Ely Mine: Chalcopyrite & Pyrrhotite Rockhounding in Orange County, Vermont

Plan your visit

Generally open to casual rockhounding

County

Orange County

State

Vermont

Nearest road

South Vershire Road

Postcode

05079

Coordinates

43.92724, -72.28479

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.

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 Ely Mine

Comfortable months (45 to 90°F highs)

Best months: April to October. Typical highs run 77°F in midsummer and 25°F in midwinter, with winter lows near 4°F.

Climate normals: NOAA 1991-2020 monthlies, CORINTH station (6 mi away).

Geology at Ely Mine

This spot sits on Gile Mountain Formation - thick-bedded micaceous feldspathic quartzite member, mapped as mica schist and quartzite that formed roughly 420 to 395 million years ago. Metamorphic belts like this often host pegmatite dikes, the coarse-crystal bodies that typically carry beryl, tourmaline, and sheet mica.

Mapped unit

Gile Mountain Formation - thick-bedded micaceous feldspathic quartzite member

Age

420–395 Ma (Early Devonian)

Rock types

mica schist and quartzite

Elevation

1,210 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.

• Vermont Geological Survey
• Green Mountain National Forest
• Vermont State Parks, Camp Plymouth
• Community submissions reviewed against published agency rules