{"id":2830,"date":"2021-02-07T21:21:37","date_gmt":"2021-02-08T02:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.americangeode.com\/blog\/?p=2830"},"modified":"2021-02-07T21:21:40","modified_gmt":"2021-02-08T02:21:40","slug":"graves-mountain-a-rockhounds-mecca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.americangeode.com\/blog\/graves-mountain-a-rockhounds-mecca\/","title":{"rendered":"Graves Mountain, a Rockhound’s Mecca"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Field Trip to Graves Mountain on Friday, January 29, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was my first field\ntrip, and outdoors adventure since hernia operation exactly one month earlier,\nand my first trip to famous Graves Mountain, so I had my gear, tools, and\nclothes laid out for at least a week prior. I had to take the day off of work\ntoo, so this was a special day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graves Mountain is the\nsite of an old mining operation, like so many rockhound locales, and in this\ncase Tiffany\u2019s back in the Roaring 20\u2019s was mining for Rutile. Rutile is an\nindustrial semi-precious gemstone used to polish diamonds. Again, like so many\nmining operations it changed hands, owners, there were lawsuits, etc. and so\non. In addition to Rutile, the area was mined for Kyanite for industrial\npurposes. As of 2021, the site is privately managed, and opened occasionally to\nclubs and private excursions, so I was able to visit this famous site through\nmy membership with the Georgia Mineral Society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The directions that\nJuergen Poppelreuter, one of the trip leaders, provided were perfect. I\nactually arrived 20 minutes before assigned arrival, and I was not the first!\nPeople were excited!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the safety talk,\nwe embarked on the march to the pits. There is a main, very large pit, the\nprimary pit, and then another pit, that I believe is split in two, that is\nhigher up the mountain. The march is not too difficult but for future\nrockhounds, I suggest backpack, sturdy garden wagon, or if no wagon, then some\nkind of trolley because, whichever pit you choose, the walk from the parking\nlot is about 15 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The minerals you are\nhunting for are primarily rutile, kyanite, lazulite, pyrophyllite, and\niridescent hematite. From socially distanced conversations with the other\nrockhound, the iridescent hematite and rutile were arguably the most desirable,\nand the rutile the most elusive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something that is\nessential to bring with you is a camera, a real camera if you can pack one\nbecause the landscape, the mountain-scape is impressive. Before I got to the\npit I took many photos of the landscape as we were luck to have a bright and\nsunny day. As this site is private and off-limits otherwise, I took full advantage\nof the chance to photograph this famous rockhound locale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The style of rockhound\nhere is primarily sifting through the overflow and fallen boulders and surface\nhunting. The walls are almost impenetrable without power tools, and signs mark\nthe clear risk of being near the wall and below the cliffs. So you move from\narea to area cracking open larger pieces in search of minerals, and you also\nkeep a close eye on the ground for any crystals or minerals that have washed or\neroded out, or perhaps fallen out of someone else\u2019s loot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personally, I believe\nyou can only spend a day in one area, in order to substantially mine,\nrockhound, and collect. The are is simply bigger than a football field. I spent\nmy day in the primary, main pit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was able to find some\ngreat blue kyanite, some very heavily oxidized kyanite that I will work to\nclean up, and one decent example of the iridescent hematite. There is a lot of\nquartz if you are interested in quartz! Quartz is the Georgia State Mineral,\nand it is very plentiful at Graves Mountain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you tumble rocks,\nthe quartz and quartz composite pieces that are all over would supply you with\nplenty of tumbling material. I did not opt for quartz as my residence is full\nof it inside, outside, and we have quartz a plenty near us as we live in North\nGeorgia\u2019s Blue Ridge Mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A rule that I strive to\nalways follow when rockhounding, is collect, mine, and gather a lifetime\u2019s\nsupply for yourself. No matter what assurance you give yourself that you will\ncome back to a locale one day, it seems like life easily gets in the way, and you\nregret not collecting more. So, when you go to Graves Mountain, bring plenty of\ntote bags, boxes, your cart or trolley, and make sure the shocks on your car\nare in good order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tools required are\npretty standard, sledge hammers, crowbars, picks, bags, water, sunscreen, and\nsnacks. While you can go to and from your car, as I described earlier, it is\nnot the easiest walk, and could be 1\/8th<\/sup> of a mile or so, so plan on\nspending the day, with breaks, and be prepared. Last point on preparation, there\nare no bathrooms or facilities of any sort, so plan accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have been cleaning up\nmy kyanite, and it is a much more vibrant shade of blue than I expected. The\ndark kyanite is cool, but I do not see it cleaning up as well. I am happy with\nmy iridescent, but I wish I was bringing home a coffee table sized specimen. I\ndid not find any rutile, but in passing conversation with other rockhounds\nthere that day, some smallish crystals were found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, like all rockhounding trips, even if you do not find a specimen worthy of contacting the people at National Geographic, the day was full of fresh air, exercise, fellowship, and adventure. I look forward to my next visit to Graves Mountain, to one of the other pits! More pictures from Graves Mountain, and other rockhounding tips, tricks, advice, and locations can be found on my blog if you Google \u201cAmerican Geode Blog.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n