Ace of Diamonds Mine & Campground

GOOD NEWS! We are very pleased to announce that effective immediately the Ace of Diamonds Mine is now open to the public for mining and the restriction on the sale of minerals has been removed. The campground will also remain open. We will be open to the public for tourist mining and shopping in our gift shop from 9:00AM to 5:00PM daily. We ask that you please share this news far and wide so we can get the word out as quickly as possible. Now for the bad newsalthough... the Court Order has been modified, the restriction prohibiting us from commercial mining remains in effect until further notice. What does this mean for our customers? It means that without our ability to mine commercially on the property, we will not be generating any new material to dump onto the tailings piles. We know everyone has become accustomed to us regularly dumping fresh material in the tourist mining area and we are very sorry for this change. We kindly ask that everyone do their best not to complain about a lack of fresh rocks on the piles as that is currently not within our ability to control and we are making every effort possible to change this. This ongoing restriction on commercial mining also means that we are currently unable to replenish our existing inventory by mining new crystals on the property. We continue to oppose this Court Order and as soon as we have any further announcement, we will post an update on our Facebook page and website. We are very excited to welcome everyone back to our mine and remain immensely thankful for everyone’s continued support. See more

Good morning everyone! We know everyone has been eagerly awaiting an update. We did have our court appearance yesterday and during the appearance, the Judge did make some changes to the existing Court Order. However, these changes will not take effect until the Judge actually signs the new Court Order. To ensure that any announcement we make is 100% accurate, our attorney has asked that we hold off on providing any new details until we have this newly signed court order in our hands. We expect that we will be able to make a detailed announcement to everyone in the next few days. The moment we have new information to share, we will post a further announcement on our Facebook page and website. Thank you to everyone for your continued support and patience during this very difficult time for our business.

I know everyone (including us) has been patiently waiting for an update regarding the Ace of Diamonds Mine shutdown. Unfortunately, we were informed today that our next court appearance has been postponed until June 10th. We therefore expect that the shutdown of our mine will continue at least through June 10th. At this time, we are still unable to sell the minerals in our gift shop, but the gift shop and campground do remain open. We will post a further update on our Facebook page and website as soon as we have more information. We would also like to take a moment to thank everyone who has reached out to us since this ordeal began. We miss all of you very much and hope to re-open the mine soon.

EXTREMELY URGENT NOTICE: We are extremely saddened to announce that due to a recently issued Court Order, our business is required to immediately cease all mining activities until further notice. This includes both our commercial mining operation and any tourist mining. Our campground will remain open. Understandably some guests may wish to cancel their camping reservation and we are willing to issue a full refund to anyone wishing to do so. We ask that you please be patien...t as we have only one phone line and are anticipating a flood of calls stemming from this announcement. If you get a busy signal when calling, please try again later between the hours of 9AM and 5PM. We will also be reaching out to everyone with a camping reservation to make them aware of this sudden announcement. We are vigorously opposing this Court Order and hope to have the restriction lifted soon. Although we do expect an update during our next court appearance on May 27th, at this time, we do not know if we will be allowed to resume mining this season. We will make a further announcement as soon as new information becomes available. In addition, at this time, we cannot arrange for or permit the removal of any mineral resources from the property. Due to this language in the Court Order, we are currently unable to sell any minerals located in our gift shop. It is our hope that this limitation will be removed in the next few days and will make a further announcement as soon as we can resume selling our minerals. In the meantime, the gift shop will remain open from 9AM to 5PM daily for customers wishing to purchase other items in our store. We know this is extremely shocking, unexpected, and upsetting news for everyone. We are extremely sorry for the disappointment and disruption that this message will undoubtedly have upon our customers and their family plans. We will keep everyone informed as new information becomes available. As a small family business, we ask for your help in spreading the word so that people are aware of this urgent news before attempting to visit our mine.

If you are in Tucson for the gem show, stop on by! We have a great selection of our Herkimer Diamonds here at the booth. We are located at 1010 South Freeway, Tucson, AZ 85745.

Greetings and Happy Spring to everyone! We are pleased to announce that we will be open to the public for mining beginning April 1st. We will also begin accepting camping reservations by phone on April 1st. The best time to call is between 10AM and 4PM. If you get a busy signal, it means we are already assisting another caller, so please try again later. Please note that due to the uncertainty of the weather in April, camping and sluice mining generally does not begin until M...id-April when we can safely turn on the water without the risk of freezing. We are also still subject to COVID-19 protocols, so face masks are still required when inside our store and social distancing should be practiced at all times. Face masks are not required outside so long as you are at least 6 feet away from another person. We are also still limited on the number of customers that can be inside our store at one time, so we continue to kindly ask that you send only 1 person from your group inside to purchase digging tickets. We look forward to seeing everyone this season and remain grateful for your continued support of our family business. See more

Good afternoon everyone! We would just like to take a moment to thank all of our customers for another successful season, especially during these uncertain times. We could not have navigated all of these new COVID-19 restrictions without your support and cooperation, and for that we are extremely grateful. As a reminder, we are now closed for the season and will reopen on April 1st. We look forward to seeing everyone in the spring and wish you all a safe and healthy winter.

Good News! Here is the announcement you have all been waiting for...Beginning Friday, June 26th, we will be open to the public for day mining. Our campground is also open. If you would like to reserve a campsite or check camping availability, please call our office at (315) 891-3855 between 9AM and 5PM. Below is a list of COVID-19 guidelines that we have established to help keep everyone safe: 1) Anyone entering the mine office for any reason MUST wear a mask.... 2) No more than 6 customers will be allowed in the mine office at any given time. Therefore, we ask that only ONE person per group enter the mine office to check-in for camping, purchase mining tickets, rent tools, shop in the store, etc. 3) Social distancing (6 foot distancing) should be observed at all times. While waiting in line, please stand on the red lines that we have placed 6 feet apart. 4) Upon arrival, we kindly ask that you provide us with your name and phone number (one per group is fine). This is for Dept. of Health purposes so that you can be reached in the event that another patron later discovers they were positive for the virus during your visit. We are very excited to be re-opening to the public and we hope to see you soon! Sincerely, Ted, Anita, and Anna Jane Smith Ace of Diamonds Mine

Just to let everyone know, our campground is now fully booked for tomorrow (Friday, May 29th) and Saturday, May 30th. As a friendly reminder, only those who have reserved a campsite are able to mine at this time. We will make a further announcement as soon as we know when we can open for day mining.

Good morning everyone, Beginning Friday, May 29th, we will be open for camping only. Although we will continue to be closed to the public for day mining, those registered to camp will be allowed to purchase a mining ticket. If you would like to reserve a campsite, please call our office at (315) 891-3855 between 9AM and 5PM. We will begin accepting camping reservations at 9AM this morning. As a reminder, there is a limit of 6 people per campsite. At this time, only registere...d guests will be allowed at the campsites (no visitors). In addition, we have also made the difficult decision to not accept reservations for the Guided Mining (trophy dig) experience for this year's mining season. Below is a list of COVID-19 guidelines that we have established to help keep everyone safe: 1) Anyone entering the mine office must wear a mask. 2) We ask that only one person per group enter the mine office to check-in for camping, purchase mining tickets, rent tools, etc. 3) Social distancing (6 foot distancing) should be observed at all times. 4) No more than 6 people will be allowed in the mine office at any given time. The safety of our staff and patrons remains our top priority and we will make a further announcement on our website and Facebook page as soon as we know when we will be able to open to the public for day mining. Thank you for your patience, understanding, and continued support. We hope to see you soon! Sincerely, Ted, Anita, and Anna Jane Smith Ace of Diamonds Mine

Good morning everyone, With Phase 1 of the NY Governor’s reopening plan starting in our county on May 15th, we feel we should provide an update to everyone on where we stand in this reopening process. Given the nature of our business (entertainment/recreation), it appears that we will not be opening until Phase 4. Since each phase is followed by a minimum 2 week waiting period, WE ANTICIPATE OPENING NO SOONER THAN JUNE 26TH. Unfortunately, it is impossible to know with certai...nty how long each phase of the Governor’s reopening process will be as it is dependent upon many factors, including the number of new COVID-19 cases that occur during each phase. I know this news comes as a huge disappointment to everyone, but we are making every effort to open as soon as possible while still complying with New York guidelines. The health and safety of our staff and patrons remains our top priority and we will make a further announcement on our website and Facebook page as soon as we know an official opening date. Once an official opening date is known, we will begin taking camping reservations for the season. We sincerely appreciate everyone's patience, understanding, and continued support during this time. Sincerely, Ted, Anita, and Anna Jane Smith Ace of Diamonds Mine

Good afternoon everyone, Due to New York’s recent ban on gatherings of more than 50 people, the White House’s recommendation of no gatherings of more than 10 people, and the New York Governor’s request that all non-essential businesses temporarily close, we feel it is necessary to make an announcement to our customers. We know that everyone is eagerly awaiting April 1st (our normal opening day for the season), however, we also recognize that the health and safety of our staff... and patrons is a top priority to us. As you all know, our mine attracts large groups of visitors from all over the country. Unfortunately, due to the recent COVID-19 reports, we regret to inform you that WE WILL BE CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. This is a very difficult decision for us, but we believe it is the right move to help prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. We will make a further announcement as soon as we know when we will be able to open for the season. As a small family owned business, our resources are limited. We therefore kindly ask for your help in circulating this announcement throughout the mining community. Thank you for your continued support, Ted, Anita, and Anna Jane Smith Ace of Diamonds Mine

Good Afternoon, Due to recent restrictions on international travel, temporary closure of our local schools, and cancellations of several activities involving large groups of people, we would like to touch base with our customers regarding the recent COVID-19 reports. We know that everyone is eagerly awaiting April 1st (our normal opening day for the season) and everyone is excited to get outside and mine some fresh crystals. However, we also recognize that the health and safe...ty of our staff and patrons is of top priority to us. As you all know, our mine attracts large groups of visitors from all over the country. We are therefore carefully monitoring the ongoing situation and will inform you as soon as possible if the decision is made to delay opening of our mine, store, and campground. At this time, we are strongly considering delaying opening until April 15th in an effort to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. This is not a decision we take lightly. We will be making a final decision on this in the next few days and will make an official announcement on our website and Facebook page. PLEASE RE-SHARE. Thank you for your continued support, Ted, Anita, and Anna Jane Smith Ace of Diamonds Mine