Sink Hole Mica Mine

Updated May 15th, 2023



Spruce Pine Pegmatite from Sink Hole Mica Mine
Beautiful muscovite mica (rum mica) in gray colored quartz and postasium feldspar (creamy white) matrix
 The Sink Hole Mica Mine is currently closed due to some inconsiderate folks dumping trash in the mine area. But, I have made arrangements with one of the co-owners, Ed Silver, that if you give him a call on his cell (828) 467-0179 and tell them that Bo Smith of Bo's Mine Tours told you to give him a call to get permission to collect at the mine, he probably will give you permission.

But, please make sure you leave nothing behind and pick what trash you might find that you can remove.

Note: You will need a four wheel drive, all wheel drive or a rugged 2 wheel drive with good ground clearance to drive up the road to the mine!
 
The Sink Hole Mica Mine is about a 45 minute drive from Emerald Village off of State Road 80N near Bakersville, NC.



The Sink Hole Mica Mine used to provide an excellent mineral collecting experience at one of the area's most historic mines. The Sink Hole Mine has a unique mix of excellent samples of the Spruce Pine pegmatite with small "gemmy" garnets in a mica/feldspar/smoky quartz matrix. The owners of the mine continue to remove material from the upper tailings for road fill.  Although there is less material up there, the remaining material has been turned over and new rocks are exposed.

  Minerals Commonly Found at the Sink Hole Mica Mine




This is the product that the Sink Hole Mine produced.

It was originally used for windows in the late 18th Century and for furnace windows in the early 19th Century.


C Colored Muscovite Mica without dentrtic inclusions was used as an insulator for electrical products in the 20th Century.



This is a classic sample of the Sinkhole Mine pegmatite.

The feldspar is a potassium rich feldspar, usually either orthoclase or microcline. Both types of these feldspars have the same Potassium Aluminum Silicate composition with only slight differences in their structure which cannot usually be determined in the field.

The Almandine Garnet consists of small gemmy crystals usually occurring in the Smoky Quartz,.



  Classic Spruce Pine Pegmatite Minerals
Feldspar (cream), Smoky Quartz (gray), Muscovite Mica
Nice Spruce Pine Pegmatite specimen with Almandine Garnets
Nice Gem Feldspar (upper right) from Sink Hole Mines I found in August 2015
 

Apatite crystal in Feldspar.
(fluoresces bright yellow)
It is rare to find a crystal like this.
The Apatite at Sinkhole normally looks like this. Sometimes the Apatite crystal is surrounded with Garnet
Top left- If you look carefully at the Feldspar you collect, you might find some "gem feldspar"
Small "gemmy" Garnet crystals are commonly found in the pegmatite at the Sink Hole Mine


Pictures of Sink Hole Tours







You can begin with a short hike to see one of the shafts.

Next, you can view the ravine where the Hopewell Native Americans mined for mica 2000 years ago.

There is not much left of the buildings that used to exist at the Sink Hole Mine

During my research, I learned in which parts of the upper tailings that specific minerals could be found.

I assisted tour goers identify the minerals they found at the "tailings".
Middle school aged students particularly enjoy the "hands on experience"

Tour Group 2012
Tour Group 2014
Tour Group 2013

Website and images by Robert S "Bo" Smith