I found a $400.00 emerald in Cherokee, NC some years back, I made it into a ring and gave it to my mother, she still wears it proudly to this day.

I've been collecting minerals with special interest upon NC my home state for 45 years. There's really few other states with the diversity of NC. I actually saw one of my former emerald specimens in this video that I sold a prominent Raleigh area collector many years ago who passed away several years and donated many specimens to the museum in our state capital. North Carolina lead the nation in gold production until the California strike and it also was the start of the first significant silver discovery in the US. The King's Mine, later named the Washington Mine and ultimately the Silver Hill Mine produced lead and was one of the few mines commissioned to remain in operation during the civil war so that it could provide the much needed lead for making bullets for the south. Copper, lead, zinc, chromium, molybdenum and other metallic ores also. NC was once a top producer of Tungsten as well with mines in Vance Co., NC that operated well into the 1970's until the prices of tungsten dropped and it became cheaper to buy imported tungsten but it is estimated that millions of tons of it still exist in NC. In many of the NC ore mines, beautiful examples of ore minerals such a malachite, azurite, cerrusite, pyromorphite, etc. can be found. NC is also a leading producer of talc mainly in the form of pyrophyllite. The Glendon deposit in Moore County is well known for the biggest and best NC pyrite specimens from there, an accessory mineral at the mine. Amethyst from the Reel Mine in Lincoln Co., NC is amongst the finest in the state although amethyst occurs in at least several dozen counties. Smoky quartz from Hiddenite, NC is world class and it to is found in dozens of counties. Garnets of exceptional quality have been found in the western Piedmont and mountains and the Raleigh area. Kyanite, rutile, zircon is also found. Uranium ores have been mined mainly in the western mountain area and include uraninite, torbernite, gummite, autunite, samarskite and others. NC is a leading producer of mica and feldspar with mines primarily in Mitchell, Yancey and Cleveland Counties. Above all is NC emeralds, the best and biggest in the US. Emerald is produced in three counties: Alexander, Mitchell and Cleveland. Golden beryl and aquamarine from the Mitchell, Yancey, Alexander and Macon counties to name a few have afforded many fine gems. NC was once also one of a handful of states to produce ruby in any quality and quantity with famous mines in the Cowee Valley region of Franklin County. Corundum of non-gem quality has been found in many counties but true ruby and sapphire occur in just a handful of localities. NC is truly a mineral collectors paradise.

As a child growing up in Black Mountain, my friends and I often entertained ourselves by prizing little garnets from chunks of rough stone found laying about on the ground. We'd make "sunglasses" from layers of mica and get bragging rights for finding the largest, cleanest pieces. I especially liked the dark smokey color of black mica.

FASCINATING HEARING ABOUT THE CREATION OF THESE MOUNTAINS . BLESSINGS TO ALL OF YOU

You didn't mention Franklin, NC at all, which is interesting. The town holds a gem and mineral festival every October, prides itself on being the "gem capital of the world," and is the location of Cowee Valley, which has the majority of the local mines and is the only place in North America where you can find rhodolite, a variation of garnet...

You and your friend Chris remind me of my later brother. He had a passion for geology and geography and educated himself on them. He would take me out driving in the mountains and along the coast here in Washington state and tell me about their history. We would also go rock hounding/crystal hunting together and with friends. I miss him so much and it is a treat to listen to you and be reminded of him. Thank you so much.

Emerald Hollow in Hiddenite is calling!

It is awesome learning about all the neat minerals we have in the ground here. All over our state I have found some neat gemstones and I am sure there are some great areas full of gems still in the mountains of Wilkes and Ashe counties...

This is amazing. These Blue Ridge Mountains are special. This is so fascinating and well done. Thank you. ❤

Look at everyone here getting all excited about gems in them thar mountains. One thing they didn't point out is that most everything you'll find will not be gem quality stones. Just look at most of those stones in this video. They have cracks running all through them. They even hinted at it in this video when they mentioned that corundum is no longer mined in NC for "abrasives." They used to mine corundum, aka sapphire, to grind up and make sandpaper because that's all it was good for. I know places up in the mountains where I can pick up garnet by the handful and none of it would be gem quality. Keep that in mind.

What a beautiful and educational show. Thank you

Every day I'm finding more reasons to love my home state. Thanks for the awesome video!

I use to live in NC and it's true they have so many different minerals it's unbelievable.

I remember going to a place called Blue diamond mine and found all kinds of minerals and gems. It was an amazing experience. Was a great way to spend my birthday.

I live in Sparta in Allegheny county where we had an earthquake a couple years ago. Some geologist stayed at our Airbnb and brought me a Malachite! 😍 they knew I was a rock collector. What other rocks should I looks for in this area? I’ve found large chunks of mica and quartz .

My daughter and I were just at the Hiddenite Gem Mine last week !!! We are truly rock hounds !!! We've been to Hiddenite several times and have enjoyed the fun experience of finding amazing gems 💎 ❤️

Wow this sheds some light on my discovery! I live just over the state line in Eastern Tennessee, I am finding small crystals fragments and on some occasions 1-3" long by 1\4" diameter. I don't know what to do with them but some are nice others are just fragments. Your video made me more queries about how they got here. Some are on top of the ground others are in the ground.

I get so emotional...we are here for a very short time on this earth..but... earth? It is here to stay

My greatest find was a quartz clovis point I found in Randolph county

I live about 20 miles west of Reed gold mine, as a kid finding quartz and such and loved seeing gold in the clear and white quartz

I have a place as well. No digging require and all are out in the open. All the stones you mentioned and so many more! The same rock shoppe also sells books.

I worked on several dam reclamation projects along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Boone and Blowing Rock. There were areas where we had to remove the top soil to lay down anti-erosion mats. After a heavy rain (before the mats were placed) those sites would have beautiful crystals just sticking out of the ground like jewels!

They forgot the little pine garnet mine. I have some the size of a half dollar. Although the mine is closed, the tailings pile is quite large

Imagine finding a pound of gold on the ground...

Man.... just imagine wandering around the woods because you have nothing better to do and tripping over a 28lb gold nugget.

Every time I go to North Carolina, a trip to the ruby mines is in order, this year I am going to try some different venues to look for beryl

There are frontiers yet to be discovered!

Great video. Thanks for posting.

I've finally found the right channel 💎

If you want to find the amazing wonders that are still in the ground you are going to have to lighten up a bit on the restrictions and the closings of locations.

I got permission on big family farm in the gold belt in NC I've found more rocks with freemill gold than alluvial gold in streams. Even though the streams are fun in the summertime. Mainly all little gold the miners left it there they had to go for the big gold being $30 an ounce now look at the price today.

We found a 1 carat ruby in it NC at a natural-only mine!!!

Is there anyone in the McDowell, Yancey, Mitchell or avery counties that would be able to show me the ropes a little or mentor me in this area or just let me tag along to a few sites to dig?

I live in Taylorsville nc about 5 minutes from hiddenite emerald mines their is a little creek up the road i can pull 10 pound Cristal out of consistently

I stopped at one of those tourist traps where you pan for your gems in buckets of dirt. Deep in the bucket i found a 1995 copper penny. I treasure it to this day. Jerks!

I know this video is old... but i have a chest full of gems. They are all from local north carolina and was passed down to me via my mentor. It consists of ruby, emerald and amethyst. I was told a man was caving and prospecting near pisgah and gathered them in said cave/cave system. The gems i have is about 9 pounds worth of mostly emeralds. The size of your thumb to a pencil eraser. Most have granite on them that are larger where smaller gets to be almost gem worthy

19:35~ Valuable gemstone can be found in NC.

Franklin is tugging at my heartstrings! But I’ve never been to Spruce Pine so looks like a weekend trip coming up! ⛰️

When I worked at a garage that serviced some of the hiddnite mine trucks, I found a nice deep color emerald in the mud on the bumper. It was about 12 kt. I still have it somewhere.

Thats a sweet ruby ring!!! 😘

At 2:36 what kind of cracks?😳

I have a lot of these minerals further North on the Appalachia in Maine...Volcanic terrain..briefly mined in the 1960s...

My son lives in NC and while I was planting on his property, I noted the clay had consistent glitter in it. What is this? They were fine particles but very obvious.

Id be interested in a response from a knowledgeable person I know a place on a wild river that runs unobstructed from the NC/TN border down the western slope. I found, while fishing over a couple of decades in the area, a large block of marble and/or quartz. It looks to have fallen from higher up the slope and is now partially in the stream. I am thinking about trying to gather some samples from the immediate downstream area. I want to see if it has weathered all the years and hope that there may be deposits of gold there. This stream is rough and tumble with steep sides. Not easy to access at all. Any thoughts or suggestions? I was a far younger man when I found it. Is this the type of area that is worth exploring?

Gold is in a few rivers, but not a lot . Most of it is gone .

What are the red ruby's in the night soil? That is a Thailand Dick red ruby. It almost looks like a ruby, but it really isn't, but you can see it's red. What is it? It seems to be in the soils from seven california to central california, especially optimality freeway systems.

My mom used to live in Murphy and she found some kyanite on her property.

Good!

@2;35 you state " rock broke.down into soil". Please redact your statement. Be accurate. Thank you for the excellent show.

Are there any gemstones in the eastern part of the state, like near Elizabeth City?

That land at one time belonged to the Cherokee people until white man found gold. It was greed that caused the Cherokee people to be moved off their ancestral land and put on the trail of tears to Oklahoma !!

My businesses and lifestyle keep me so sedentary so I envy the prospector's life of always constantly hunting that score. TRUST ME. Know that feeling ^_^

huge size raw blue sapphire more than 2000 gms

I wanna go❤

Carnaúba é história

Another thing the small towns in the valleys that was dug out where did the dirt and rock go could it all been used 2 make mountains.

where in NC are you digging? Write me back.

Anyone that wants gems must go through me lol and so it is

Dude is digging right under a HUGE poison ivy patch!!! ☠️

I want one

Just a question if a bomb was dropped wouldn't and couldn't it cause enough pressure 2 form gems.

Cut & polished sure you find them all over the ground 😮

I wonder if you have verification of those gigantic ages, read Genesis for real ages

I went to Hedonite NC emerald mine. Found some amazing Gems

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉🎉

Wonder why they call Idaho the gem state😊

Where is the spot for find the Rubies?

Ever found any good shinies in Ohio??

Doug must not be allergic to poison ivy

Did Doug get poison ivy when he was digging?

Emeralds are not that great in carolina.

Let's just explain geology. G I logic my logic

Well time to go rock hunting student loans aren't gonna pay themselves.

10:15 Sooo, having slaves doing the dirtywork is a hobby?

Chris must be as old as creation or the big bang.

If you believe in the LORD JESUS CHRIST, Then you have to accept that the world is only right around 6000 yrs old.nYou can trace the lineage of JESUS back to Adam and creation At 4000yrs. Then Jesus till now at 2023. Do not believe me than read the KJV Bible. If you believe as the world believes then you will not make it to Heaven.

If you don't hunt you ain't shit.

These explanations are laughable 🤣

beautiful