Little Pine Garnet Mine
Madison County, North Carolina

Geology of the
Little Pine Garnet Mine

There were three mountain building stages that formed the Appalachian Mountains. It is believed that the Little Pine matrix was formed during the first mountain building stages. That would make the garnet crystals in the mine around 450 million years old. The matrix is a metamorphic material made up of a chlorite / mica schist. There is some iron and quartz also in the mix. The majority of the garnet crystals in the mine are being replaced by the chlorite and mica, this makes them unsuitable for abrasive or gem material. The crystals have retained their excellent shape which makes them much sought after by local collectors. Some of the garnets have been distorted during their growth which gives rise to some unusual shapes. I have had two theories given to me by geologists. The first being that extreme heat and pressure while the crystals were forming caused the elongated shapes and distorted crystals. The second is that it is simply caused by the atomic makeup of the crystals, perhaps one of the atoms ended up in the wrong place while the crystal was forming ? Either way, they are some of the most unusual garnet crystals in the world.