Fluorite from Elmwood, Carthage, Tennessee

Contributed by: Mark Cole
Date: May 18th, 2026
Locality: Elmwood Mine, Carthage, Smith County, Tennessee, USA (See on Mindat)

Description:
The Elmwood Mine produces very little remarkable fluorescent material. The fluorites are usually dimly fluorescent, the calcites are usually barely fluorescent (with a few exceptions, some really nice pieces have been found with multi-wavelength fluorescence.

They hit a new pocket at the 1600ft level (deeper than they have gone before). The fluorite is nicely fluorescent with a multi-wavelength fluorescence. They are not colored as we normally see from Elmwood, but almost water clear. Response of course is the strongest under LW, but the whitish response under SW is the first I've seen from this mine.

Originally posted by Mark Cole on Nature's Rainbows in 2022.

Fluorescence under shortwave UV light.

Fluorescence under midwave UV light.

Fluorescence under longwave UV light.

Normal light.

Summary of luminescence responses:

Fluorite (Mindat) (RRUFF)

• Fluorescence under Longwave (365nm LED) UV light: Blue
• Fluorescence under Midwave (305nm Lamp/Mercury) UV light: Blue
• Fluorescence under Shortwave (254nm Lamp/Mercury) UV light: Blue