The original homemade backyard mining trough that started Kolt Mining, water running through a wooden sluice

Family Owned for 10+ Years

Kolt Mining®

Where the Past Educates the Future®

Real gemstones, fossils, and shark teeth — mined, sorted, and packed by our family for yours.

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A boy beside the homemade backyard mining trough

Our Origin Story

It Started in Our Backyard

Over a decade ago, our family hammered together a homemade mining trough for a backyard birthday party. We filled it with water and mining rough, and watched a yard full of kids and adults pan for real gemstones in the sunshine — eyes wide, hands muddy, pockets full of treasures.

That one party turned into Kolt Mining®. More than ten years later, we are still a family owned business, and we are still doing what we did that first afternoon: helping families discover the thrill of the hunt, one bag of rough at a time.

After the party, the trough was donated to a local school to help teach children about the California Gold Rush. The collection has grown since then, but the purpose remains the same: encourage learning through the thrill of discovery.

Every bag invites the same simple ritual: sift, uncover, identify and wonder.

Featured Kit

Our Best Seller: The Mother Lode

The Mother Lode is our all-in-one gemstone mining kit, and it earned its name. Inside you will find a full bag of mining rough absolutely loaded with assorted minerals, gemstones, fossils, shark teeth, and arrowheads — plus the identification materials you need to help name the treasures you find.

Pour it in a pan, add water, sift through the sand and let the hunt begin. It is the closest thing to a gold-rush payday you can hold in your hands.

Buy the Mother Lode on Amazon
The Mother Lode mining kit: a printed canvas bag of mining rough, green sifter, and identification postcards surrounded by gemstones, fossils, shark teeth, and an amethyst druzy
See the Mother Lode in action — real treasures, mined by real families.

What's Inside

Everything You Need for the Hunt

Every bag is packed by hand at our family workbench. Here are the treasures waiting inside.

  • Assorted Minerals

    A rotating cast of raw mineral specimens, no two bags alike.

  • 10+ oz. Gemstone Mix

    A heaping scoop of colorful gemstones waiting to be uncovered.

  • 4 oz. Fossil Mix

    Real prehistoric fossils, millions of years in the making.

  • Corax Teeth

    Sleek, ancient crow shark teeth — a collector favorite.

  • 15–20 Shark Teeth

    Genuine fossilized shark teeth in every single bag.

  • 2 Arrowheads

    Hand-knapped replicas that spark stories of the past.

  • Amethyst Druzy

    A large, glittering amethyst specimen to crown the haul.

  • And plenty of surprises

    Every bag is a little different — that's half the fun.

Infographic-style layout of everything inside a Kolt Mining kit: minerals, gemstones, fossils, shark teeth, arrowheads, and an amethyst druzy
Kolt Mining sample identification postcards for rocks, minerals, gemstones, and fossils, included with every kit

For Clubs & Classrooms

Perfect for Geology Clubs & Rock Hound Groups

Every kit includes our sample identification postcards, illustrated to teach kids and adults alike how to identify the rocks, minerals, and fossils in their haul. Finding the treasure is only the beginning — knowing what you found is where the real learning starts.

Teachers, scout leaders, and rockhound clubs tell us our kits turn an ordinary afternoon into a hands-on field trip. One bag, a little water, and a table full of wide-eyed prospectors.

  • Classroom-ready earth science, no prep required
  • Identification postcards that double as a field guide
  • Big enough for groups, birthdays, and club meetings