Cowee Gift Shop & Mason Mountain
Our native dirt pile is where your gem mining experience begins. 100% native dirt (unsalted – nothing added) from our private mine site located atop Mason Mountain is brought down to the water flume for miners to sift through. Here is where you’ll find a wide variety of minerals including Rhodolite Garnet, Ruby, Sapphire, Kyanite, Moonstone, Cordierite and Smoky Quartz.
Our experienced staff will guide you in how to discover the native gemstones. We have gemstone charts available to help you identify your findings as well. Just place the dirt in the screen (provided for you) and rinse thoroughly in the water flume. Concentrate on material that is smooth, heavy and has color. Until you become familiar with the native material, our staff will be onsite to help you find all of the hidden treasures!
100% Native dirt. Nothing added. This is as real as it gets!