California Gem Mines: A Vibrant Tapestry of History

Nestled in the mountains above Pala, California, in northern San Diego County, there exists a hidden gem-rich paradise featuring a network of mine tunnels filled with stories of marvel and adversity that played a crucial role in shaping the Golden State.

While the gem excitement that enveloped the Pala area over a century ago does not compare to the California Gold Rush of 1849, the gem mining boom in Southern California was equally vibrant and diverse.

The gem boasts an extraordinary spectrum of colors that caused it to be often misidentified as rubies, emeralds, or jade.

By the early 1890s, China emerged as the leading market for tourmaline.

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“In reality, the significance of the Chinese market for tourmaline was so substantial that when the Chinese government fell in 1912, the tourmaline trade collapsed alongside it.”

A Stunning Mine

Deep within the Stewart Mine close to Pala, against a backdrop of tunnel walls shimmering in pink and purple, Blue Sheppard, a gem cutter and educator, along with his wife, Shannon, a gemologist, breathe life into this rich history.

Experts in the field have praised the dazzling crisscrossing tunnel walls as some of the most beautiful in the world, according to Sheppard, who purchased the mine in late 1989 and subsequently began gem extraction a year later.

Post-Gold Rush, which culminated in 1852, many gold seekers known as “forty-niners” ventured south to San Diego County, where some sought gold along the San Luis Rey River, moving upstream from Oceanside, near the historic San Luis Rey Mission, according to Sheppard.

Although their endeavors yielded little gold, their treasure-hunting efforts were rewarding.

“They stumbled upon unusual purple stones as well as pink and green crystals in their gold pans.”

These intrigued forty-niners traced the vibrant-colored minerals upstream to their source at the base of Queen Mountain, where natural erosion had revealed a “significant treasure trove of gems.”

Although the Stewart Lithia Mine would later be recognized for producing some of the “most vivid natural pink tourmaline globally,” Sheppard said it was primarily known for the purple mineral—lepidolite.

During the Industrial Revolution, the purple and pink lepidolite contained valuable lithium ore that was in high demand for lubricating locomotives and heavy machinery gears.

The Chinese Marketplace

During the late 1800s, the Stewart Mine became the leading producer of lithium in the U.S., Sheppard commented.

Many Chinese immigrants were present in California at that time, working in construction, helping to build harbors and railway foundations, with some laboring in the Pala mines.

Numerous Chinese workers employed to extract lithium ore at the Stewart Mine discovered pink crystals and, with the company’s consent, began excavating a separate area from the primary lithium tunnels after long shifts of 10 to 12 hours.

During that time, the Chinese immigrant community generally labeled all types of gems as jade, signifying something of value, Sheppard explained.

Some miners sent samples of the crystals they termed “long, pink jade” to relatives back in China.

Word of the “bao shi”—meaning “precious stone” or “gemstone” in Mandarin—quickly reached the Imperial Palace.

Intrigued by what was not actual pink jade but pink tourmaline crystals, Empress Dowager Cixi, also known as Tzu Hsi, dispatched envoys to the Pala mines to acquire more, according to Sheppard.

Enacted by Congress and signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur in 1882, this act limited Chinese immigration to the U.S. and was prolonged by various laws until 1902, when it became “permanent,” according to the National Archives.

“The Chinese faced persecution and all documentation of their ownership of businesses, mining claims, and properties were erased,” Sheppard recounted. “It was horrific.”

However, before the Chinese miners were expelled from the Stewart Mine, they sealed off the tunnel where they had extracted the pink tourmaline, according to Sheppard.

In 1943, amid World War II, the law was rescinded to placate China, a wartime ally against Japan. Both the Senate and House of Representatives unanimously denounced the act in 2011 and 2012.

Old Chinese Tunnel

In 1970, the new proprietors of the Stewart Mine opted to search for tourmaline on the opposite side of the mountain from where the lithium was extracted, Sheppard noted.

By that time, the idea of the existence of the Chinese tunnel had transformed into a legend that many deemed almost mythical.

“It resembled tales of Bigfoot or UFOs, something people no longer believed,” Sheppard pointed out. “No one could locate it.”

Yet, as they blasted through the rock, they unintentionally breached the old tunnel created by Chinese laborers.

“The Chinese tunnel was a divine blessing. Without finding it, everything would have ended in disaster. They would have tunneled at an angle and emerged in a void filled only with feldspar,” said Sheppard. “Fortune smiled upon all.”

Following the tunnel’s path led the miners “to this very spot,” Sheppard declared from within the mine.

“Veteran miners globally term this area the bridal chamber, for it is here that the earth revealed its treasures.” He explained that there were tourmaline clusters “three feet wide, appearing every five to ten feet.”

Since then, it’s been an “incredible adventure,” and the mine has yielded a plethora of stunning gems.

The workers carefully continued beyond the bridal chamber into “an expansive room filled with tourmaline,” Sheppard shared.

“Some pockets were valued at half a million dollars. They were so densely packed. The tourmaline room represented a groundbreaking moment. It was an immense windfall,” he mentioned.

The pockets contained a stunning variety of tourmaline, morganites, kunzites, and quartz crystals, according to Sheppard.

While Sheppard has discovered further lucrative clusters of tourmaline crystals, none have equaled the find in the tourmaline room, which occurred in the mid-1970s.

He estimates that between 30 to 95 percent of gem pockets remain to be uncovered in various parts of the mine.

“As I approach the tail end of my involvement, it’s unclear what the future holds,” he said.

The largest and most renowned pink tourmaline crystal unearthed in a single piece from the Stewart Mine, valued at over $1 million, is showcased at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. He revealed that he and a colleague extracted the remarkable gem in 1993 and dubbed it “The Time Key,” due to its resemblance to the key featured in the 1960 film “The Time Machine.”

The ‘Rainbow Gem’

Tourmaline possesses a color variety that surpasses that of all other gemstones combined, largely due to its ability to incorporate metallic interference from iron, tin, chromium, manganese, and other elements, said Sheppard.

The term “tourmaline” originates from the Sinhalese word “turmali,” meaning “mixed colors” or “mixed gems,” which reflects its wide-ranging hues. Although “rainbow” isn’t an exact translation, tourmaline is frequently referred to as the “rainbow gem.”

For years, at the request of Vince Manson, a deceased gemologist, geologist, and GIA education director, Sheppard, now 78 years old, has been leading tours of the mine for GIA students.

Since 1966, Sheppard has traveled globally to pursue his gem fascination. He frequently shares his delight in “exploring the depths of the earth to unveil the hidden treasures of gems and minerals.”

“My 36 years managing this mine comprise 10,000 stories, but my affection for this land and the Pala Tribe of the Luiseno Indians symbolizes a divine connection that spans both the heavens and the earth,” he reflected. “I can only hope that this passion will endure, allowing the bounty of tourmaline and lithium to be cherished as blessings for future generations.”