The Kelly Mine near Socorro NM (much closer to Magdalena NM) and near the VLA (Very Large Array – the HUGE radio telescope array) is the primary source for Smithsonite in the US. However, we did very badly at the mine. There were very large deposits of pyrite in a gross form (not the nice cubes), but we were hard pressed to find any of the Azurite or Smitsonite the mine was famed for. We paid for the day, and granted only spent a few hours picking around, so maybe you will have better luck when you visit. The Rock shop in town (where you pay to get your ticket for the mine) was very nice and gifted us with a couple of nice pieces of Smithsonite, and a piece of Azurite (which I couldn’t seem to photograph very well). The quaint town of Magdalena is nearby, and definitely deserves a visit.
Gifted minerals:
Our Find of Smitsonite (by Dagmar of course):
No related posts.
