Oceanview & Pala Chief Gem Mines (DigForGems.com)

Went over to Oceanview mine on a weekday for some fun activity for my partner who loves crystals. Found some pretty cool crystals, and they also provide a buggy ride to bring you around their mines! The gate into the mine only opens around half an hour before their stated opening time, so don't be alarmed if you see a gate blocking your way!

So much fun! We sifted 100s of pounds of dirt between the 8 of us and found a handful of semi-precious pieces a piece. Nothing extraordinary but enough to feel like worthwhile. Between the extra special bits we sifted and the larger pieces of interesting rock, we made out pretty good. We were some of the least serious rock hounds present, too. Other groups had a better haul than us. Highly recommend this activity! Tips: 1. Reserve your date online. All digs start at 9:30 am sharp. Fill out the waiver sent to your email after printing it out and have it with you the day of. 2. Sifters, water, material, buckets to haul material, and various tools to aid in sifting and cleaning are provided. Gloves, containers to get your finds home and food are not. 3. Various things are available for purchase on site - snacks, buckets to take home bigger rocks, and semi-precious gems in various states. 4. CASH only - that includes entry tickets as well as any extras on site. 5. They bring in material to sift through and place it in the middle for everyone who shows up on a specific date to go through for the alloted 4 hours. However, you may, if early, go through the discard piles on your own. If that interests you, bring your own panning supplies-the ones provided are only for use for the time alloted. 6. It is possible to show up late, contrary to how the packet makes it sound, BUT you will miss out on valuable dig time.

Soooo…my final assessment is that it is just priced too high. $150 for two people is way too much. It’s a great experience. The staff was awesome. We dug straight for four hours. We didn’t even take a lunch break or the 10 minute tour. The finds were basically worthless. We found a few small very rough pieces of tourmaline, a couple non-usable aquamarines, and some broken pieces of small black tourmaline. I have been to digs that cost $10 and came home with mass amounts of great crystals. This experience should cost way less than the $75 fee. For that cost, everyone should come away with really good gems.