Digging for Quartz at Fisher Mountain

This past summer I decided to throw myself to the wolves and finally go dig for quartz in Arkansas. As an incredibly socially anxious person, the idea of going on my “first dig” was a bit scary. I loaded up my little Chevy HHR with a variety of tools, from a garden trowel to my biggest garden pickaxe. I was prepared for any digging scenario.

I also, as one does for any solo adventure, shared my Google maps location with a trusted person.

Fisher Mountain on Mount Ida is owned by Avant Mining. They are a prolific mining company with public and private mines around the country. Fisher Mountain in particular advertised fee digging in tailings but also the opportunity to dig for your own crystals in the undisturbed ground or pay for a private pocket dig.

I live in Springfield, Missouri which meant that in order to arrive in Mount Ida, Arkansas right on time, I was up and out the door by 4:30am. The check in process was simple enough, the old Judy’s Crystals shop sat empty with a folding table out front to pay for your permit.

Permit in hand, I returned to my car and quickly got behind a mini-van to ensure that I didn’t get lost on the way to the claim. There was a small yard sign pointing to a skinny gravel road.

Scratch that, it wasn’t gravel. Clay? Dirt? Boulder? Everything but the kitchen sink.

Due to it being opening weekend, parking was sparse and I found myself backing down the mountain to the last open spot I had seen. Car intact and parked, I packed up my Home Depot 5 gallon bucket with a few waters, some tools, and headed towards the tailings.

Hand holding small quartz crystal cluster covered in red clay — Fisher Price My First Cluster TM

I found a nice, quiet spot among the tailings and began cautiously raking through the red clay. Like the brilliant, prepared person I am, I was wearing my best white linen shirt (gotta stay cool) and no gloves. Both of these turned out to be important lessons.

Lesson One: Quartz is sharp! While I only got one small scratch, I chatted briefly with a man that cautioned me that a quartz shard could definitely require stitches.

Lesson Two: Lose the clothes. This was July, on the top of the mountain, with very few trees. I wear linen when I can to stay cool and covered, but your best bet is to reapply that sunscreen every hour on the hour and wear as little clothing as possible. Whatever you wear will be covered in red clay and could very likely stain.

Celeste Whitlow Holding up a small quartz crystal cluster — As Close as the World Needs to Be To Seeing How Gross I Was

By the end of the day, I was struggling to lug my bucket back to my car. I had found more points and clusters than I ever could have imagined. I dug through tailings, discovered my own baby vein, and got to see the quality of some of the private pocket digs available.

I’m still working through the process of cleaning all of my findings, but below are some photos of what I have so far. Maybe next time I can loosen the purse strings for a private dig, who knows!