Garnets in Muscovite

A Garnet is not a single mineral, but is part of a group that contains closely related, minerals that form a series with each other, resulting in different varieties that vary only slightly in physical properties. Some of the varieties may be so similar that they are indistinguishable from one another without x-ray analysis.

North Carolina Garnets normally found in a light green to silver green Muscovite are Garnets containing aluminum (Al) as their second element. They may be Pyrope (Magnesium aluminum silicate) or Almandine (Iron aluminum silicate). Pyrope Garnets are usually a lighter color and more transparent than the similar Almandine Garnets, and sometimes have a very slight brownish tint.

The specimens we procured came from an old collection from the 1950's. These specimens came from the Deer Park Mine located near Penland, 3 miles NW of Spruce Pine, in the Spruce Pine Mining District, Mitchell County, North Carolina. Penland is in the Black Mountains and is bisected by the North Toe River, a tributary of the Cane and Nolichucky rivers. It is at an elevation of 2460 ft (750m). The Deer Park Mine is long ago closed. The area where the mine was located is now a housing development.