RockWoof
Check access before you go. Most sites listed here are old mines, quarries or prospects, and many are on private land or active mining claims. Get the landowner's permission, check the rules of the agency that manages any public land, and never enter mine workings. Locations are approximate.

Sketch map

Warne-Sylva Kyn Belt (Occurrence)Shooting Creek + 1 more nearby (Occurrence)Jesse Hooper Farm (Prospect)Vineyard Mt. Deposit (Occurrence)Pounding Mill Creek (Prospect)Ira Beadles Prospect (Prospect)Vineyard Mountain (Prospect)Vineyard Creek + 1 more nearby (Prospect)Will Hall Farm + 1 more nearby (Prospect)W.E. Kitchens Prospect (Prospect)Mark Rogers Property (Prospect)Unnamed Prospect (Occurrence)Buck Creek Deposit + 1 more nearby (Past Producer)Fred Enlow Farm (Prospect)
Past ProducerProducerProspectOccurrenceStatus unknown
14 paw pins; nearby sites are grouped into one pin. Hover or tap a pin for the site name. County outline: US Census Bureau cartographic boundary file (2023). Locations approximate.

Woof’s favorite find

Shooting Creek

We picked it because its USGS record mentions 1 of the minerals on our cards and 1 of our card minerals overall. No other named site here scores as high on both counts. USGS lists it as occurrence. Minerals mentioned: Magnetite. Approx. location 35.050, -83.750. USGS record.

Ask first: a USGS record doesn’t mean you can visit. Find out who owns the land and get permission before collecting.

Field cards: what kind of sites?

11
Prospect

Explored or test-dug, with no recorded production.

4
Occurrence

The mineral was noted here, without development.

2
Past Producer

Produced ore or material at some point in the past.

1
Producer

Was producing when the record was made.

Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.

Mineral cards

Counts are sites whose USGS record mentions the mineral or commodity. Hardness from Mindat.

Minerals recorded here

Chromite 1Corundum 1Olivine 1Vermiculite 1Kyanite 1Sillimanite 1Ilmenite 1Rutile 1

Commodities

Vermiculite 3Corundum 1Manganese 1Titanium 1Metal 1Molybdenum 1Silica 1

Sites

SiteCommodityMinerals recordedStatusApprox. location
Buck Creek DepositCorundumChromite, Corundum, Olivine, VermiculitePast Producer35.082, -83.617
Shooting Creek PlacerTitanium, MetalIlmenite, RutileProducer35.050, -83.750
Warne-Sylva Kyn Belt—Kyanite, SillimaniteOccurrence35.000, -83.950
Shooting Creek——Occurrence35.050, -83.750
Vineyard Mt. DepositManganese—Occurrence35.047, -83.680
Pounding Mill Creek——Prospect35.038, -83.697
Vineyard Mountain——Prospect35.061, -83.664
W.E. Kitchens ProspectMolybdenum—Prospect35.042, -83.656
Jesse Hooper Farm——Prospect35.005, -83.700
Vineyard Creek——Prospect35.046, -83.661
Will Hall Farm——Prospect35.012, -83.673
Ira Beadles Prospect——Prospect35.022, -83.692
Wayne Hogsed——Prospect35.035, -83.665
Buck Creek Olivine DepositSilica—Past Producer35.082, -83.617
Jim Bradley——Prospect35.009, -83.665
Unnamed ProspectVermiculite—Occurrence35.025, -83.628
Fred Enlow Farm——Prospect35.047, -83.621
Mark Rogers PropertyVermiculite—Prospect35.007, -83.649

Nearby counties

Cherokee County · Macon County · Graham County · Swain County · Jackson County

North Carolina mineral guides

Back to all North Carolina counties.

Related articles

How we built this page: we counted named sites in the USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) for this area, left out sand, gravel, crushed stone, clay pits and unnamed sites, grouped them by Census county, and linked every site to its USGS record. We did not visit these sites, and MRDS does not tell you who owns the land or whether collecting is allowed.

Source: USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS). USGS ceased systematic updates to MRDS around 2011, so status and details may be out of date. Each site links to its USGS record.

Updated