Graves Mountain, Georgia
September 28, 2003
Members of MAGMA met at Graves Mountain this weekend for a fun two days of collecting, everyone had a blast. Many of our members had never been to this site and were thrilled at the amount of material to be collected.
Doug Suggs digging for iridescent hematite.
Graves Mountain has been a mecca for rockhounds for years. It is probably the most famous collecting site in Georgia. The geology of the site is very complex. The original rocks were deposited during the Pennsylvanian Period (310-280 million years ago). During the late Pennsylvanian or early Permian Period (290-250 million years ago) the region experienced folding and heating. As the region was heated, the sedimentary rock metamorphosed into the schists and quartzite that now composes Graves Mountain. The dominant rock at Graves is a pyrite/sericite/kyanite/quartz rock, this is a metamorphic rock. The primary ore is kyanite. Commercial mining began in 1963. At one time, this mine produced half the kyanite in the United States.
The variety of minerals to be found include: barite, jarosite, phosphosiderite, variscite, quartzite, quartz, rutile, ilmenite, kyanite, pyrite, lazulite, pyrophyllite, hematite, goethite, limonite, sulphur, iridescent hematite, etc.. Mined many years for industrial kyanite, the area is now closed to commercial operations. Fortunately the site is still open to rockhounds from all over to collect the excellent specimens found there. Graves is located near central Georgia. The site is open to collecting by appointment only. You do not have to be a member of a club to access the site or collect. You will need to contact the caretaker, Jr. Norman, at: (706) 401-3173. Do not call after 8:00 PM or on Sunday please.
The best time to visit the site is fall and winter. The summer can be very hot, many times over 100 degrees in the mine, happy hunting.
RJ searches the ground for crystals.
A few members gather around a shade tree.
Lazulite crystal cluster.
