Hiddenite Gem Mines

Samples were sent to Dr. J. Lawrence Smith in Louisville, Kentucky, who determined that the stone Hidden had collected was spodumene.

This a public gem mine located in the Piedmont of North Carolina in Alexander County, specifically in the town of Hiddenite.

Sluicing is the process of taking a small amount of dirt or soil removed from the mine and sifting through it with a stream of running water known as a sluiceway.

As the dirt is washed down the trough, the larger pieces of gems, minerals, and other stones are left in the sifter.

[2] The mine has an on-site lapidary shop where visitors’ gem stones can be cleaned, finished, and made into jewelry.

For excavating the stones, large, modern, and professional equipment is used to unearth the gems hidden deep within the pits of the NAEM.