SPECIAL REPORT: Magic Minerals in the Red Cloud Mine

13 On Your Side's Arlette Yousif shares an exclusive report on the Red Cloud Mine, a world-famous Wulfenite mine

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - What was once a silver mine has turned into a world-famous haven. It's a quick getaway to a place some might call a magical destination.

A hidden treasure just Northwest of Yuma County is full of gems, especially Wulfenite.

Wulfenite is a mineral found closer to home than you might imagine. Red Cloud Mine Manager Roger Sarber says since the late 1870s, silver miners lived in a town called Silent, Arizona. About 3,000 people lived in underground dugouts and there was even a post office.

Eventually, everyone packed up and moved away from what is now called the Red Cloud Mine in La Paz County, which became a world-famous Wulfenite mine in 1930 thanks to the discovery of the beautiful gem by a man named Ed Over.

“After 1930, the mine kind of was in and out of ownership. There [were] people that were getting in here and a lot of 'em were collecting and it wasn't until the late, let's say about, 1998 to 2002 when the first big commercial mining operation came here,” says Red Cloud Mine Manager and Underground Expert Roger Sarber.

That’s when large sheets of Wulfenite were mined. At the time, they were worth about $1 million.

"Basically what they did is they mined through the first 100 feet of underground workings via open pit, 'cause they didn't want to do any underground mining. The pocket was so big that they hit [that] two guys could actually climb down inside of it," explains Sarber.

The first discovered large pieces of Wulfenite are on display at the Smithsonian Institute. A 2.5-inch cluster of bright red crystals is now valued at $5 million.

"You have this vein of Silver, which is basically Silver and Lead - it's Galena. There's a little bit of Molybdenum and Zinc here. And there's enough of the Molybdenum that mixed with the Lead to form a Wulfenite solution. And the crystals would form as the earth slowly cooled over about 60 million years," says Sarber.

But before it was a collector's item, it was used for war.

"They were grinding it up, especially during WWII and extracting the Lead and the Molybdenum for the war effort. Bullets, batteries, solder and Molybdenum is a steel hardener," explains Sarber.

The last commercial Silver mining at the Red Cloud Mine happened in 1980 but the history of the early miners lives on.

"They built their little minor homes that are, you know, across the land as you're coming in towards the mine. To find holes in the earth, they had chimneys, they had shelves. Their beds were in those places and it was to keep cool in the summertime 'cause they lived here year-round," says Red Cloud Mine Public Relations Coordinator and Expert Miner Daniel Grooms.

And there’s still money to be made here.

"The pit is about 90 feet deep, right here where you're standing right now. Everything you see around you, especially the attic that's behind me is part of the old 1800s diggings that they did down here," explains Grooms.

"Back in 2016 was on a 390-foot level underground and we hit a pocket. We took out $300 thousand worth of specimens. Two crystals, inch and a half [of] blood red on matrix sold for $50 thousand each, and the whole pocket was sold out the Tucson show in four days, including those two crystals," says Sarber.

Just an hour and a half off-road drive will get you to this magical place where the stars practically sit on your shoulders.

"Roger and I have been here for eight years now and this place, you know, it obviously has a background. It has a meaning to me, but I want it to mean something to everybody in our community as well," explains Grooms.

For only $35 per person, per day, it’s well worth the experience and education. Red Cloud Mine is open from October to April. It's a great camping destination.

A couple from San Diego say this is a must-see.

"You get to come up and you get to dig in the rocks and you get to find real nice gems and it’s just exciting when you find a piece," says visitor Randall Lafond.

"I just like exploring and finding treasures. I want to find something and keep it and take it home as a treasure," explains visitor Madeline Stepler.

Some even come looking for Wulfenite for its healing and metaphysical properties.

But the history of the mine is a wonder of its own.

"The trails that they left us, the things that they, they left over for us as new mins and you know, the new generation of mins, um, the new adventures, even it's a, uh, it's an honor to even be able to find that stuff or be inside those homes, feel the emotions that, and their, um, what they left over for us to see is phenomenal," says Grooms.

If you use a UV light on a fluorescent mineral, you get a pretty glow. The evening view of the mine is out of this world, magical even as each mineral illuminates different colors, giving you the mystical visions of an underground enchanted fairytale.

"It's a phenomenal experience to get to do this. And I wanna teach it to other people, especially young kids. We want to create an educational area," explains Grooms.

For details and booking information visit the Red Cloud Mine Facebook page.