44 HISTORY OF THE GEMS FOUND IN NOETH CAROLINA.
blue-green
crystal in quartz was found at Mill's gold mine, Burke County, and a
fine transparent green crystal from that vicinity is now in the cabinet
of M. T. Lynde, of Brooklyn, N. Y. Another Piedmont locality is at
Wells, in Gaston County.
Some
of the beryls from the neighborhood of Statesville are of unusual
interest from their crystalline forms; these have been described and in
part figured by Mr. W. E. Hidden."
Passing
to the counties west of the Blue Ridge, several good localities are
known where fine beryls occur, generally in pegmatite dikes, like the
Bakersville emeralds. Clear green beryls have also been obtained at
Balsam Gap, Buncombe County; Carter's mine, Madison County; Thorn
Mountain, Macon County, and at one or two points in Jackson County. The
following, however, are more important:
Blue
beryl in fine crystals that afforded fair gems was found near the
Yancey County line, and golden beryl in the same vicinity, as noted by
Dr. Pratt. Some crystals 2 feet long and 7 inches in diameter,
with small clear spots, which would cut into gems, occur 4 miles south
of Bakersville, and near Grassy Creek, both in Mitchell County (PI.
III). Fine blue-green aquamarine is known at Pay's mica mine on
Hurricane Mt., Yancey County.
The
Grassy Creek locality, just noticed, has attracted some attention
recently as a source of fine aquamarine. It is situated on Brush Creek
Mountain, Estatoe P. 0.," Mitchell County. The beryls occur in a
pegmatite dike that cuts across the country rock (gneiss) at a low
angle, instead of conforming to the steep lamination of the latter, as
do the ordinary mica veins. These last are chiefly muscovite, while the
dike consists of quartz and albite, with black mica (biotite), garnet,
black-tourmaline, titanic iron and beryls. Most of the latter are
opaque and yellowish, the bright green ones being only occasionally
found, and not always in the dike, but sometimes in the adjacent
mica-schist,—as though a product of contact alteration. The best
crystals have a fine aquamarine tint, and some have yielded very
perfect gems of more than a carat in weight. Some honey-yellow beryls
also occur, sufficiently clear for cutting, but these are rare.
Another
locality in Mitchell County, very promising as a source of aquamarines,
is the Wiseman mine at Flatrock, near Spruce Pine P. 0. Here the beryls
occur not in a dike, as in the last instance, but in connection with
veins of muscovite mica that run with the gneiss rock.
