Fieldtrip Report:
Cherokee Ruby Mine
May 20th, 2006photos and text by:
Nelson House and Steve BarrThe reopening of the historic Cherokee Ruby Mine in Franklin was welcome news to most rockhounds' ears. Long known for the high quality gems that have been found there in the past, the site had been closed to the public for several years. Quite a few MAGMA members were itching to try their luck sluicing for real Cowee Valley rubies and sapphires, so we organized a trip
there.
Unlike many other North Carolina sluicing operations, the Cherokee Mine refuses to dilute or salt their native materials. You don't spend your day screening for inexpensive gems that have been imported from South America and added to the dirt in the buckets. The material you are working with comes straight from the Cherokee's own property.
One of the mine's new owners, Ray Montoya, is a MAGMA member and invited us to come out the first day that they reopened. While many folks in the group chose to arrive the day of the dig, several of us stayed overnight at the Rose Creek Campground on Friday. It was a great little place to camp, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone headed out to the Franklin area. The owners are really pleasant people who made us all feel right at home and entertained us with a lot of great conversation and laughter.
On the day of the trip, we had a great turnout. Maria, Ray's mother, ran the operations. She did a fantastic job, making sure that we all had what we needed, were shown some nice specimens that had been found there in the past, and she introduced us to Effie, the woman who had owned and operated the mine for many years. Effie was draped head-to-toe in magnificent jewelry created from some of the dazzling gems that she had found there over the years.
Exhausted from a long night around a roaring campfire, I made good use of my time and did an excellent job of keeping my folding lounge chair from blowing away.
Keith and Tiara Phagan
During the afternoon, quite a few people who weren't with our group began to trickle in and join us at the sluices. It seems that several of the rock shops and lapidary businesses in Franklin had heard that the Cherokee Mine was open again and they were urging people to head out there.
Steve Barr
Although none of us went home with a spectacular, huge ruby or sapphire to show for our efforts that day, several people found nice small specimens that included sapphires, rubies, garnets and a few nice pieces of rutile.
Alan Gould
