Posted on

The Oceanview and Pala Chief Mine in Pala, California

Click on photos TWICE to call up the largest image

The Ocean View Mine and the Pala Chief Mine
37304 Magee Rd, Pala, CA 92059
Jeff Swanger, Owner, Chief Operator, and Hero to Small Scale Miners
760-415-9143

http://www.oceanviewmine.com

$75 a person

Special instructions to reach the mine at their website and also discussed below.

Oceanview Mines, LLC offers two fee/dig experiences in the Pala Mining District. Commonly found are tourmalines, kunzites, and morganites, along with other sparkly things like pink lepidolite. The Pala area, a pegmatite mining district, has been actively worked for gemstones since the turn of the 19th century.

A screen and wash activity is held three times a week in season throughout much of the year. Online videos produced by Jeff Swanger and crew show the entire process. This easy-to-do activity will return attractive stones.

The second experience is held twice a month for part of the year. Bring your own tools. The Pala Chief fee/dig allows rockhounds to search through old tailings and mine dumps, along with hacking at the side of Chief Mountain itself. At some point the mine operator might work an excavator, digging a six-foot deep trench to bring up fresh dirt and rock for searching. Anything found can be kept.

Follow website directions with care. Their directions start in Pala and go east. First, get to Magee Road using Highway 76; the mine’s entrance road is a few miles from there. Only Magee’s south entrance from Highway 76 should be attempted. Do not take Magee Road if you are driving south from Temecula. In Pala there is a Magee Place that is not Magee Road. If Magee Road is not in one’s navigation device, try looking for the Pala Raceway. Magee Road is further east on 76.

If you have the time, locate Magee Road the day before so you won’t worry about finding it on the day of your dig. The countryside is beautiful and the Mission San Antonio de Pala in Pala itself is a Kodak moment. The California Mission chain is well known but their extension churches like this one are not. On this day before you can also try visiting The Collector or the Fallbrook Gem and Mineral Museum.

The mine property road is rough but I saw a Mini Cooper negotiate its entire length. Staff will happily load people and gear into a buggy if a driver does not wish to drive the road. Bring sunscreen even if it is overcast, snacks, and tools if you are doing the Pala Chief. Full details at their website. Driest weather month may be May if you are planning a trip from across the country.

Resist taking too many photographs, instead, dive into digging or screening as long as you can and as hard as you can. You are going to find something wonderful. Oh, and if you can’t go, you can order a bag of pay dirt if they are still offering it. I found enough nice things in what they sent to convince me to go in person.

Magee Road and Highway 76 coordinates:
33°21.830′ N 117°03.440′ W

Google map link to Magee Road and Highway 76:
https://goo.gl/maps/hxKNCWGxSzdK1Kxv9

http://www.oceanviewmine.com

For further adventures, read my file on Places to Collect and Visit in the Southwest:

SW_Places_To_Visit_Or_Collect_5_

I am ashamed that I took vertical video but here it is.

Pala Chief Mine in Early March, 2019 from Thomas Farley on Vimeo.

[ppp_non_patron_only][/ppp_non_patron_only]

Posted on

Pala Chief Fee Dig, Pala California

Many people wonder if a fee dig operator has picked through pay dirt before they get to a site, thinking the owner has kept the best material. At the Pala Chief fee dig, that’s certainly not the case.

Here, Jeff Jeff Swanger, Owner and Chief operator of the Ocean View and Pala Chief Mines, digs up untouched ground, piling it to one side so rockhounds can go through it. He must have spent fifteen minutes at it, removing a tremendous amount of material.

After the excavator retreated, some jumped into the new trench, to see if anything was down, rather than up. In either case, no one had gone through that ground before!

Besides that treat, we were free to dig, chisel, pry, and hammer at any rock or rock face on the mountain. Many people did very well just surface collecting. And we kept whatever we found.

https://digforgems.com

 

 

 

Posted on

Mining By Mail

This photograph shows twenty pounds of mine tailings from either the Ocean View Mine or the Pala Chief Mine in San Diego, County, California. The mines are open to the public for a fee a few days each week but I’ve been unable to schedule a visit.  Perhaps this box will introduce me to what the mines have to offer.

Although the cost may seem high, a hundred dollars plus shipping, a trip to San Diego County would involve gas, three nights of hotel or camping accommodations, and of course the entry fee once I finally got to the mine.

As a hobbyist, I don’t expect my findings to pay for my expenses. It’s the experience, the excitement of discovery. Small bits of aquamarine, kunzite, and tourmaline are inexpensive bought outright. This is just buying into treasure hunting at home.

I’ll go through the material today and tomorrow. Screen and wash. As to what I find, sorry, you’ll just have to buy my book. If that sounds mean, realize that the more I disclose content here, the more I take away from someone having to buy my title.

My publisher would not be happy if I wrote up every experience I have at this website. If you review my previous posts, I think you’ll find I am sharing as much as I can. I have always been a fair trader with my writing and I hope you appreciate that.