About this location
This listing's coordinates land in Williams Township, Chatham County, North Carolina — central Piedmont ground near Sanford/Pittsboro, roughly 250 miles from North Carolina's documented corundum/ruby/sapphire belt in the far-western Blue Ridge counties [1]. There is a real "Grimshawe Mine" documented as a sapphire and ruby producer near a place called Montvale, but every source found ties that Montvale to the western mountains, variously described as Transylvania or Jackson County near Cedar Mountain — not Chatham County [2]. North Carolina's corundum-bearing ultramafic rock is exclusive to the Blue Ridge mountain counties (Macon, Jackson, Transylvania, Clay); the Piedmont, where this coordinate sits, doesn't have that geology. This looks like a name collision between two different "Montvale" place references rather than a real Chatham County ruby/sapphire site — a name collision that needs correcting against the source database.
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Found Here
- UNVERIFIED at this coordinate: Ruby, Sapphire are listed, but the documented Grimshawe Mine ruby/sapphire history belongs to a different, far-western "Montvale" (Transylvania/Jackson County area), not the Chatham County location this coordinate resolves to [1][2]. North Carolina corundum geology doesn't extend to the Piedmont.
Difficulty
Getting there
Not applicable pending resolution of the location mismatch — see Research notes.
Collecting here
Not applicable pending resolution of the location mismatch.
Know before you go
This listing needs a location correction before anyone should treat it as a live collecting destination. If the intent was the historic Grimshawe Mine near the western-NC "Montvale," that site's exact county is itself inconsistently reported across sources (Transylvania vs. Jackson County) and would need its own independent confirmation and re-pinned coordinates [2].
Location on Map
Coordinates: 35.81486, -78.93722
Nearby rockhounding locations
- Dromicosuchus Quarry — FossilNC · 4.5 mi
- Chapel Hill — Moss Agate, Petrified WoodNC · 9.7 mi
- Bethesda — Silicified WoodNC · 11.1 mi
- Raleigh — AmethystNC · 12.5 mi
- Eno River — Agatized WoodNC · 18.3 mi
- Pittsboro — LimoniteNC · 15.7 mi
Frequently asked questions
Is there a ruby and sapphire mine at Montvale, North Carolina?
The coordinates provided for this listing land in Chatham County, central NC Piedmont, which has no documented corundum geology. A real Grimshawe Mine (ruby/sapphire) is tied to a different "Montvale" in the far-western NC mountains, likely Transylvania or Jackson County [1][2].
Why is this location flagged as a mismatch?
North Carolina's ruby and sapphire deposits are exclusive to Blue Ridge mountain counties with corundum-bearing ultramafic rock (Macon, Jackson, Transylvania, Clay). The provided coordinate sits in the Piedmont, roughly 250 miles from that geology [1].
Where is the real Grimshawe Mine?
Sources disagree on the exact county — some cite Transylvania County, others Jackson County — but all place it in the far-western North Carolina mountains, not Chatham County [2].
⚠️ Always verify current regulations, weather conditions, and access requirements before visiting any location. Information provided is based on community submissions and may not be current or accurate.
Sources
- Reverse geocode (bigdatacloud.net) for provided coordinates — Williams Township, Chatham County; general North Carolina corundum-belt geography (Blue Ridge counties only).
- General search results (mindat.org, goldrushnuggets.com, sherpaguides.com) — Grimshawe Mine sapphire/ruby history tied to a western-NC "Montvale," with inconsistent county attribution (Transylvania vs. Jackson).
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Southeast Treasure Hunter's Gem & Mineral Guide
Whether you're digging for the first time or are an experienced rockhound or "prospector," with a simple rock hammer and...
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