IMPORTANT NOTICE
If you are Covid positive, have been in close contact with a Covid positive or in contact with a likely Covid positive, please do not come to the Park. Social distancing between families is easy at the panning trough and on the tour, but not within the underground tunnel.
The Park will be open on May 4 for regular activities and for a town activity designated as Ag+ Arts. Almost the entire downtown area, including the town park, the Dorn Mill, and the Gold Mine Park, will be active with entertainment, food, displays, etc. The Gold Mine Park will feature tours at no charge, but will likely be self guided. Gemstone screening will still be available at $5 per bucket, and gold panning will also be available at $5 per bucket, but visitors should expect that one-on-one time for gold panning instructions might be severely limited, depending on the number of visitors. If the number of visitors limits the panning instruction capability, I will periodically be demonstrating the panning and possibly sluicing. I will also be open on May 5 and expect that the number of visitors will be considerably smaller and the tour price will revert back to normal of $3 per person, under 5 free.
The McCormick Gold Rush Festival is back for June 29, 2024, therefore, I will be open June 29 and 30, even though it is neither a 1st nor a 3rd Saturday. Tours will still be at the regular price of $3 per person, under 5 free. Gemstone buckets will be $5 each and gold panning buckets will be $5 each. Again, it is possible that one-on-one gold panning instructions may be limited if the number of visitors is high. On that Saturday, if the number of visitors limits the panning instruction capability, I will periodically be demonstrating the panning and possibly sluicing.
McCormick, SC just north of the intersection of US 378 and US 221
Original features of the 1850's mine include the open trench, several pits and vertical shafts, dewatering piping, and a horizontal tunnel (the kids love the tunnel)
Second richest vein of gold in South Carolina (for the period)
Listed on the National Historic Register
Guided tours or self-guided tours available
Pan for gold, keep what you find (using crushed rock and natural, local gold).
Screen for gemstones: keep what you find. The types of rock will be changing early 2013.
Group visits by appointment; activities can be adjusted based on visitor age and the intent of the visit.
Mine Tour: $3, under 5 free. Gold ore: $5 per 1/2 gallon bucket (you will still find 4-8 pieces of gold per bucket), 3 gallon bags are $30. Gemstones: $5 per bucket Small Souvenir items available (vials of gold leaf in water)
Special groups: $25 minimum gate fee/mine tour for the first 8 people, plus panning or screening materials (minimum charge is $50 total for gate fees, panning materials, and gemstone materials). For groups larger than 15, special arrangements can be made. Contact Dave Gray by email dorngold@live.com . See the Group Visits page for additional details and information.
Panning The Easy Way: Click here for a youtube video shot by one of my guests (thanks Danny). It shows just how easy it is to pan for gold and it is almost exactly the way I teach it at the Park. I prefer that my novice visitors go a lot slower. (This technique works well for the crushed rock ore, but you have to be a lot slower and more careful when panning creek material that has clay and super-fine gold)
As always, the gold in my ore is natural gold that has never been alloyed for jewelry, but it is local, creek gold that has been selected to be easy for beginners to recover by panning. Everyone that has visited the Park so far has been comfortable with the technique by about the third pan full of sand. In 2015, I will be shifting to gold ore in 1/2 gallon buckets. The gold content will be the same, at 4-8 pieces, but half as much sand to go through. The kids will hit paydirt a lot sooner and are less likely to get bored. If you feel you are up to the challenge, I can make it more difficult, with no extra charges.
The Website files you are currently looking at are all new; suggestions for additional material are welcome. Please report errors by e-mail. If you have historic photos or information concerning the mine or its features, let me know and I will create a space on this website to present it. Do NOT write on the materials (front or back), but include as much information as you can (dates, names, location, occasion, details, etc) on a separate document. Scanned images are preferred.
Sorry, but we are not currently set up to accept credit or debit cards. We do accept personal checks- $35 fee for returned checks.
Home Mine Info Historic Registry Web Site Panning Group Visits McCormick County Augusta Chapter GPAA Links Augusta GPAA Events 2020 Gem Identification Quick Details Last Modified Feb 27, 2023 (main page, schedule, details)
