Almandine Garnet, Little Pine Mine
Madison Co., N.C.

The Little Pine Garnet Mine was worked in 1904-1905 for abrasive garnet to be used as sandpaper etc.. The mine was closed for several years and then purchased in 1913 by Logan Ball. Logan worked the mine for many years locating many gem quality specimens. Tiffany's of New York visited the mine at one time to determine if there was enough gem quality material to be productive in a large scale mining operation. Gem quality material was not as abundant as Tiffany's would have liked and they declined to do any major mining at the site. But there were numerous specimens for collectors to be found. After several more years passed, Logan opened the mine to local collectors/rockhounds for the fee of $1.00 per day. The mine had become famous over the years for its large well formed crystals of almandine garnet, some up to 8-10 pounds! Eventually the mine was passed on to Jack Ball Sr.. He continued to allow collecting at the site for $5.00 per day. As the years have passed, many fantastic specimens have been found. Today, the mine is operated by Jackie Ball, Jacks Son, and he too allows collecting for the fee of $25.00 per day.