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Corundum Knob - Summit Area Cuts Clay Co., NC - Early 2024 |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2024) |
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Corundum Knob - Summit Area Cuts Clay Co., NC - Early 2024 |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2024) |
| The old mine cuts around the summit of Corundum Knob are probably the most visited areas of the Knob. They are close to the FS road parking area, and several short paths have made them rather accessible to rockhounds over the decades. I usually walk past these locations when exploring the area, but am including some photos here for "completeness" of my Buck Creek mining documentation efforts. Burch - Sand - Barrett - Knob Dike This dike outcropped for approximately 500 feet. For 300 feet, the outcrop averaged 50 feet in width, and contained an average of 3.3% corundum. The corundum mineralization was spotty, and pockets contained 10-15% corundum. The corundum ranged from pin-head size to coarse crystals and bands an inch thick. The Burch Cut: |
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| Burch Cut, looking south |
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| Burch Cut, view uphill (west) |
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| Burch Cut |
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| Burch Cut, looking downhill |
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| The Sand Cut: |
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| Sand Cut |
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| Evidence of modern rockhounding here |
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| Sand Cut |
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| Sand Cut |
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| Fairly recent dug out area at the Sand Cut |
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| The Barrett Cut: |
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| This cut has seen a lot of recent rockhounding |
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| Lots of busted rocks laying around. |
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| Barrett Cut |
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| The Knob Cut: |
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| The upper section of the Knob Cut is apparently also a popular spot. |
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| Lots of broken rocks have rolled down the cut |
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| Looking down the Knob Cut |
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| Knob Cut |
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| Lower section of the Knob Cut |
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| From September 1943 to February 1945, the Bureau of Mines excavated 8,494 feet of trenches, ranging in size from 1 x 1 foot to 6 x 17 feet. Here are just a few examples from the upper area of Corundum Knob. Bureau of Mines Trenches: |
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| BoM exploratory trench |
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| BoM trench |
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| BoM trench |
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| The Maney dike was the richest of the amphibolites. It is about 200 feet long, averaging 6 to 8 feet thick, and contained about 10% fine to coarse-grain pink & ruby corundum. The Maney Cut: |
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| The rock wall face makes the Maney one of the more distinctive cuts. |
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| Maney Cut |
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| Although one of the more productive dikes, there's not a lot of recent rockhounding here. |
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| View down from Maney Cut |
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| Maney Cut |
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| Further along the Maney Cut |
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| The "Lower" Maney Cut |
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| The Enloe Dike was very lean in corundum, but several coarse pieces were found throughout the dike, the greatest concentration being on the east end. The Enloe Cut: |
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| The main Corundum Knob trail goes right through this cut at the hill-top. |
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| This part of the cut leads toward the Maney Cut. |