Diamond Hill Mine: Amethyst & Smoky Quartz Rockhounding in Abbeville County, South Carolina

Plan your visit

Generally open to casual rockhounding

County

Abbeville County

State

South Carolina

Nearest road

Diamond Mine Road

Postcode

29620

Coordinates

34.27026, -82.57376

Coordinates are approximate. Confirm the exact ground in the RockHoundR app, where land overlays show which agency manages the area.

Land & collecting status

Generally open to casual rockhounding

Most public-tagged spots sit on BLM, U.S. Forest Service, or other federal land where reasonable hand collecting of common rocks and minerals is allowed. Confirm posted rules and active mining claims before you dig.

Access note: This is a fee dig-your-own mine, not free open land, but it is open to the public daily. Expect a per-person daily fee. Bring your own hand tools; the operator lets visitors keep a set amount of what they dig. It is included here as the single most reliable amethyst experience in the state, with the fee noted up front.

Public-land rules vary by agency, season, and field office. The RockHoundR app pulls live BLM, USFS, NPS, and tribal overlays so you can see exactly which agency manages the ground at this spot.

Best time to visit Diamond Hill Mine

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: August to June. Typical highs run 91°F in midsummer and 54°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 32°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, CALHOUN FALLS station (12 mi away).

Geology at Diamond Hill Mine

This spot sits on Gneissic granite of Antreville pluton, mapped as gneiss that formed roughly 485 to 420 million years ago. Metamorphic terrain like this typically carries quartz veins and sweats, and weathered crystals tend to end up in the soils and streams below.

Mapped unit

Gneissic granite of Antreville pluton

Age

485–420 Ma (Ordovician to Silurian)

Rock types

gneiss

Elevation

640 ft

Geologic mapping via Macrostrat and the underlying state geological survey maps (CC BY 4.0). Bedrock at the surface can vary within a mapped unit.

Sources & verification

Spot details combine the public RockHoundR location dataset, normalized mineral labels, agency land-status checks in the app, and community submissions. Coordinates are approximate until verified in the field.

• South Carolina Geological Survey
• South Carolina State Parks rules
• Sumter and Francis Marion National Forests
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules