Mining for star garnets in Idaho

Cloaked in secrecy, many gem deposits occur in locales so remote and guarded that few ever reach them.   The opportunity to find quality gem rough for oneself scarcely exists.

One of the exceptions to this rule happens to be located in Northern Idaho. Nestled in the thickly wooded hills in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest is a mining site managed by the US Forest Service known as the Emerald Creek Garnet Mining Area.

For a $10 day-use fee anybody can mine for the day and try their luck in the gem bearing dirt and gravel. I recently visited this site myself. After working my first two buckets of dirt this is what I found:

The stone to the right of center is a flawless,

facet-grade 8.4 carat rhodolite garnet crystal.

Total weight at the end of the day was 8 ounces and it took searching through 20 five-gallon buckets to find this much garnet. While digging and sifting took the most muscle power- it was the washing of the gravel that took the most work.

The result of a day's mining!

Some of the larger crystals found that day.

All your stones must be thoroughly washed since the sticky and rust colored clay clings to any and every pebble possible. It seemed like everyone at the site is after larger sized garnet crystals with the potential to “star” when cut. However, there is other material to find too. Some of the smaller fragments and crystals consist of facet grade rhodolite garnet in a rich shade of raspberry purple.

Expect to work hard and understand that the average found by visitors is 4 ounces. With extreme hard work and a sharp eye, you can probably find close to a pound of material in a full day. For rough material that may cut a star garnet- the best pieces are somewhat larger (1/2”+) crystals of dark garnet. These are easier to orient for an experienced cutter and are said to be more likely to contain inclusions and layers of rutile that produce a good star.

The site is open Friday through Tuesday from Memorial Day (May) to Labor Day (September). For more information on the site (and others nearby) look for the book “Rockhounding Idaho” by Garret Romaine [2010]. Also, I recommend contacting the US Forest Service and calling ahead to make sure the site is open.

I'm interested in hearing stories and seeing photos from the early days of garnet collecting- especially in the Emerald & Purdue Creek areas. Feel free to contact me if you have anything to share.