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Alabama Gold Please Note: Private Property - I have been told that someone visited the site, set a fire, and burned off half the owners hillside. Not a way to get invited back. This property is likely posted No Trespassing - contact the owner for permission. Lake Martin - Dadeville Side: Turn west off of Highway 49 onto Alabama Highway 34. Go approximately 5 miles and you will see a paved road to the left (south). It may or may not have a road sign, but the name of the road is suppose to be Gold Mine Road. The whole area has exposed schist and rocks and the trees are not as large or full as in other areas in Alabama. Go south approximately 3 miles and the road forks. The "main" road curves to the left (east) and the "branch" road continues straight (south) it is still paved. You will see that there is a lot of exposed road cut and a wide turn off to the right (west). You can pull into the road cut and drive up a short distance to a very poor road to the Blue Hill mine. The Blue Hill still has tunnels, most of them filled with water almost to the brim. However, there is the site of the old stamp mill on a small seasonal creek. There is a LOT of FINE flour gold along this creek, some of it coated with mercury. If you get a funny looking lump of silvery metalic looking liquid... it's mercury amalgamated with the gold. Further down toward the lake is a small bridge across the creek and the water does flow a little, just not enough to run a dredge or a sluice box unless you dip it with a bucket. There are several hills with mine tunnels in this area, and some of the tops of the hills themselves have been cut down. The gold comes from quartz stringers in graphite schists, which you can see in the mine itself. Unfortunately, although I was able to pan some gold directly from the mine, it took forever to wash out the black graphite. I do not have a GPS, however here is the section numbers S 33, T 21 N, R 22 E. Maps for Tallapoosa County can be purchased from the Alabama Highway Department for between .50 and $1 each and contain the roads as well as section markings. During the winter, when the water level of the lake drops, panning the banks of the lake near the mines might work well, since the waters lap along the edge all summer long... like a gold pan. If you stay here long enough, you will see people pulling up in boats and walking up to the mine, it appears to be a minor tourist attraction. |
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