FEE AREA  -  $5.00 panning fee for all day for Council members
Children allowed. 
Small pets on a leash are allowed. 
Ample parking, bathroom facilities on grounds
Camping available.
Food two miles away.
Complete line of prospecting equipment available at the on site store.

This is a unsalted site and the Hendersonville Gem and Mineral Society has always found gold here. This mine's aim is to provide an authentic experience.  The is mine located on the actual site of the earliest placers of Rutherfordton County.  It opened in 1830, and has produced gold every since then.  The first minting of gold here was a product of necessity.  It was a small farming community that bulged quite rapidly with fortune hunters.  Government script was in short supply, and gold was plentiful.  The Bechtler mint was opened to accommodate the need.  An enormous amount of gold was handled, some $2,241,840.50, (at their dollar value), more than the Philadelphia and Charlotte Mints combined.  It seems the Government officials became jealous and said this local coinage was not recognized by them as legal tender and encouraged the exchange of this medium for paper.  One of these "local $5 coins" sold last year at  auction for $13,500.  Not bad for illegal tender.  Lloyd Nanney, Proprietor, Prospector extraordinary, a descendant of the original owner, will be our host.  He has answers to most of your questions about mining and equipment.  He is a dealer for Keene equipment.  There are static mining displays and a small gift store/Office.

Thermal City Gold Mine consists of a one-half mile section of the Second Broad River and about 30 acres of Placer Gravel Deposits having one of the seven veins from Vien Mountain supplying it.  Panning material is brought from the
river by backhoe for you to pan.  You may inquire about other methods like diving, bags of ore, sluicing and so forth.  The gravel is not 'enhanced or enriched'.  The gold that is found here is in it's natural state-right where nature deposited it!  We always find nuggets and flakes.  I have found as many as 8 nuggets in a single pan.  I love this site!!

Contact: May contact operator; Lloyd Nanney at 1-828-286-3016 
                                                   E-mail: jnaney@blueridge.net. 
                                            Web page: www.HuntForGold.com.
 

Bring:  Shovels and pans furnished or bring you own.  Other equipment for rent/ purchase. 

Camping facilities:  Primitive camping to full hook-ups are available on first come basis.  Pets on leash, and children with supervision are welcome at this family fun spot.  Please no drugs or alcohol, or firearms.  The grounds are almost level and a short distance from panning to camping and restrooms.  Ample shade, parking, instruction in panning, and help is always available when needed. 

Campground on-site ...offering riverside camping, hot showers, a place to pan, sluice, dredge and detect.
rates are:
Primitive................................ $ 7.00 per night
Power (Limited)....................$10.00 per night
For reservations call: (828) 286-3016. 

Or for area accommodations:
Park Inn ~ I-40 & 221 south (exit 85)~Marion, NC~(828) 659-2567
Scenic Inn~ Same as above ~Marion, NC (828) 659-7940
Days Inn of Forest City~ Hwy 74 Bypass~Forest City, NC~(828) 248-3400

Time to meet:  10 AM, Saturday, 16 June 2001
Thermal City Gold Mine, 5240 U S 221, Union Mills, NC 28167 

Directions to the mine:  From I-40, take Hwy. 221(Marion, N. C. to Forrest City, N. C. hwy.) south 9 miles.  The mine located on the left across from the Thermal City sign.  Address: 5240 U S 221,Union Mills, N. C. 28167 
or
from I-85 at Spartanburg, S. C. take 221 N. through Rutherfordton, N. C. then 12 miles on right, across from the Thermal City sign.  Polly Sprout Road is directly across the hwy from sign.  Mine is at the Rutherfordton- McDowell County Line.

Saturday morning came early as it usual, but this day was special because it was a field trip day.  Now, I don't know about you, but any old field trip is better than cutting grass, or a day at the office!  This Saturday was a very special one, because it was our turn to host the Dixie Mineral Council.  To top it off, the weather was picture perfect.

Being Field Trip Director and responsible for the whole thing, I thought it best to arrive early.  If you are inept at organization, you had better have some good helpers.  I had five of the best. Thanks guys!
The owner, Mr. Nanney, had inquired about how many to expect, so I "optimistically" said 30-50.  30 showed up before 9 AM, and at close of registration, 95 had registered.  Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, The Virginia's, and Florida, made a showing.  Fortunately, the Thermal City crew was a flexible bunch and were able to pull it off.  Because of their nice campground facility, some miners spent the night.  I was so proud I could be counted as having something to do with this field trip.  The owner and help alike, said "you all were wonderful" and that "they hoped to be able to serve us again".  It was a privilege to be a part of this group of folks(DMC), and better yet I got the credit!  Yet I know the credit is all yours.  YOU ARE THE GREATEST!

All the gold here is placer from Vein Mountain. The Nanney's own a half-mile stretch of the Second Broad River, crossing some of the 28 placer veins in the valley.  The Betchler's, jewelers by trade during the 19 century, hand minted more gold coin here than the Philadelphia Mint, well over two million dollars, in $1, $2.5, and $5 gold coin.  They also fluxed (made into bullion bars) as much, from this area.  Well, the mine is still producing!  I personally didn't get to pan much, being busy with the crowd, but I did see flower and nugget gold taken.  I found some too, (slightly less than a million!)  The whole thing was successful because of willing hands and smiling faces.  One war story and I'll hush.  Mr. Nanney will often help by demonstrating panning to the audience.  Digging from the pile and washing the ore, he unvaryingly finds something.  Then, he will invite someone to fill their pan and begin.  (Most folk will be very careful, scared they will lose something.)  Spotting a new comer, he drifts over and deposits the nuggets into the "green horn's" pan, declaring, "Now the pressure is on you!"