royston turquoise mine - day tours

What great fun - Don't miss it...though it initially seems quite expensive at $100 each. But for what you get - no problem.Saw this one praised by TA readers, and thought this sounded like a great opportunity to gain some hard earned 'brownie' points from my wife - if she was to find some turquoise herself for some pieces of jewlery of her own, as seemed likely, while having a good time.And that's how it turned out. We ended up with some great pieces of turquoise - a few of which they polished up beautifully for 2 nice pendants that would cost you $200 each at least in HIS shop - though of course you need to mount and get a chain for each . AND we have a whole lot of turquoise rock we can give to friends to do as they wish - and possibly sell? And it was great fun into the bargain - though hot out in the middle of the desert! Turquioise 'Mine' is putting it a bit strong - it is just a big hole in the ground! While you scrape through the 'tailings' for turquoise, one of the family of 3 brothers who lease the site is digging in the 'pit' below. After an hour he dynamited a part of the 'hole' wall, which was of course interesting, but not as spectacular as on any 'western' film! He then brought up a lot of the broken rock with a 'caterpillar', for us to freshly scrape through, while he carried on 'mining' his turquoise seam in the hole below. You cannot go in the hole as obviously it is deep/dangerous. Bring a hammer and gloves of some sort; they provided a sort of small 'garden rake scraper' which was OK.The mine is about 30K from Tonopah on mostly good dirt road - so make sure you have plenty of petrol, and be ready for a long, dusty, FAST drive! Don't miss it

This turned out to be the highlight of our trip to Death Valley. After enjoying the beauty of the National Park, a stop was made in Tonapah. Our main reason was the opportunity to mine turquoise. A discount was given on your mining tour if you stayed at the Mizpah Hotel. Our stay at the hotel was very comfortable and we thoroughly enjoyed the history and period decor. The Otteson mine was really exciting to dig through piles of fresh dug rock to find the beautiful blue green gem. Having it cut and polished for you was an extra we did not anticipate, which made the day tour even that much more special. Dean is a great personality and his knowledge of the gem and the surrounding land gave the tour a very special touch. If you enjoy a bit of a different adventure and don't mind getting dirty, you certainly will find this one worth your time.

What a great way to spend to the day! After searching for a way to mine for my own turquoise, this was the only place I found- and what a great experience (even though we had to travel down Extraterrestrial Highway to get there!)The tours are held out of the Mizpah Hotel on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It costs $100 for adults, and $50 for those under 18. Tours are run by the Otteson Turquoise owner, Dean, and another great gentleman. (There are some YouTube videos of Dean- nice guy!) Groups can be anywhere from 4- 40 people, they prefer reservations.You get a 5lb bag to fill, and several hours to do it. You meet in the lobby at 930a/10, and come back after 3 hours or so. They take you to these HUGE piles to dig in, i think theyre called tannings or tailings.. sometimes they will throw dynamite or dig up a new pile for you. I recommend brining a hammer to smash through some of the bigger rocks you'll find. They do provide some digging tools, but no hammers. gloves may also be useful. If you think you'll get hungry pack a snack and a drink! They can only bring about 3 people with them in their car to the mine where you dig, so if you have a car, it is fine to drive out there. They are very helpful, and let you know what to look for. My sister and I went and got a ton of turquoise- two pieces were worth 3/400$ EACH. At the end of the trip they showed us an old Tiffany's turquoise mine and a cabin where Charles Manson used to live. After returning to the shop, you go downstairs and they polish a few pieces for you.GREAT EXPERIENCE, I would do it again!

If you love authentic turquoise & would love to find some for yourself from a world famous mine than this is a must do! I made the trip as a birthday present to myself & if you stay in the Mizpah Hotel, you get a discount! You meet at the Otteson's jewelry store inside the Mizpah Hotel, take care of paper work/money & then drive your own vehicle about half an hour to the mine. If you do not have a 4x4/high clearance vehicle then you can leave yours at the base of the mountain & get a ride up with the guide or someone else that has room for you. They have small hand tools for you to use or you can bring your own. Our guide for the day was Greg & he was great! You get a bag to put your turquoise in & you have 3 hours to fill it which is plenty of time! Greg was very helpful & patient with our group! When your bag is full, you go back to the Mizpah Hotel & go down in the basement where the lapidary equipment is. The guide will pick out a few of your best finds & cut/polish them for you. Be sure to tip your guide!!! If you want to get your stones made/set into jewelry, you can go upstairs to the store & place an order. There is a book for you to look through or you can also described what you want & they will try to make it. Years ago, I bought a necklace from the store & I wore it this day when ordering jewelry to be made. The nice young woman (forgot her name) working in the store said something like "My Grandfather made your necklace" & she was right! When I bought it years ago, I was then told that Lynn Otteson made it himself & she said that was her grandfather! How cool is that? Everyone was so nice & I had the best time ever! Many of the several people I have told my turquoise mining experience to have said they are definitely going to do this & I am definitely going back to do it again!

There are very few if any tourquoise collecting opportunities aviable, but the Royston tourquoise collecting experience tops them all. In the Mizpah hotel lobby there is a massive vault, that's the shop. You begin the tour at the hotel on main street Tonopah Nv. There you will meet Dean Otteson, mine owner or his guide and begin your tour. On the way to the mine you will pass the construction site of the Crescent Dunes Solar tower. Scheduled to begin operation 2014. Upon arrival at the mine you will be shown what to look for and how to recognize the better tourquoise. Your guide will likely give you plenty assistance in finding tourquoise. Royston tourquoise can be traditional blue or a rarer brite green which is what the Royston mine is famous for. The three hours at the mine tailings is more than enough time to aquire a respectable amount of tourquoise and avoid the afternoon heat. After returning to town you will be able to appreciate the collection of tourquoise in there shop and see the lapidary steps in cutting tourquoise. It is a unique experience at one of the last operating tourquoise mines. The people are great and for a town "in the middle of nowhere", it's a great memory.