The Emerald Mines of North Carolina
By Earl Hunsinger
Have you ever dreamed of finding buried treasure? Perhaps you imagined a treasure chest full of gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. For one man in the state of North Carolina the dream came true in 2007. Although he didn't find a chest full of buried pirate treasure, he did find what has been described as the largest high quality emerald ever discovered in North America. It weighed 972 carats and will be cut into smaller stones, which it is estimated will sell for as much as two million dollars.
Of course, as you might expect, it wasn't an accident that he found it. He said, "I've spent my life chasing these things, chasing the dreams, chasing the emeralds. I've found a lot of emeralds in my life but this tops them all."
Are you a rock hunter? Do you too dream of finding emeralds or other gemstones? Then perhaps you need to move to North Carolina. The state is the home to several emerald mines. In addition to the emerald mentioned above, the largest emerald ever found in the United States came from North Carolina, weighing in at 1,869 carats. In fact, the twenty largest emeralds ever found in the United States came from North Carolina.
Would you like to try your hand at emerald prospecting? The only emerald mines in the United States open to the public for prospecting are also found in North Carolina. The Crabtree Emerald Mine is located in Grassy Creek North Carolina and the Emerald Hollow Mine is located in the small town of Hiddenite, North Carolina. More than sixty-three different types of naturally occurring gems and minerals can be found here. In addition to emeralds, this gem mine contains aquamarine, sapphire, garnet, topaz, amethyst, citrine, rutile, and tourmaline, as well as an abundance of world-class smoky and clear quartz crystals. Hiddenite, NC is also famous as the only place on earth where the very rare gemstone "Hiddenite" can be found.
Every year, they have thousands of visitors. Some are just tourists, looking for something interesting to do for an afternoon, but serious, or semi-serious, prospectors also visit, hoping to strike it rich. They also provide an educational field trip program for groups wishing to visit. This program includes an earth science talk, where visitors learn about gemstones, with the content tailored to the age of the "students." Such groups, and other visitors, also get to learn in a more, by participating in actual mining activities that include sluicing, creeking, and surface collecting.
Unlike some mining operations that are open to the public, the Emerald Hollow Mine doesn't just allow you to pretend to be a prospector. Visitors can use two large state-of-the-art sluiceways, where they wash buckets filled with ore taken directly from the mine. Creeking involves looking for gemstones in the creeks that wind through the seventy wooded acres of the property. They also allow digging in specific areas.
Whether you are a serious prospector, or are just looking for an adventurous way to spend a summer afternoon, why not plan a trip to the gemstone mines of North Carolina?
