Franklin NC Ruby Finds

[Furismo]

Today I went to the Mason Moutain Mine in Franklin, NC. I spent about three hours mining. The rocks pictured in order below are: Rhodolite, Sapphire, and Ruby. Are these worth anything? I think the camera flash made the color of the rocks look lighter than they actually are.

 

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[StoneWhisper]

Great find.. and hope your enjoyed yourself.. About the only thing I see.. is the Sapphire.. which actually could be a Star Sapphire.. and you do have a few Star rubies as well.. Most are to small to really do anything with (other then the star sapphire)

Just wondering do you actually dig for these or did you sit near a stream or sluice and sift through a bucket.. and you paid how much to do this?.. if you spent $25.00 dollars for 3 hours of mining.. then you prob lost money.. Typically what happens next is you would take the stones to a geologists located at the mine.. or an alternate mine and they would point out what can or could be of value.. but only after you pay about $85.00 to have it cut and polished and even mounted.

Sure it's fun and very time consuming.. But getting your moneys worth afterward maybe a challenge.. So at this point I'd say chalk this one up as a learning experience.. But never give up.

 

[Furismo]

I paid $15 for 3 hours. It was a natural mine where they had a pile of dirt to dig through and fill as many buckets as you wanted. They seemed in awe when I showed them the middle ruby in the lowest row. The gemologist said I had two really good facet grade pieces, and quite a few good stones for cabbing.