Geology

 Limited collection [1] of rocks and minerals for personal use is allowed on most National Forest System lands, including the Tonto National Forest. These materials may be collected without a permit provided the collecting is for personal, hobby, and noncommercial use. For commercial [2] or other uses of rock material, contact the local Forest Service Office.

Footnotes

1. You may collect reasonable amounts of specimens. Generally, a reasonable amount is up to 10 pounds per person per day for rocks/minerals and 25 pounds per person per day for invertebrate fossils.
2. Commercial use is any trading, bartering, or selling of rocks and minerals from National Forest System Lands.
3. Searching for artifacts (human made objects) with metal detectors is discouraged, as any ancient or historical artifacts found may not be removed from federal lands, such as old coins, metal implements, or utensils.

Collection of small amounts [1] of widespread, low-value, relatively common minerals, and stones (common quartz crystals, agate, obsidian) for noncommercial use. Hobby mining activities such as recreational gold panning or use of metal detectors [3] to prospect for gold nuggets and other naturally occurring metals.

Footnotes

1. You may collect reasonable amounts of specimens. Generally, a reasonable amount is up to 10 pounds per person per day for rocks/minerals and 25 pounds per person per day for invertebrate fossils.
2. Commercial use is any trading, bartering, or selling of rocks and minerals from National Forest System Lands.
3. Searching for artifacts (human made objects) with metal detectors is discouraged, as any ancient or historical artifacts found may not be removed from federal lands, such as old coins, metal implements, or utensils.

Certain lands within the National Forest are not open to collecting due to wilderness designation or other sensitive areas. Contact the Forest Service for local information.

Know before you go by checking with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for specific locations to find out whether there are mining claims in the area. 

1. You are collecting samples on the surface (no digging with hand tools or mechanized equipment).
2. Disturbance to the surface that does not exceed that of a typical forest user, i.e., a 32oz water bottle.
3. You are collecting for personal and not to sell or barter.

Please contact the Tonto National Forest to discuss permitting or authorization if you plan to do the following:

Activity that involves digging with hand tools or mechanized earth-moving equipment, including bobcats, suction dredges, ‘high banking’ or dry washing equipment.

1. Commercial activities including collecting mineral or fossil specimens for re-sale.
2. Removal of insignificant amounts [1] of landscape rock.

Important: The following cannot be collected or removed:

1. Vertebrate fossils (dinosaur bones, fish, - anything with a backbone) and shark teeth.
2. Archeological resources including any material remains of prehistoric or historic human life or activities, which are at least 50 years old, and includes the physical site, location, or context in which they are found (36 CFR 261.2).
3. The collection of projectile points, pottery or any other archeological resource or artifact is not allowed (36 CFR 261.9 (h) without a permit. Projectile points include “arrowheads” and any prehistoric human-modified stone.

Footnotes

1. You may collect reasonable amounts of specimens. Generally, a reasonable amount is up to 10 pounds per person per day for rocks/minerals and 25 pounds per person per day for invertebrate fossils.
2. Commercial use is any trading, bartering, or selling of rocks and minerals from National Forest System Lands.
3. Searching for artifacts (human made objects) with metal detectors is discouraged, as any ancient or historical artifacts found may not be removed from federal lands, such as old coins, metal implements, or utensils.

Forest Service Minerals Program Limited collection of common invertebrate or plant fossils such as shells, leaf imprints, corals, etc., for personal use is allowed on most National Forest System lands. These materials may be collected without a permit provided the collecting is for personal, hobby, and noncommercial use. For other uses of this material, contact the local Forest Service Office.

Shark tooth Fossil (Paleontological) resource means any evidence of fossilized remains of multicellular invertebrate and vertebrate animals and multicellular plants, including imprints thereof (36 CFR 261.2). There are four major types of fossils: ichnofossil (a.k.a. imprint or trace fossil), plant, invertebrate, and vertebrate.

Ichnofossils (or trace fossils) are typically sedimentary structures consisting of a fossilized track, trail, burrow, or tube resulting from the life activities and behavior of an animal, such as a mark made by an invertebrate creeping, feeding, hiding, or resting on or in soft sediment. Some non-sedimentary examples include tooth marks (resulting from predation), skin impressions, and coprolites (fossil dung).

Fossil plants are the fossilized remains of all parts of a plant. Petrified wood is a common term used for wood fossilized by silica, where the woody structure is visible. A free-use permit may be issued to amateur collectors and scientists to take limited quantities of petrified wood for personal use. A permit is required for commercial sales of petrified wood.

Shell invertebrate fossils are the fossilized remains of animals lacking a backbone. A few examples include: 
ammonites, trilobites, snails, clams and insects. 

Invertebrate and plant fossils (including invertebrate and plant trace fossils) may be collected without a permit, from the surface without digging and for personal, hobby, educational, and noncommercial use only. A permit is required for research/scientific purposes.

Vertebrate fossils are the fossilized remains of any animal having a bony skeleton or backbone such as:

Fish (includes sharks and rays), amphibians, reptiles (including dinosaurs, mosasaurs, and turtles), birds, mammals, and all trace fossils from vertebrate animals, such as dinosaur tracks.

The collection and/or duplication of vertebrate fossils, including vertebrate trace fossils, from National Forest System Lands requires a permit (36 CFR 261.9 (i)). Permits are issued to qualified paleontologists and researchers who curate the fossils for scientific and educational purposes.

No permits for the collection of any fossils (plants, invertebrates, vertebrates, or any trace fossils) are issued for commercial purposes, except for petrified wood. Trading, bartering, or selling any fossil material (plants, invertebrates, vertebrates, or any trace fossils) removed from National Forest System lands is prohibited.

Note: Commercial use is defined as any trading, bartering, or selling fossils or petrified wood from National Forest System lands.

This outline discusses mining-related activities within Wilderness areas. Additional information may be obtained at Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or Forest Service (FS) Offices. FS website is here and BLM website is here. Any claims management questions should be directed to the BLM and their claims website is located here. Wilderness area regulations of note in this document are 36 CFR§293.6 (b) and 36 CFR§261.18.

PROSPECTING: Prospecting is the gathering of information on mineral resources. Prospecting is allowed within designated Wilderness Areas, but an approved Plan of Operations (Plan) is required. No person can acquire ANY right or interest to mineral resources discovered by prospecting or other information-gathering activity. Extraction of minerals (expect a small grade sample) is a type of mining, and must comply with all related laws, regulations (see “Mining” below). If the search is for precious worked metal or other treasure, see “Treasure Trove Hunting” below. 

MINING: Mining is any activity that attempts to extract minerals (which are valuable and locatable) from their natural setting. NO MINING OF ANY TYPE (whether recreation and/or profit) is allowed except with an approved Notice of Intent (NOI) and/or Plan for activity on a LEGAL claim with VALID existing rights. New mining claims can no longer be filed on designated Wilderness Areas. The Wilderness Act of 1964 allowed mining claims to be filled until January 12, 1984, at which time all wilderness areas were closed to new mineral entry. Subsequently, designated wilderness areas were closed to minerals entry when the new law was enacted. 

GOLD PANNING: This category includes panning, sluicing, or dredging wet or dry material. If any mineral is extracted by this activity (for recreation and/or profit) it is a type of mining: see “Mining” above. If minerals were NOT extracted, this activity would be a type of prospecting (see “Prospecting” above). 

Q: Where can you metal detect on the Tonto National Forest (TNF)? 

A: The TNF is not closed to metal detecting, but neither are specific areas set aside for such activities. The detector’s search should be a recreational pursuit confined to areas with no historic or prehistoric value. Specific areas might include the numerous developed recreational sites along the Chain of Lakes on Verde and Salt Rivers. It is the responsibility of the detectors to avoid disturbing, altering, or removing archaeological resources protected by federal law. The FS does not mark or disclose the location(s) of archaeological or historic sites unless they are developed and interpreted for public visitation. If you’re unsure of what is or isn’t’ an archaeological site, or resource, you should contact the Forest's Archaeologist. Metal detecting is also not permitted in Wilderness areas. 

TREASURE TROVE HUNTING: A treasure trove is defined as money, gems, or precious worked metal (in the form of coins, plate, bullion, etc.) of unknown ownership. Not included are recent vintage coins, located minerals, or archeological resources and specimens. A Treasure Trove Permit must authorize searching for such treasures. Applications for Treasure Trove Permit(s) are evaluated on a case-by-case basis; approval requires that evidence of treasure is of such a character that a person of ordinary prudence would be justified in the expenditure of labor and funds, with a reasonable possibility of success. Permits are issued for a specific number of days, and the site is subject to inspection. 

If you are interested in doing any of these activities in a designated Wilderness, you should first discuss your intentions with the local Forest Service office. Remember that only a small part of each National Forest is classified as Wilderness; many opportunities exist outside these special areas where the types of activities described can be carried out in compliance with the laws and regulations which pertain to those non-Wilderness areas. 

The purpose of the BHP-Copper Cities project involves the geotechnical site characterization of the Skunk Canyon Embankment, part of the Copper Cities Unit, a BHP legacy asset. A majority of the legacy asset is on privately owned land, however, most of the SCE is on public land. The SCE was constructed in the 1960’s to control surface runoff from the upper watershed area of Skunk Canyon basin into the Diamond H Pit. Characterization of the embankment involves the collection of geotechnical samples of embankment fill and underlying foundation materials. Data collected is used assess the presence of a groundwater zone of saturation within the embankment and the depth of the water table in the underlying foundation. The project includes the construction of a new access road on NFS lands, excavating five test pits (one of which would be sited on BHP private property), constructing three drill pads and drill holes for monitoring wells. The project is currently in the monitoring phase, with partial reclamation complete. Ongoing monitoring is anticipated until the Copper Cities final site-wide reclamation designs have been developed. 

Imerys Perlite Mine and Milling Plant has been in operation under various operators and authorizations since the 1940’s. A majority of the mine and millsite reside on private land and patented mining claims. However, the current mining Plan of Operations (approved 01/29/2016) authorizes activity on NFS public lands (~3.5 acres) adjacent to the mine and mill site. Permitted operations include the use and maintenance of Sedimentation basin adjacent to millsite, mining of unpatented mining claims located at the mine site, and the use of forest roads for hauling material to the millsite (~2 miles north of the mine). Mine life for operations is projected into 2034.

The Silver King Mine was once the largest producer of silver ore in the region after discovery in 1875. The mine was developed and operated as an underground silver mine, mostly during the period from 1875 to 1891 and intermittently through the 1920's. At the time, underground mine workings reached a depth of 750 feet below ground surface, with seven main levels. In the early 1980's, cyanide leaching operations were conducted for a short time using existing low-grade waste dump material. The property was inactive from approximately 1981 until 1997, when it was purchased by the Silver King Mining Company (SKMC). SKMC first Mining Plan of Operations was conditionally approved in 2006 for an 18-month exploration and development period allowing time to proceed through state environmental permitting. Since the initial approval, the TNF has been working with with SKMC to bring the project into compliance. SKMC submitted updated plans in 2011, 2018, and 2020 and the TNF finalized plan completion reviews for each submission. SKMC’s current proposed Plan outlines work on ~5 acres of public land, proposing to mine for primarily silver.  Operations would include cut and stope mining process, onsite milling and floating recovery operations, and onsite tailings impoundments.

Omya’s project at Queen Creek focuses on the extraction of high-purity marble (calcium carbonate), an essential industrial mineral used in pharmaceuticals, food products, paper manufacturing, and environmental applications. The quarry is located on Forest Service land near Superior, Arizona, and has been operating under an approved Plan of Operations since 2003, with activities phased over a 40-year timeline. Although extraction has temporarily ceased and the site is currently in an interim shutdown phase, monitoring is in place to ensure environmental compliance and stability. The project has now entered the reclamation phase, focusing on preserving forest land integrity and protecting the watershed landscape. One potential benefit of these mining operations is their support for the supply of critical industrial minerals across multiple sectors.

The Phoenix Silver project, led by Silver One Resources, is focused on exploring extremely high-grade native silver deposits in the Globe Ranger District. In 2022, the Forest Service approved a Plan of Operations that allows for up to 13 drill sites accessed by low-impact temporary roads. This project was initiated after large silver specimens were discovered on previously disturbed private land, including a specimen weighing over 400 pounds and containing an estimated 70% native silver. The goal of the exploration phase is to determine the origin and extent of the silver-bearing vein system. This project has the potential to identify a new domestic source of silver, a critical mineral for the clean energy and technology sectors.

The Tonto National Forest contains many caves and karst features throughout. Resource specialists have identified numerous significant caves in the forest, often with the assistance of partners such as the Central Arizona Cave Grotto. Rather than being a mining project, cave and karst management is part of a broader initiative focused on management and resource protection of such sensitive features. This initiative includes inventorying and monitoring biological, cultural, hydrological, paleontological, and geological resources and protecting delicate subsurface ecosystems and formations. These karst systems are vital for groundwater recharge, provide habitat for rare species, and offer cultural and recreational opportunities. The Forest Service has implemented protective measures to limit damage from nearby surface activities, such as mining, logging, or recreational overuse.

Carlota Mine is an existing open pit copper mine near Miami, Arizona, on the Globe Ranger District and is situated 4,200 ft above sea level. Carlota is located on private lands and National Forest System lands. The Plan of Operations was completed in 1998 under 36 C.F.R. 228.A. 

Carlota is currently mining a deposit that was identified in the mid-1990s. After confirming the resources, several years were spent collecting baseline environmental, social, and geological data to understand the feasibility of the project and study potential impacts on the environment. Once the EIS was completed on July 22, 1997, and the Plan of Operations was approved, production commenced in 2008, and the first copper cathode was produced in the same year.

In 2014 mining operations from the open pit ceased in the Carlota-Cactus Pit. However, enhanced residual copper production continued utilizing subsurface leaching injection wells into the Heap Leach Pad. In 2018, mining operations in the Eder South area initiated and in 2021 Eder North mining commenced once additional surveys were completed. As copper prices continue to rise, areas in the Carlota mine continue to be more viable for mining operations into the near future.

Pinto Valley Mine is an existing open pit copper and molybdenum mine near Miami, Arizona. The Pinto Valley Mine is located on private lands and National Forest System lands. Pinto Valley Mining Corp's mining plan of operations consists of a consolidation of prior expired and/or non-transferable authorizations for surface disturbance of National Forest System lands, further expansion of mining operations onto National Forest System lands, and incorporation of legacy encroachments.

On March 28, 2017, the Tonto National Forest issued a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for approval of a plan of operations submitted by Pinto Valley Mining Corp. On November 3, 2021, Tonto National Forest Supervisor Neil Bosworth signed and approved a revised plan Pinto Valley Mine plan of operations for activities on National Forest System lands related to the Pinto Valley Mine. Approval of the revised plan allows for continued operation for approximately 19 additional years. In accordance with the Pinto Valley Mine record of decision dated August 19, 2021, the revised plan includes additional environmental controls as well as mitigation and monitoring measures that are deemed necessary by the Tonto National Forest to meet the requirements of the regulations at 36 CFR 228, subpart A and to comply with other applicable laws and regulations, to address potential environmental impacts from the mine's operations.

On June 20, 2025, the agency published the final environmental impact statement in the Federal Register, and the draft record of decision in the paper of record. Objections to the draft ROD must be submitted within 45 calendar days following publication of legal notice in Arizona Capitol Times. 

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