DaveNEPhila
Newbie
I was in the Franklin area from 7/18- 7/20. It was my first time mining. My aim was to mine native dirt not enriched. I went to these mines: Mason Mountain (the Johnson place), Sheffield Mine, Cherokee mine, and Mason Mine (by the airport).
I had gotten in too late for Sheffield 3pm so I went to Mason Mountain. For $10 discounted from $25 for all day I had about 2 hrs of digging in their loads of dirt from their mine (which I later found out could be enriched). I got a brief explanation of what to look for. I didn't find any rubies or sapphires but I did find some tiny pieces of emerald, some small rhodolite garnets and a lot of nice white quartz (no crystals). I also found a large rock with many garnets in it. After I take some pics I'll post 'em.
On the 2nd day since Sheffield didn't open till 10 am & it was 9 I went to Cherokee Mine a little further down th road. $7 admission + $1.50 a bucket. A very clean place. Flume h2o was clear diverted from nearby stream. The dirt was easy to clean and there was a staff member at the flume to help identify cleaned gravel. No R or S but some salmonite, kaolinite and some other minerals along with some nice quartz.Someone else found a sapphire. Left about noon for Sheffield. got put on wait list about 1 hr wait. $ 10 admission includes 2 bckt Natural or Rainbow or mix Addtl natural were 2/$3. The flume is recirculated from the pond and always seemed muddy unless u were lucky to get near the start of the flume. The dirt is very tough to go through - a lot of sandstone. I did 1 rainbow and 7 natural and only found some quartz and the seeded semi precious stones in the rainbow.
The last day was at Mason mine $20 & you dig your own buckets and carry them back to the flume. It was not crowded. the flume is clean h20 from the stream. Very helpful staff. I/they found a small sapphire 1ct. in the first bucket of dirt I had dug up. We found several more during the course of the day & by the end I was spotting them without assistance. All the sapphires I found were pink and the largest was about 5 cts.
Overall I had a fun time. I'll be heading back to Franklin some time and my first stop will be the Mason Mine.
One note about Franklin just about all the mines and gem shops close at 5pm. And there's not a whole lot to do after 5.
I had gotten in too late for Sheffield 3pm so I went to Mason Mountain. For $10 discounted from $25 for all day I had about 2 hrs of digging in their loads of dirt from their mine (which I later found out could be enriched). I got a brief explanation of what to look for. I didn't find any rubies or sapphires but I did find some tiny pieces of emerald, some small rhodolite garnets and a lot of nice white quartz (no crystals). I also found a large rock with many garnets in it. After I take some pics I'll post 'em.
On the 2nd day since Sheffield didn't open till 10 am & it was 9 I went to Cherokee Mine a little further down th road. $7 admission + $1.50 a bucket. A very clean place. Flume h2o was clear diverted from nearby stream. The dirt was easy to clean and there was a staff member at the flume to help identify cleaned gravel. No R or S but some salmonite, kaolinite and some other minerals along with some nice quartz.Someone else found a sapphire. Left about noon for Sheffield. got put on wait list about 1 hr wait. $ 10 admission includes 2 bckt Natural or Rainbow or mix Addtl natural were 2/$3. The flume is recirculated from the pond and always seemed muddy unless u were lucky to get near the start of the flume. The dirt is very tough to go through - a lot of sandstone. I did 1 rainbow and 7 natural and only found some quartz and the seeded semi precious stones in the rainbow.
The last day was at Mason mine $20 & you dig your own buckets and carry them back to the flume. It was not crowded. the flume is clean h20 from the stream. Very helpful staff. I/they found a small sapphire 1ct. in the first bucket of dirt I had dug up. We found several more during the course of the day & by the end I was spotting them without assistance. All the sapphires I found were pink and the largest was about 5 cts.
Overall I had a fun time. I'll be heading back to Franklin some time and my first stop will be the Mason Mine.
One note about Franklin just about all the mines and gem shops close at 5pm. And there's not a whole lot to do after 5.
