalerite in Utah
Ranked by the number of mapped sphalerite spots. County links open the full rockhounding page for that county.
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 Utah FAQ
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