Had the time of my life today mining sapphires. This is a family run business and you can tell they've spent a ton of time ensuring that the sifting space are cozy and comfy with shade and misters. I loved the feel of the place and they had such a nice restroom. We were taught the best practice for sifting through the gravel and found so many sapphires! The owner and his son were so friendly and spent a lot of time with us and the other patrons. On top of it, we had a beautiful view of the lake while we looked for our treasures. Last but not least, Copper the dog made our day. He was our lucky charm. I'll be back to this spot everytime I come to Montana. Be sure but to miss it! read more

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I went their and bought over $ 2,000 worth of their gravel Mother Load, Spokane bar, Eldorado bags. Very disappointing in terms of my finds! Will never go their again and almost tempted to call better business bureau. Never again ever!!!!! Im very upset!!!! read more

Rip off. Definitely pre screened. Found maybe 3 carats total- all tiny tiny stones- in the $150 motherload bag. Everyone around is was the same. 1 person found a non gem quality 3 carat. Takes about 2-3 hours for 2 people to go through 1 bag. read more

Wonderful staff, Mr. Gem King has been doing it for over 50 years. He was great, spoke to him throughout the day. Halsey would check in to make sure I was okay. You aren't going to become rich after a day of work, you are going to have a wonderful experience! The value for sifting your own sapphire is reasonable, starting at $10 for your own bucket. Most people buy a bag, lots of people I noticed go for the Mother Load bag, $100. Definitely a must do, now I can say I got a Montana Sapphire. read more

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We had a fantastic time at the mine. They provided everything we needed including lots of information about the sapphires we found, including a 6.6 carat winner and another 30 carats of facetable stones. Highly recommended destination. read more

Would not recommend. We drove 1800 miles to get here. We called to ask about digging our own and we're told most people get "skunked" also told once at the site we could dig anywhere, then the "gem king" showed up and told us we could only dig in a 5 foot square area because the other spot is his private honey hole. He then brought 7 other people to add to our 3 to dig in the same 5 foot area. He was rude and not entirely helpful. Also there was no one to give any directions or instructions. The only sapphires we found was in the complementary $10 bag they gave us. If you go here don't waste your time digging. I would try a different mine. The equipment is not well maintained and definitely bring gloves as the entire place is full of rotting wood, splinters everywhere. It was just a completely unprofessional establishment. read more

I have never been suffer hunting before. This is my first time ever trying here at this facility. And the staff were very pleasant and I even love their pet dogs that they have and I'm sorry that I scared rocket. It was a place that I met some new friends, that were there doing the same thing and they are from a totally different state. And now we have ended up becoming friends that meet and get together when I live in Utah and he lives in Idaho. They have a good selection, different kinds of minerals and stones in their gift shop, which I did purchase several. And I did find some sapphires from their mind bags that are going to be end up getting cut into jewelry piece. And I think that everything there was at fair and reasonable value considering what it takes to run a operation like that. I prefer this facility over gem Mountain in Phillipsburg. And they have an on-site cutter. They don't have to be shipped to Sri Lanka. And I am going to get them back actually quicker than if I did do it through gem Mountain. So we will be doing business again on some of my other stones. read more

Hm. Visited here a couple times as a kid and young adult to literally dig in the dirt to find sapphires - and had a decent collection of gem-quality stones from the experience. Now in my late 50's, I stopped by for the first time in 20 years to see the operation and ended up picking up 4 bags of gravel - two "Motherlode" bags and two "El Dorado" bags at a total cost of $350. Took them home and washed them in my screen. I have been "mining" sapphires for over 35 years every summer with my wife, 3-4-5 bags or buckets a year, mostly from another town, and have had a very satisfying experience. Over the years, we have been able to collect thousands of carats of gem-quality stones and have heat-treated over 1500 carats and faceted over 1000 carets of beautiful stones. I know what I am doing. This particular one-time $350 experience comes out as a "meh" at best. My bags of gravel were VERY clean - the result of them being screened and washed after being dug from the mine sources. However, that begs the question... what, exactly, am I receiving? As this is a production mine, and these bags are at least 2-3x as expensive as other bags/buckets to be had in other small Montana towns, I would expect to find a good quantity of quality stones. However, given the nature of the "wash" and screening... am I getting all I should? Have quality, larger stones been screened or sluiced out? Dunno... all I can say is that I paid $100 each for top-quality "Motherlode" bags and picked a total of 23 carats from both. The "El Dorado" bags produced just under 30 carats of stones together. All together, I found 9 carats of "gem quality" stones, from a total of 53 carats of sapphires and garnets from 4 bags at $350 - that is 2.25 raw carats of quality stones per bag. Hm... Yes, this is ALWAYS a crapshoot - You can very much count on bags and buckets varying widely in their production. But, my 35 years of experience elsewhere at $30 to $45 a bag/bucket has produced, on average, a little over 20 carats each (and about 1/3rd of those, or an average of 7.8 carats being cuttable "gem quality" stones) I have to wonder what the terms "El Dorado" and "Motherlode" mean at 3x the cost. Yes, Spokane Bar has a reputation for larger stones... but where are they? In the mine? Do they make it into the bags? Dunno... Maybe I'll return and try again. Maybe I'll book an actual dig at the Motherlode mine and measure that against what the bags on sale produce. I cannot say that I was ripped off - certainty, there are no guarantees here, or anywhere, in this hobby - but I can say that years and years of experience tell me that my "luck" is better elsewhere for the price. Some pretty stones, certainly. But many more gem-quality stones for the $$$ elsewhere... and I have the pics and jewelry to prove it. P.S. My brief encounter with the absolutely beautiful and gracious Halsey proves there are gems to be found here. Maybe not in the bags, but certainly behind the front counter! read more

This is a great place to pan for Montana sapphires. They have some shade and picnic tables to sit at while going through your gravel. It is located on a gravel road so don't take a fancy car!! We got the mother load gravel. Worth the money in my option! Cheryl was very knowledgeable and fun to talk to! read more

All of the stars, 10/10 recommend. If your trip isn't blessed by a visit from Russ, then you need to trek back out to this little "gem" of a place outside of Helena. Russ is what I'd affectionately call the "grand pappy" of rock hounding. He wants you to have the best experience you possibly can, and if you are panning your rocks wrong, he is more than happy to show you how the rocks are "supposed to sound" when swishing them in the water. It is a family business, and everyone we encountered was overtly helpful. Even the puppies helped. I only wish we had more time to go back. read more

Spokane Bar Sapphire Mine - Crystal helping separate the stones - Jewelry Near Me - Helena, Montana

You will find sapphires, we even found some tiny garnets but after a visit to another sapphire mine, Spokane Bar was significantly overpriced, less nice and less exciting. read more

Spokane Bar Sapphire Mine - Jewelry Near Me - Helena, Montana

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This family owned business is a gem! Stopped here for our one night stay in Helena and found a true piece of art to wear around my neck. One of their very own blue sapphires. I couldn't be more happy to purchase this from them. Thank you for all your knowledge of sapphires, not only was it educational but very fun as well. I'll treasure my sapphire from Montana and you guys were awesome! Thanks again! read more

What a fun, family-friendly place! I won't give away any secrets, but the staff really took care of us on this hot, smoky July afternoon. My kiddos were thrilled with their finds, and it really felt like an authentic mining experience. They are not currently giving tours due to staffing shortages, but we didn't feel like the time was less than fulfilling. Highly recommend! read more

Spokane Bar Sapphire Mine - Hunting for sapphires (and rubies, garnets, opals and more) - Jewelry Near Me - Helena, Montana

Do Not Buy Online Gravels from this mine, they cheat. Paid $150.00 for the "mother lode" gravel bag, came in about 4 lbs short of the 30lbs advertised. Paid $125.00 for 'eldorado" bag, it was only a few pounds short. In both bags, gravel was washed fairly well. The sapphire content in both bags is very conducive to the gravel being "cherry picked" before being sent out. I have been working with sapphires for years and know that yes, sometimes you don't find that much, if any, on rare times. But what you do get is a smattering of all different sizes of stones. Both bags had no medium or large stones. Only very small ones and chips. The worthless stuff a mine would throw out. There is no doubt that the gravel has been gone through before being sent to us, the uniform small size shows that. After, I looked for reviews and found many folks had the same idea. The mine is probably played out and they are trying to keep their business going by ripping off people with online bags of worthless gravel. read more

Had a wonderful time at the sapphire mine. Patrick was very attentive to our lack of knowledge. We left with some beautiful gems. read more

Spokane Bar Sapphire Mine - Gems - Jewelry Near Me - Helena, Montana

I recently visited the Sapphire mine with my family. My boys loved learning while they were searching out sapphires. It does get a little hot, so bringing water along is a must! Another great day spent Under the Big Sky! read more