Post Date: Sept 28, 2011Trip Date: Summer 2004

Emerald Hollow Mine








In 2004, I had heard of the Emerald discoveries near the town of Hiddenite, N.C. Emerald not being a common mineral in North Carolina let alone in the United States, the rock hound in me said I have to go there. As a side note…Hiddenite was named after the famed mineralogist W.E. Hidden who in the early 1800’s discovered a previously unknown mineral. Later this mineral would bear his name also. I was able to convince my family into taking this years vacation in Hiddenite.

After several weeks, I had painstakingly gathered all the geologic and rock collecting information I could for this area and for the state at large. There is a wealth of information on the Internet. North Carolina is noted for numerous varieties of gemstones as well as a few gold-bearing streams of which I wanted to pan in. We had rented a cottage via the Internet so our lodgings were set.








Armed with picks, shovels, sifting screens, gold pans, printed information, digital information, laptop computers, gps units and about a hundred other pieces of rock collecting gear along with all of our other personal belongings off we went. It’s about a ten-hour drive from Pittsburgh, Pa. to Hiddenite, N.C. Upon arrival we located our cottage, unloaded the car then settled in for the evening with dinner and a rented movie. Tomorrow we were going to dig for Emeralds.

We located the Emerald Hollow Mine quite easily and proceeded down the narrow dusty red clay road. Upon arriving at and seeing the mining site my first impression was “this was something right out of the 1800’s”. Not really knowing what to expect this site took all of us by surprise. Here in a completely deserted area, a mile from the main highway, was a shanty type structure situated on maybe half an acre of bare red clay soil all surrounded by thick green forest. It reminded me of an old west town. The most surprising part of all was that we were not alone. There were several other cars parked here some bearing out of state license plates.






After a short walk around exploring the place we located the “sluicing area”, the “digging area” and the “creeking area”. I was ready to find Emeralds. The small wooden shanty was the office. Here you could ask questions and pay for the type of activity you wished to do. The Emerald Hollow Mine is a “pay to dig” site. I paid to do it all, naturally. We were given instructions on how, what, where and when. And, we were specifically instructed not to cross the creek. The property across the creek was supposedly guarded and totally off limits. This was the property where the actual Emeralds were being found.

One nice thing about this site was a clean bathroom with a large sink to wash up in. We brought our dirty clothes to dig with so it was very convenient. With our excitement being quite high, we quickly changed our clothes and were prepared to dig for Emeralds.







When I think of Emeralds I think of beautiful green glass-like crystals adorning royal crowns or necklaces flowing with green sparkling stones.

Our first stop…the digging area. Walking up a small hillside looking through the trees we could see thousands and I literally mean thousands of holes dug into the soil. There were holes of all shapes, sizes and depths. It appeared as if artillery shelling had taken place here. Or maybe like the continuous holes in Swiss Cheese. It was absolutely amazing to see this. I thought to my self did Emerald seekers dig all these holes. Along with the holes there were also numerous staked claim sites that we were instructed to stay clear of. These sites were paid for on a yearly basis. The sizes of some of these claims were amazing. Some of the claims contained within them bull dozers, front loaders, conveyor belts, machinery of all types used for excavating and digging. I must admit, I was amazed. Here we were with two hand shovels and a pick.

We walked into the forest not knowing how large an area was considered the digging area. There were no signs or flagging indicating boundaries. We located a spot, which seemed as good as any other spot, and started digging. One thing nice here was the fact that the digging area being in the forest it is all shaded. All three of us dug and dug…and dug and dug…and dug and dug. Five hours later, we had a hole of unmeasured proportions at least four feet deep. Didn’t find a single Emerald. Didn’t even find a trace of Emerald. In fact the only thing we did find was more red clay soil below our feet. That ended the digging phase.

But, hey there is more to come. After washing up and a small picnic lunch, I was ready for creeking. Down to the creek we went. At the bottom of a small hill was the creek void of any other people. The water looked pristine, cool and inviting. I’ll bet it’s full of Emeralds too. We brought our own sifting screens so in we dove. The water was only inches deep. The creek bed mainly sand and smaller pebble type material though there are larger sized rocks. This is perfect stuff to sift through with a screen. So we sifted and sifted. After several hours I was extremely happy with our “finds”. Yes, we did find several pieces of what I would describe as the Emerald matrix type of material. Not really what you would think of as Emerald. Not the beautiful clear green crystals that come to mind when you think of Emerald. Just a greeny mass of rock with what appeared to be semi clear spots. Certainly nothing even close to being considered gemmy. So ended the creeking.

Back up the hill, got washed up again and had a snack. We walked over to the sluicing area. Here they have set up several rows of long bench type seating with a wooden trough situated in front of the benches. Running through the trough is a stream of water. It’s a perfect sluicing set-up. You can purchase buckets of “natural material” which is supposedly only material naturally found in North Carolina or buckets of “salted material” which is stuff from who knows where. All this material is washed in the sluice and whatever you find in your bucket you get to keep. This type of activity is ideally suited for children though there were several adults actively engaged in sluicing. We tried it also.

Any serious rock collector would normally avoid this activity, as it has nothing to do with rock collecting. It is purely an amusement activity. Basically what it is, is a bucket full of sand and dirt with some rock and mineral samples placed in a bucket. You wash the sand and dirt away and find the remaining rocks and minerals. There are however, very expensive buckets guaranteed to contain uncut gemstones. You can purchase a bucket containing a diamond, ruby, or sapphire. My thought is why buy the sand just ask for the gemstone? I guess it’s just the thrill of washing the soil and finding the gem. I have seen other places offering gemstone sluicing and they all are about the same. It does offer children a wonderful hands-on experience to get dirty, play in the water and find some nice rock samples. Hunting Easter eggs could probably be comparable. On the other hand...I pretty much enjoyed sluicing myself !!!

With the sun sinking, we ended the day. The trip was well worth the experience. I completely enjoyed every moment of it. The digging and creeking was a most enjoyable real to life adventure. The sight of all those holes in the ground made by other Emerald seekers is unimaginable. Viewing the staked claims up as close as we were and actually seeing how mining for emeralds is accomplished was a thrill. Our finds may not have been the precious gemstones I was hoping to find but we did find the Emerald matrix material. I was not disappointed a single bit. It was an exceptional rock-hunting day. And the fact still remains…we could have found an Emerald weighing possibly several carats. The possibility does exist.

My only regret is that I just didn't take enough photos. Photos are an enhancement of memories. I wish I had more. After realizing this, every rock collecting trip since has been loaded with photos.



Franko