Wilkes rock dig yielding 'world-class' amethysts: 'history being made here'
By KIP BURKE,

This enormous amethyst was dug from Rodney Moore's Jackson's Crossroads dig Saturday. Valued at several thousand dollars, this example is not the largest discovered this weekend.

A vein of world-class amethyst is being mined in north Wilkes County, and mineral collectors are saying that the gemstones being taken out are the best they've seen in decades - anywhere in the world.

"You're seeing history being made here," said Jackson's Crossroads Mine owner Rodney Moore. "These are one-of-a-kind museum specimens being brought up out of this pocket we hit. There hasn't been amethyst of this quality found in 40 or 50 years."

Mineral collectors are coming from ...

all over the country to dig with Moore, and dealers are flying in to purchase the faceted purple stones as soon as they're dug up.

"Saturday, I hit a major pocket," Moore said, "and a well-known mineral dealer was on hand and bought the pocket contents as soon as the pocket was breached - before I could even get the crystals up out of the hole."

The specimens Moore is digging up can be worth tens of thousands of dollars, he said. "I just sold one for low five figures a minute ago," he said at the dig Saturday. "And the dealer will retail it for twice that."

Jackson's Crossroads mine owner Rodney Moore (top) works with mineral collectors who pay for the privilege of digging in the very best spots to find world-class Wilkes County amethyst.

Moore has been digging for amethyst on timber company land at Jackson's Crossroads for some 20 years, he said, but only recently was he able to purchase the land, clear the trees, and use heavy machinery to reach deep into the ground to find the buried pockets where the best amethyst lies.

Now, with word getting out in the quality of crystals being dug out of the Jackson's Crossroads mine, collectors and rock hounds are flocking in to dig alongside Moore. On Saturday, diggers paid $100 to go through material pulled from the open-pit mine, and some advanced collectors paid even more to dig closer to the big pockets Moore recently found.

But everyone can take a crack at being a rock hound Sunday. "If you're just curious, I'm going to open it up on Sunday, October 15 to local folks to come dig for only $5."

Clearing away large amounts of dirt -- possibly filled with amethyst crystals -- Rodney Moore exposes a large pocket with his backhoe.

To get directions to the mine, anyone interested in digging needs to call Rodney Moore at 404-975- 8005. "I can't have the exact location published, especially on the internet, because theft is a big problem."

Even if local folks already know where the mine is, he requires that they have permission to visit and sign a liability waiver to dig. Without permission, they're trespassing, and, he has to assume, stealing from him. "I'm not prosecuting for trespassing anymore, it's felony theft by taking to be here without my permission."

But he encourages local people to call and come out Sunday. They need to bring a 5-gallon bucket, safety glasses, a hammer, pick, mattock, and rakes to look for amethyst.

Moore says he knows that folks have been finding amethyst crystals in the area for years, and he's looking for anybody who has found crystals in their yard. "I'd be interested in seeing what you found. The world record amethyst was found near Tignall in the 1960s, and I believe there's more of it here than just what's in my mine."

Moore cautions that digging for amethyst is hard work, and it's entirely possible to dig all day and not find much. "But if you work, you'll find something. And you might find something really special - you never know."

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