South Carolina’s state gem is amethyst, and Diamond Hill is where you go get it yourself. The old commercial mine near Abbeville is open to the public for digging, and it produces amethyst, smoky quartz and the strange hollow-faced skeletal quartz the site is known for among collectors. Bring a rock hammer, gloves and water; the red clay is unforgiving in summer. PUBLIC fee dig, Abbeville County.
Amethyst, smoky quartz, skeletal quartz
Other places on the map within a couple of hours.
