As a general rule, it is always best to go to new collecting locations with people who have been there before and know where to look.  Gem and Mineral Society' field trips can be one of the best ways to locate and collect that particular mineral/fossil that your interested in.  For a partial list of clubs in Georgia and the Southeast, go to our "Clubs link" pages at http://www.gamineral.org/links-frame-main.htm

As a stated GMS Internet policy, we do not give out directions to non-commercial mineral/fossil locations over the Internet.    GMS and the other Federation clubs try to educate the public in the earth sciences through our field trip collecting policies and the AFMS code of ethics.  As a member of a mineral society which is associated with the (A)merican (F)ederation of (M)ineralogical (S)ocieties and the Southeast Federation of Mineralogical Societies, we are bound by these code of ethics; the general public is not.  Therefore, we do not give out directions.  We do, however, list a number of commercial (fee) locations on our website at http://www.gamineral.org/commercial-sites.htm.
 

• DIAMOND HILL QUARTZ MINE, Antreville, SC - Skeletal quartz & Amethyst
• BURRA BURRA MINE -  A Historic Mine Site, Ducktown Basin Museum, Ducktown, TN. for garnets and massive pyrite.
• GRAVES MOUNTAIN - The most famous mineral location in Georgia - rutile, kyanite, lazulite, iridescent hematite, pyrophyllite, pyrite,  ilmenite, muscovite, fuchsite, barite, sulfur, blue quartz and quartz crystals with a hematite coating.

Of course, your best bet would be to join the Georgia Mineral Society and participate in some of our many field trips throughout the year.  We usually have two per month and over the last two years we have given our members the opportunity to go on over 46 mineral, fossil, and micro-mineral field trips.
 

Everyone needs to check the renewal date on their "Tips and Trips" mailing label to see whether your GMS membership has EXPIRED!  Dues are now due yearly based on the month that you joined the Georgia Mineral Society.  Electronic "Tips and Tips" subscribers need to keep track of when they joined as we do not yet notify those members.  Currently, all members are given a two month expiration grace period on the e-mail broadcast list.
or
You did not notify the GMS Webmaster when you changed your e-mail address last!
 

The Georgia Mineral Society has a list of retired hobbyist and working  professionals who have agreed to give talks on subjects related to our hobby.  Interested parties may contact GMS at gmsmail@gamineral.org and request a speaker.  GMS speakers will review and fulfill these requests as their individual schedules permit!  Learn more about our GMS Speakers Bureau by following this link:  http://www.gamineral.org/speakers-bureau.html

All requests for field trips will be considered on a case-by-case basis by qualified individual field trip leaders.  The Georgia Mineral Society may not conduct field trips for non-member groups due to our current liability insurance contract.
 

You will need to learn to use multiple Internet search engine sites.  The Georgia Mineral Society is not a library and we do not keep detailed mineral information on-line.  We do rely on some of our Internet enabled members to answer questions posed by the public that are general in nature and related to our hobby.  The Internet is a wonderful resource to tap for classroom assignments but GMS does not currently have the resources to help with homework projects!
 

The Georgia Mineral Society will not advertise what you have to sell unless your are one of our members!  When you join GMS, you can put a description of the equipment you have for sell on our "Want List" Internet page and you are permitted to place a notice in our "Tips and Trips" club newsletter which is sent to all GMS members.  You could also join the GMS discussion group (open to all) and e-mail broadcast your equipment list to those who have joined this group.   This is NOT a real effective way to get the word out!