In 1898, Frank Hooper opened a garnet mine near North River, not far from
Barton's Gore Mt. mine, which opened in 1878. The rock at Hooper's mine
contained much smaller crystals than those at Gore Mt. The Hooper mine was
soon abandoned, and Hooper went to work for Barton. This is a view of the
surrounding terrain from the one of the outer edges of the Hooper Mine. |
This nice glacial scour slopes down to the right, whereas the mine highwall
begins at the left of the image.
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The foreground is the flat floor of the mine, which has become overgrown
with vegetation. There is some rock worth collecting on the floor, but
abundant fresh rock can be found in the talus near the surrounding highwalls.
The mine is somewhat circular in outline, with an opening at one side
through which entry is made from the trail that now occupies the former
access road.
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Close-up of the highwall on one side of the mine.
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Talus at the bottom of the highwall. Much of the rock is quite fresh,
and yields interesting specimens. The gem potential of this garnet seems
low, although there are reports of large, flawless porphyroblasts being
obtained here that can be cut into gems.
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Close-up of the garnet-bearing rock from the Hooper Mine. Not surprisingly,
it resembles the rock from the nearby Barton Ruby Mountain mine more than
Gore Mt. rock. It consists Primarily of plagioclase feldspar with
garnet, and relatively minor amounts of hornblende. The large garnet is
about the size of a quarter.
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