Gem mining in North Carolina

[jpitt1970]

My wife & I are planning to head up to N.C. later this summer. We are planning on doing some gem mining and want to actually do this the real way. We don't want to buy a seeded bucket of crap from somewhere else. We want to go somewhere that actually lets us dig!.. Anybody know the best place to go??

 

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[jgowans]

Hiddenite and Franklin are 2 areas I know of.

 

[Slingshot]

There is a rock & mineral museum in downtown Franklin, visit it, admission is free. Ask them where the best place for you to go for the kind of gem digging experience you want, and they will be happy to put you on a spot where you can dig your own dirt. Good luck!

 

[eggbag]

Yup sheffield mine in franklin nc. You sift through real buckets of dirt in the water, not seeded buckets of rocks. You will find rubies and saphires. They have a web site that you can google. It was fun and cheap!

 

[jgowans]

There are also places to pan for gold if that is of interest.
The recent rains may help with the pickings.

 

[graybar-hotel]

Hello,

My family and I went to Franklin last year to gem mine. We hit five mines and found that the Rose Creek Mine was and is the best. Check their website out. We came away with five sets of ears rings made from citrine, aquamarine, and ruby. Rose creek is one of two mines in Franklin that is still actually allowed to dig. Others strip haul and salt.

My daughter wears a 18ct. blood red ruby around her neck she found at Rose Creek.
My wife has a 5 ct ea pair of Citrine ear rings, and 6 ct ea Ruby ear rings all found at Rose Creek.
My son found a 12 ct sapphire ( ? ) and had it cut to keep for girlfriend and he is only six years old. !!!
These are all cut weights, not raw.

The slew is easy and shaded. The people are great and very helpful. The mine is small and hidden away. Please take you time and visit Rose Creek.
I really do not work for them, just had a great time.

Graybar-Hotel

 

[mlayers]

Emerald Hollow in Hiddenite NC you pay $15 and that gets wher you can go anywhere the mine or creek bed. Check out there site. http://www.hiddenitegems.com/map.html hope you have fun and good luck to you..Matt

 

[Tecumseh]

Just as an fyi:

My family enjoys doing this, and we usually go to the Sheffield mine. Last summer I found a 30 carat sapphire, and took it to have it made into a pendant for the wife. The jeweler told me that it is extremely unusual (like maybe 10%-20% chance) to find a stone that has any value, or that can be cut. The reason is that at some point in the area's history, there was a volcanic event that formed the gems. There was then a subsequent volcanic event. This allegedly damaged the existing stones, so that, though they look good when you dig them, when a jeweler tries to cut them, they will be shot through with tiny holes like a sponge, and will often shatter during the cutting process.

Fortunately, my stone was one of the rare ones, and the wife now has a necklace worth about $600-$700.

Don't know about the veracity of what he told me, but I thought I'd share it.

 

[Buck Bagaw]

Did the NC gem mining thing last spring. Started out at Emerald Hollow in Hiddenite and left there with the "hollow" feeling that it was less than genuine. First and last visit there are one and the same for me. We then went West to Franklin and visited Mason's Mine on the Burningtown creek. There are no salted buckets of imported colored stones to buy, only native stones that you mine yourself. You just pay the fee, which is good for the whole day, and they give you a shovel and a bucket and take you to the mining area. They will tell you what to look for when digging so you dont waste your time in the wrong type of soil. They also supervise you while you sit at the sluice so you don't miss anything valuable. I came away with over twenty carats of native sapphires, but some folks did much better than that. I will go there again.

 

[Atticus Finch]

My wife and I spent a week there last year. I did some "creeking". I'd appreciate anyone posting your pics of the gems you found.

Thanks,

Cap Z.

 

[snizzard]

Why not hit Vein Mountain and do some gold prospecting?

 

[dennisd567]

I was going to the hiddenite mine every weekend before I had my stroke..(live about an hour south of there) If you know what you are looking for you will find emeralds, sapphire, ruby, citrine, and garnet in the creek and if you want to dig in the mountain you may find an emerald worth a fortune. that area (the mine and the farms around it) deliver an emerald in the range of $500,000 to $2million every year! And it is cool by the creek even when it is 90 degrees in Charlotte. Pack a picnic lunch and spend the day. Don't break the rules or argue with the management- they do expel cheaters and nuisances.

 

[elistepp]

Good luck!

 

[tiggergirl]

Franklin NC...Mason Sapphire Mine out by the airport. You dig your own buckets. And Mason Rhotilite Mine in Cowee Valley you can buy buckets "salted" or for less money you can get your own buckets from a pile of mine dirt carry it yourself...not far and not salted

 

[rockhound]

Near Spruce Pine, N.C. there are several gem mines I have been to most of them and had some good luck. Although it is just like playing the lottery, sometimes you will luck up and get a real nice quality gem suitable for a jewelry piece or at least a nice specimen. I have seen several nice large gems come from there, garnet, sapphire, ruby, amethyst and sometimes even a nice emerald. One mine in the area is called the "Emerald Mine." If you are in the area you can check out the various mines there. Good Luck. rockhound

 

[vhakra]

I've been looking for a cool for my wife that would appeal to my wife and be fun for my daughter. Since the wife likes shiny stones this sounds like a great idea. Thanks to those with the suggestions!

 

[GTzer]

Rockhound-nice to hear Spruce Pine mentioned. My father used to take geology clubs down there. I always thought that was the name of the mine.