What needs to be in stock? Made me wonder if they really use our gems or just ship pendants they order in the different sizes and shapes they offer. The lady said they would ship in less than a week as long as everything was in stock. A visit to the area of the Cherokee Ruby Mine where the gem dirt is dug and put in buckets for guests to clean on the flume line. We were only going to be in town 2 more days so they were going to ship our pendants (no chain). Caler Creek Ruby Mine: Macon NC: Mica: View Details > CARSON SHOP AREA/RUBY MILL SITE: Sierra CA: Gold Ore: View Details > Cherokee Ruby Mine: Macon NC: Mica: View Details > Cherokee Ruby Mine: Macon NC: Gemstones: View Details > Dale And Demkos Ruby Mine: Macon NC: Mica: View Details > Gibsons Ruby Mine: Macon NC: Misc. But after we left I got to thinking about something the lady said. We choose to have pendants made from a couple of our gems which I was really excited about. Not sure we had any but seeing what they looked like afterwards in the store, we wouldn't have realized they were gems. The term placer refers to mineral bearing deposits of ancient sand, dirt, and gravel which were left behind by ancient glaciers, rivers, or other flowing waters, also known as alluvial deposits. Some of the gems are easy to identify, and they showed us what a garnet was (or we never would have kept it), but a chart or board above the mining boxes showing rubies or sapphires would be helpful. The Cherokee Ruby and Sapphire Mine is a placer gem mine. A little more assistance when we started would have been better. Kids had a fun time and enjoyed afterwards seeing what the different things were we mined. Swain County NANTAHALA GORGE RuBY MINE 11900 US Hwy. The attached picture is what we found.not even that was worth the $50 we spent Including Asheville, Biltmore Estate, Cherokee, and the Blue Ridge Parkway Constance E. I feel like they showcase the big buckets with the chunks of gems sitting on top of them to get you to buy. Third the “gems” we found were smaller than my pinky nail and the big ones we did find were the polished rocks from inside the store. It totally killed it for me right there as I hate if I tell someone I know what I’m doing and don’t want any help and they don’t listen. Second we told the miner we knew what we were doing and didn’t need help and he still dumped half of my husbands and almost all of my bucket into the sifters and started sifting the dirt to show us. First the buckets were 90% dirt and hard clumps of red clay you would spend 20 minutes breaking them apart for absolutely nothing. My husband and I love going to gem mines and this is definitely a “you get what you pay for” place.
![cherokee ruby mine cherokee ruby mine](https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/0d/24/8f/23/two-ovel-garnets-from.jpg)
![cherokee ruby mine cherokee ruby mine](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/55/62/70/556270e77b7af0f4f7105a7042fa5bea.jpg)
It’s okay for kids to get the “experience” but i don’t recommend for adults who like doing this kinda thing. Cherokee Ruby & Sapphire Mine: Their mine is not salted or enriched and contains only native North Carolina gemstones, including Rubies, Sapphires.