Mineral Collecting in Maine (Part 2)

One of the unfortunate aspects of living near by a good mine is not being able to collect there. I can understand if the mine is still being worked by a company, but that is not always the case anymore. Now there are mines that are closed to collectors, because the land is owned by a private collector. This individual works the mine in their free time, hoarding any samples found in their basement. As much as I hate this, I would probably do the same thing if I had the money to do it. It still hard to think about all of those nice samples ending up in someone's basement collecting dust. Another reason that seems to becoming more and more common has to do with legal issues. Some owners of mines close them off to the public, because some bonehead sued them. In my mind if you go to a mine, fall and hurt yourself, you should live with it. Anyone in their right mind knows there is a certain amount of danger walking around mines that are no longer in operation. So, since people are afraid of being sued, they have closed off access to collectors. Irresponsible collecting methods is another reason why some mines have been closed off to the public. I contacted a land owner once for permission to collect on their land, and he granted me access. That is why it never hurts to ask, even if the mine is closed to collectors. They may be willing to consider a case by case basis. The reason he closed his mine to collecting is, is because some bonehead thought it would be appropriate to bring an excavator and some dynamite. The guy actually blasted on his land. That is enough to make any land owner bar collecting on his their land. Fortunately there are still those mine owners out there that recognize the importance of mineral collecting to the public. It is a fun, and exciting hobby that anyone can enjoy. They keep their mines open despite the prospect of being sued or morons showing up with dynamite. One such owner is the Perham family.

garnet hill dress

The Perham family owns four mines located in the Greenwood and West Paris region located in Oxford County. These mines are the Harvard, Nubble, Tamminen, and Waisanan mines. Before heading to any one of these locations I would recommend you stop at Perhams Jewlers and check out their shop. They have all sorts of equipment for sale such as rock hammers, chisels, and gold pans. Their Jewelry is good to, but by far the number one reason to spot their is their mineral exhibit. They have samples there that have been collected over the years from their mines. They have a monster sample of smokey quartz, beryl, and tourmaline there. One could spend a good hour just looking at these samples. I do not believe any of them are for sale, and if they were, I know I could not afford one.

GARNET HILL

The Harvard Quarry is the best in my opinion followed by the Tamminen and Waisanan quarry. If memory serves me correctly than the Nubble Quarry has the least to offer. I didn't spend much time here as all I could seem to find was biotite and muscovite mica. The Harvard Quarry was the best. I found large chunks of schroll and garnet in green orthoclase feldspar. Pockets of lepidolite can be found here as well, along with large pockets of quartz. I have also heard of gem quality apatite crystals being found below in the talice pile. The apatite was purple with wite caps. A good variety of minerals can be found here. The Tamminen mine contains good samples of beryl. From what I saw there seemed to be more of a variety of minerals here. This would be a good place to use a screen to look for some gem quality samples. I spend most of my time in these two mines. I basically lump the Tamminen and Waisanan mines together since they are so close. The list of minerals that have been found in this area are:

Clevelandite, almandine garnet, beryl, biotite, muscovite, quartz, lepidolite, montmorillonite, spodumene, topaz, vesuvianite, tourmaline, and zircon.

These are the more well known and popular minerals. A whole host of other minerals, less common can be found here as well. I have only ever found tourmaline, garnet, lepidolite, quartz, muscovite, and biotite, in any kind of abundance. Black tourmaline and garnet are the most common at the Harvard mine. The Tamminan and Waisanan Quarries seem to offer more in the way of variety. I have only ever heard of the gem quality apatite being found at the Harvard site. The book I have also does not list apatite, it lists fluorapatite. Any collecting being done at the Harvard mine should be done with care, especially when climbing around on the talice pile down below. There are large chunks of clevelandite here that can be extremely sharp. I cut myself pretty good and did not even notice until I saw the blood dripping on the rocks. All of these mines are easy to locate, but if you get lost just stop into Perham's Jewelers where they have maps.

Driving from the directions of the junction of route 117 and 118 in Norway, go west on route 118 for 0.95 miles. Turn right onto the Greenwood road and drive north west 5.3 miles. Turn right onto Richardson Hollow road and continue 0.4 miles to parking area located on the right hand side of the road. The trail to the quarry is across the road from the parking area. (Maine Mineral Localities 3rd EDT. by W.B Thompson, D.L. Joyner, R.G. Woodman, V.T. King).

Anyone that makes there way to the University of Maine in Farmington's geology department can see some samples collected from this region by the geology club. They have a real fine mineral collection to view as well.

Mineral Collecting in Maine (Part 2)

GARNET HILL

Mineral Collecting in Maine (Hedge Hog Hill Quarry)

Before making a trip to this quarry you had better make sure you have a sturdy vehicle. Anything without four wheel drive is going to have a tough time making it up there. I would also make sure you have a spare tire with you along with the means to change a tire. A cell phone is highly recommended as well. You can always drive in until the road gets difficult, park on the side and then walk up. There is an open area, what looks like a gravel pit that is a good area to park. This mine can be difficult to locate for some, because it is over grown and you can tell few people make collecting trips to this location. That is a good thing, because it means that the area has not been picked clean. The Hedge Hog Hill Quarry is located in Peru Maine in the County of Oxford. Few minerals have been found here, in my mind it is a simple granite pegmatite, but it is still worth the trip. For one thing the view from up there is worth the trip alone. The fact that few people seem to come here is another draw. This is because you do have to drive a ways on a dirt road through the woods to reach the mine.

garnet pendant

Minerals observed here are albite, almandine garnet, beryl, biotite, chrysoberyl, fluorapatite, microcline, muscovite, quartz, and schroll. That is it, and I only found garnet, biotite, muscovite, and quartz on my trip. So, just because all of those other minerals were listed, do not count on finding them. The jackpot at this location are the almandine garnets. Some very large almandine garnets can be found here. The open mine face is chock full of them, but don't count on getting these out. It can be done, but it takes a lot of work and you better ware a pair of goggles. Not to mention you can go through all of that effort only to end up damaging the sample you are after. I did not see any garnets worth that kind of effort all though it is said that some very gem quality samples have been found in pockets of quarts. I found one such garnet sample at another mine location of the grossalur garnet variety. This garnet was roughly the size of a golf ball and was gem quality. I hammered around that thing for an hour without so much as making a dent. The crystal was resting in a pocket of quartz. I left it there with a tear in my eye. The almandine crystals at the Hedge Hog Quarry are quite large. I would recommend digging through the talise piles. I can almost guarantee you find one of these large garnets. Simply because very few people have dug through these piles. This fact becomes obvious when you first arrive at the mine. In fact, I would almost bet the only signs of digging you will find are from my trip there over five years ago. I only spent four hours here, but I left there with some great samples. My best was a perfectly formed and whole almandine garnet crystal, about the size of a golf ball. I figured I was not going to do much better than that, and so I left. I plan on going back and spending some more time at this site. Maybe take a tent with me and make a week end of it.

GARNET

Driving directions are as follows:

From four way intersection on route 108 in West Peru, drive 3.05 miles south on Dickvale road. Turn left onto mineral springs road and continue 0.95 mile to intersection. Turn right onto Paradis road (gravel) and drive 1.05 miles to abandoned cabin on left. Park here. Walk on main road from here about 150 ft to quarry road on the right. Follow this woods road 270 feet to fork, keep left at fork. Continue 675 feet to next fork, keep right. Walk 390 feet to stone wall. Follow road through opening in wall and go another 150 feet to end of obvious road. Continue straight ahead on steep down grade following trail for 360 feet to the quarry. (Maine Mineral Localities 3rd EDT. by W.B Thompson, D.L. Joyner, R.G. Woodman, V.T. King)

These directions make it sound very difficult to find, but it really is not simply because there is nothing else up here. Make sure you stay on the right trail when the road forks and you will have no trouble finding the mine. I drove past the cabin and followed the directions until I reached the gravel pit area. I parked here, but don't try to make it unless you have four wheel drive. From here it is a short walk up a steep dirt road to the quarry. It is essentially the top of a small mountain where the mine is. One side has been mined. The talice pile is located off to the side and down below. I should not call the area I parked a gravel pit. It really is just a wide open area that looks like a natural dirt parking lot. I assumed it was a gravel pit, because it was the only reason I could come up with for it being there. Perhaps it is what remains from when the mine was open and in operation. It would be a good idea to bring sub block and bug spray with you. I can not emphasize the bug spray enough. This is a wooded area and black flies and mosquitos are thick here. It is also a good idea to bring a screen for sifting. Especially when the main goal is finding garnet crystals scattered through out the talise piles. You can also bring a chisel and a hammer although they are not necessary. A small shovel would be more useful. I highly recommend making this trip. The garnet samples are worth it, and you never know. You may get lucky and find some of the rarer minerals that have been found here.

Mineral Collecting in Maine (Hedge Hog Hill Quarry)

GARNET