In the summer of 2004 I attended the Grassy Creek Gem and Mineral show held in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. This is a small outdoor show that has been held in Spruce Pine for many years. The dealers are composed of a wide collection of vendors from around the country, but many are local residents. One North Carolina dealer had a few specimens of emerald in pegmatite from the famous Crabtree Mine in Mitchell County, N.C. There are very few emerald deposits in the United States, and only a couple produced any gem quality material. The emerald deposits at Hiddenite, N.C., and on Crabtree Mountain, N.C. were both discovered almost 100 years ago. The Hiddenite mines are still producing a few spectacular gem-quality emerald crystals. The Crabtree Mine, an emerald depsoit in a small pegmatite-like vein, produced a few sizable gem-quality emeralds, but the mine is now depleted. The emerald at the Crabtree mine occured as small crystals generally emplaced near the contact of the "pegmatite" with the country rock. Shown above is a chunk of the pegmatite (quartz, feldspar, schorl tourmaline, emerald) encased between a crust of biotite mica. The arrows note the location of some of the small emerald crystals (An enlarged image is shown here). There are many small emerald crystals not noted. They seem to be primarily where the quartz contacts the biotite. Sine the Crabtree Mine was delpeted many years ago, specimens from this location are difficult to obtain. This rarity would be a special addition to a mineral collection. ( #M376, weight approx. 2 lbs., $20.00). BACK