The hardest known mineral, found only rarely in western North Carolina. By 1895 nearly all of the corundum produced and used in the United States came from the counties west of the Blue Ridge, though the use of artificial abrasives after 1900 brought an end to the industry.ĭiamond. Mining began in 1871 in Macon County, where corundum soon found greater application as an abrasive than a gemstone. A form of aluminum oxide, second only to the diamond in hardness, found in Madison County in 1846. The industry, though never flourishing, continued until 1962.Ĭorundum. Exploited as early as 1585, when Roanoke Island explorers reported its use by Indians, copper was first mined commercially in Granville County in 1852 (one of the first such mines in the nation). Element found as sulfides such as chalcocite, chalcopyrite, and bornite in the mountain belt (Ashe, Jackson, Swain, and Haywood Counties), Guilford, Granville, and Person Counties, and other areas throughout the state. After mining between 18 and during both world wars, chromite came to be considered a reserve mineral.Ĭopper. Found as chromite (chromium oxide) in olivine-rich rock called “dunite.” Known to exist since 1870, chromite is found in Yancey County’s Day Book Mine and in Buncombe County’s Democrat Mine, as well as in deposits in Iredell, Macon, and Jackson Counties. Discovered in Macon County in 1871, aquamarine (blue beryl) and golden beryl were mined in Mitchell County in the early 1900s by the end of the century, Macon County’s Littlefield Mine and Yancey County’s Ray Mine continued to produce modest amounts for amateur collectors.Ĭhromium. Very hard mineral (beryllium aluminum silicate) found in granitic rocks and pegmatites. The mining of anthophyllite (used as asbestos) remained a minor industry in Yancey through the late 1970s.īeryl. Though asbestos was reported in Wilkes and Polk Counties by 1900, production in Yancey County in 1919 was among the highest in the nation that year. Its nonflammable character found applications in insulation (shingles and siding) and served other heat-resistant needs (firefighters’ products). Silky, fibrous form of silicate minerals first discovered in 1871. By the 1980s argillite (such as that quarried in Davidson County) was becoming widely used in the hearths of manufactured homes and in prefabricated fireplaces.Īsbestos. Fine-grained, gray-to-dark colored sedimentary rock.
Other mines such as the Connally and Rhodes Mines also operated in Macon County.Īrgillite. Southeast Macon County’s Tessentee Creek was originally operated by Tiffany and Company of New York around 1900. Violet quartz gemstone colored by inclusions of hematite or other minerals, found in Stokes, Burke, Lincoln, Iredell, Moore, Warren, and Franklin Counties. Important Minerals, Gems, and Rocks Mined in North CarolinaĪmethyst. Part 1: Introduction Part 2: Important Minerals, Gems, and Rocks Mined in North Carolina Part 3: References See also: Bechtler Mint Big Ore Bank Cabinet of Minerals Gold Hill Mine Gold Rush.
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