Consolidated Gold Mine — Attraction in Dahlonega

Wow, just wow wow wow.

Thai is an experience you do not want to miss. We got there first thing on a Saturday morning. We started out by doing our gold pan experience, which comes with your mine tour ticket. There were 5 of us (4 adults and a 2.5 year old) and we all got a flake to 3 flakes of gold.

The tour was amazing! It lasted about 45 mins into a mine. I would stay don’t wear nice shoes/clothes as it was dripping a bit and had water in the mine but nothing crazy (I had white shoes and was good but my hat caught a few clay dropped). The miner team was great. She was able to answers everyone’s questions, even the kids that had some silly ones. She also had some fun little jokes and tricks to keep things fun.

They have tons of old finds from the mine when it was in working condition. You won’t regret checking this out.

If youre claustrophobic I’ll just add there really wasn’t any parts of the cave that were tight. I could put my hands out all the way by my sides and not touch the walls throughout most of the tour. They also have lights on in the cave that make it safe to get around. We had a few people in our tour that were older with knee/back issues and they were able to get up/down without it being too much - but I don’t think it would be good for walkers/wheelchairs.

Now for the mining review - the gold mining was fun, we got 1-3 flakes per person. The activity took about 15 mins but was included in our tour. We added on the $30 gem stone package - worth it!!! The bucket was about 5 gallons of sand/gems. We had a blast scooping the mix into our pan, shifting and then identifying. We got a huge back of gems including some precious stones. I got a huge chuck of blue sapphire. Luckily they have a lapidary onsite to cut your gems, Miner Mike.

Miner Mike was so knowledgeable! We was able to help us breakdown the possible sizes I would be able to get some my stone, what the color would be and proved me tons of options. And the prices to cut the stones weren’t bad at all! I’ll be getting 2 6mm stones, one set in a ring. It will take about 3 weeks to ship to me - not bad.

Overall, if you’re thinking about stopping here- do it!!! You...

I found this bag of gems in my drawer. It reminded me of a impromptu trip I took to Consolidated Gold Mine. I was a chaperone on a 24 hour bus ride from Texas to Atlanta for a band competition about 6 years ago, and I ended up having an asthma attack. I spent the night in the hospital and missed my ride home. I was released from the hospital in the morning and wasn't able to get a flight home until that evening. I was feeling OK, so I walked to the nearest hotel, a few blocks from the hospital, rented a car, and did the coolest thing I could think of doing that I had never done before, while waiting to catch my flight back home. You guessed it! Gold Mining... On my drive, I ended up in torrential rain, was unsure where I was going and began to wonder if the mine would even be open. When I arrived and entered Consolidated, drenched, there was a stillness in the air. About 8 employees, dressed in character, were quietly standing, curiously looking at me. I stood in the middle of the room and began to tell everyone my story about what had happened to me in the last 24 hours. Every employee was genuine and actively engaged in teaching me how to pan for gold, provided detailed information on the history of the mine, and customer oriented. Due to the weather, I was the only customer in the mine from the time I arrived to the time I left. My tour began with a video presentation of the history of the mine. I then was given a private tour down the mine by two employees. I met their pet gecko, saw original tools used to mine, and given additional history. The employees were very knowledgeable. I was allowed to take my time and take it all in! What a great adventure. I sifted through a gem bucket and had a pair of earrings made. Three weeks later the jewelry arrived. The picture included are gems the jeweler separated and told me not to lose. He also labeled the bag which reads emerald, ruby and cin?...I can't read the rest, but I have a very found memory of Consolidate and recommend visiting if you are ever...

Loved it. Wasn't sure what to think because the price was a bit much for the tour, but both me and my husband enjoyed it immensely! We got there just a few minutes before a tour (unplanned, actually), and hopped into the group of about 20 people. It was sooo much fun! If you get cold, definitely take a sweater because it was chilly, but it felt so great in the summer with the heat outside. The tour is about 40 mins long and there are some steep parts with wet floors. No one fell, but just make sure if you are not sure-footed, you may want to avoid this. It is not wheelchair accessible. Sometimes you have to pull over to the side of the mine shaft to let another tour group pass as they are finishing. The history was really fun to learn about, and the guide we had was great. She had a wonderful sense of humor, but also was great at sharing info and answering questions. After the tour, you get to go panning for gold. They let you go home with a tiny souvenir flake that you pan for yourself. That's pretty fun. We bought the $50 bucket of gems and had a BLAST sorting through all of those. We didn't think we got much at first, but we took our bags to the jewelry shop and their gemologist looked through and told us what was cutable and what was not. We ended up ordering something to be cut and polished and I can't wait to get my gem back! We ended up with a huge piece of amethyst, rose/citrus/smokey quartz, amazonite, labradorite, a few emeralds, a sapphire, a ruby, and a few garnets! It is...