Old Rocks
Diamond Member
Also, about 100 miles east of there, a couple of looks, just south of the Nevada border, there are a few private fee sites where you can dig for black opal.No, it is not against the law. And the Sun Stone mines you refer to are privately owned, and there is an area that the BLM has established as strictly for amateurs, no commercial collecting allowed. Been there, done that, same for most of the areas in Oregon with collectable mineral.There are many areas that are known for collecting rocks here in Oregon on Forest Service land, and BLM land. The only people I know that have been prosecuted for taking rocks off of public land was a damned fool that was hauling out building rock by the dump truck load. Stupid, as had he gotten a permit from the Forest Service, he could have had that rock for a small fraction of it's value.What a fucked up idiot you are. On the BLM and Forest Service land I can hunt, fish, look for rocks, or just hike and enjoy the land. Huge portions of the private land now have hunting and fishing rights sold to private sports clubs. A very big area in Eastern Oregon had the ranches there sell their hunting access to a sports club. I looked up the club, to find out what it took to be a member. It was totally owned by Saudi's. This is what you are advocating for by advocating the privatization of the BLM and Forest Service land.
If you're caught taking rocks you can be prosecuted.
And that alters the fact that it's against the law, HOW? Oregon has some great labradorite mines, I have some nice examples. It's unique among other labradorite because it contains copper.
The mines are privately owned but are on BLM land. I'll have to check out what areas are open to amateurs, might be able to find me some gems.