Fluorescent Ruby - Chunky Gal Mountain, Clay County, North Carolina

Contributed by: Chris Clemens
Date: Apr 29th, 2026
Locality: Chunky Gal Mountain, Clay County, North Carolina, USA (See on Mindat)

Description:
A little-known mining area exists on Chunky Gal Mountain, near Franklin, Clay County, North Carolina. This area produces fine crystals of corundum that often occur in a matrix of smaragdite, a green-colored chromium actinolite. Some of the corundum from this location shows a classic trivalent chromium-activated red fluorescent response under longwave UV. This series of photographs shows several specimens of corundum var. ruby, as individual hexagonal crystals, and in smaragdite matrix, collected in 2017 from Chunky Gal Mountain. The bright blue/white fluorescing mineral on two of the specimens appears to be aragonite and has green phosphorescence.

Originally posted by Chris Clemens on Nature's Rainbows in 2017.

Fluorescence under longwave UV light.

Normal light.

Fluorescence under longwave UV light. Specimen 2.

Afterglow after exposure to longwave UV light. Specimen 2.

Normal light. Specimen 2.

Normal light. Specimen 3.

Fluorescence under longwave UV light. Specimen 3.

Afterglow after exposure to longwave UV light. Specimen 3.

Summary of luminescence responses:

Aragonite (Mindat) (RRUFF)

• Fluorescence under Longwave (365nm LED) UV light: White
• Afterglow after exposure to Longwave (365nm LED) UV light: Green

• Fluorescence under Longwave (365nm LED) UV light: Red