Emerald Hollow Mine
📍Hiddenite, North Carolina
Emerald Hollow is one of two emerald mines in the world open to the public for hobby prospecting. Located in the Brushy Mountains, Emerald Hollow is always a popular stop for those that want to do old-fashioned digging and those looking for guaranteed finds.
GPS coordinates:
35.91372, -81.08285
Land type:
Private
Digging fee:
Adults: $30/day
Kids: $10/day
While the focus of this website is on digging for native materials, this mine also offers “salted” buckets to dig through. These are buckets where things have been added to them. It offers something lighter to do for those visiting with families. The fees listed above are for digging in the native material.
What can you find?
This location has two main styles of digging - creek sluicing and true hard rock mining. The local host rock in the area is mica schist and decomposed granite. All the digging you’ll be doing here is open-pit mining, with tunneling explicitly not allowed. You’ll be chasing after small pegmatite veins, where crystals can be present. The primary targets here are obviously emerald, but also hiddenite. The town that the mine resides in is actually named after this stone. It’s a spodumene crystal that is rich in lithium, giving it a distinct coloration.
It’s also worth mentioning that there’s a wealth of different minerals that can be found here, including but not limited to sapphires, topaz, garnets, amethyst, and rutile. If you’re looking for emerald, trying to follow siderite coated quartz crystals is often a good indicator that you’re digging in a decent zone of mineralization.
Seasonality:
Open year-round, minus Thanksgiving, Christmas day, and New Year’s day.
Monday-Thursday: 8:30AM-5:00PM
Friday-Sunday: 8:30AM-6:00PM
May close early in the Winter days based on guest attendance.
Weather by month (using the nearest town):
Road condition notes:
Parking lot is fully paved and accessible from the road with any standard car.
Public bathrooms: Yes
Showers: No*
RV hookups: No*
(* Not available at the site itself, but are nearby at the Hiddenite Family Campground. Uncertain if the campground is affiliated with the mine)
Additional information:
Phone number: (828) 632-3394
Address: 484 Emerald Hollow Mine Dr, Hiddenite, NC 28636
Website: emeraldhollowmine.com
Note: rockhoundingmap.com is a free resource created using public online information and has no partnership with Emerald Hollow Mine.
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