Very nice! 

Had an amazing time on Sunday at Silver Ridge with Laurie Adams.  Still vibing pretty hard from all of the Pyrophyllite we found.  Here is a piece of the "Rainbow Boulder"  that contained many different colors and sizes of Pyrophyllite 

Thanks Dave!  Like Laurie told me, it's highly underrated and under appreciated.  I absolutely love it, it looks like something from outerspace!  Yesterday I just sat in aw looking at them, too much detail to just glance at 

Just curious as to why you think pyrophyllite doesn't get along well with water.  It's certainly not water soluble or porous.  None of the NC localities are dry, just typical Carolina Piedmont terrain.  But like most of the softer minerals, it will absorb a certain amount of water.  Collin is excited because this is probably among the top three localities in the world for crystallized pyrophyllite!  We are lucky to live in such a great mineral state.

While these specimens are relatively soft on the Moh's scale, and of course would be rounded and relatively unattractive if rolled around in a creek for years, these specimens are not really that delicate.  In fact they can be VERY hard.  Just try sledging and chiseling out some of these and you'll realize how hard they are.  Some are in quartz matrix, so are seriously hard.  I have been mining pyrophyllite for many years and there is a huge learning curve on how to properly dig and trim the specimens.  It is very important to know how the material breaks and how to bring out these killer pieces.  It isn't easy, and a novice would just totally ruin them.  The key is to have a fresh break through the crystal layer, eliminating all weathered areas and external surfaces, leaving the pure crystalline mass.  It's hard to explain, you really have to be shown in the field.  Once a fresh crystalline surface is revealed, it is very important to wrap the hell out of it so it will not be dinged or bruised.  If properly cared for, they should last forever.  If you don't like pyrophyllite, you just haven't seen the good stuff!  The sites of high temperature aluminum hydrothermal deposits in NC are limited mainly to the slate belt rocks, you wouldn't expect to find pyrophyllite in the Raleigh belt rocks.  Closest to Raleigh would be the Bowlings Mountain Mine in Granville County.

Joe, i have heard anecdotaly of micro crystalline topaz from there, but have never seen any.  Massive topaz is not uncommon at several of the pyrophyllite localities, but it's not of gem or facet or even lapidary quality, it just looks like slightly translucent milky quartz.  The Hillsborough quarry is the only site I have even heard of crystalline topaz in NC.  Would love to see a topaz crystal from Nc to add it to our great mineral heritage.

Since mike spread the topic to SC i will throw the elk mills site  in tennessee just west of the state line.  I have never been but i know appalachian state does a trip out there. 


"Just west across the NC-TN state line, the Elk River passes beneath Highway 321 at Poga. This area is also known as Elk Mills. Along the river’s edge is an easily accessible site to collect topaz. Specimens are commonly 2+cm in diameter, though few are of gemstone quality.  You can find peach, white, and silver topaz varieties.

Park at the dirt turnout beside the gas station at the Elk River bridge. Cross 321 to reach the river bed for collecting."

Source:http://geology.appstate.edu/academics/field-trips/elk-mills-topaz-site

Walked some fields  after work today looking for arrowheads. I didn't find any arrowheads today but I did manage to find a bunch of crystals in one of the fields....cool colors too!  best part is this spot is only 5 mins from where I live!