Rock & Mineral Collecting: The mine is open from mid-May through early September with a limited number of dates available. Rock piles are built from the original ore left from mining days. Collecting is by advance reservation only. In addition. we offer rock and mineral collecting adventures for groups at other nearby mines that we own. Copper Nugget sluice. Try your hand at slucing and panning for copper nuggets. Each ore pile dig includes a bag of high-grade concenrate with copper nuggets. Instruction and use of pan is included.