Location: | Dahlonega. 4 km north of Dahlonega on Hwy 19 Connector. |
Open: |
All year daily 10-18. Closed on 25-DEC. [2020] |
Fee: |
Adults USD 10.95, Children (0-3) free. [2020] |
Classification: | Gold Mine Fee Mining |
Light: | n/a. |
Dimension: | |
Guided tours: | self guided |
Photography: | allowed |
Accessibility: | no |
Bibliography: | |
Address: | Crisson Gold Mine, 2736 Morrison Moore Parkway East, Dahlonega, GA 30533, Tel: +1-706-864-6363. |
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info. |
1847 | mining started. |
1969 | opened to the public. |
1980s | open pit mine closed. |
Crisson Gold Mine is a former open pit gold mine which was closed in the 1980s. The fee mine allows gold panning for gold and gemstones. Visitors are equipped with a pan, a vial to put gold in, a pan of gold dirt, a 2 gallon bucket of gemstones, and instructions. Then they start panning for gold. Obviously more or less a fun for children, as a result they pay the full entrance fee.
The gold mud is mined at the open cast mine and sold for money in 5 gallon buckets. They do not tell where the gemstones are from, but they rubies, sapphires, emeralds, garnets, and many other gems, so we guess they are from Brazil or India. Its also possible to rent additional mining equipment like a highbanker, a trommel, or a gold cube.
The mine site is rather unspectacular, but there is a cut where the miners used to mine for Gold in placers with a water cannon, old mine tunnels, and the stamp mill. The main exhibit at Crisson Gold Mine is an operating 10-stamp mill from the 19th century. It was used at several mines in the Dahlonega area and in other states, but was finally placed on the site in the 1960s. The Stamp Mill has ten stamps with each one weighing 450 lbs. A flywheel builds momentum to turn the cam lifting the stamps and then gravity drops them back. With each stamp crushing down at a rate of 40 times per minute it can process approximately 1 ton of rock per hour. The purpose is to crush gold bearing rock into sand so that gold, quartz and rock can be separated by washing.
Quite interesting is the fact that the stamp is not greased with oil, because oil makes gold float. It is substituted with sorghum syrup, which is less efficient and must be applied daily to the camshaft. The stamp mill is demonstrated two or three times a day, It is not possible to run it all day, as it is quite old and parts are almost impossible to find.