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The Nonfuel Mineral Resources of Pennsylvania

Educational Series 12The NonfuelMineral Resourcesof PennsylvaniaCOMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIADEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCESOFFICE OF CONSERVATION AND ENGINEERING SERVICESBUREAU OF TOPOGRAPHIC AND GEOLOGIC SURVEYCOMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIAEdward G. Rendell, GovernorDEPARTMENT OFCONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCESMichael DiBerardinis, SecretaryOFFICE OF CONSERVATION AND ENGINEERING SERVICESLarry G. Williamson, Deputy SecretaryBUREAU OF TOPOGRAPHIC AND GEOLOGIC SURVEYJay B. Parrish, DirectorFRONT COVER:The top photograph shows a sand andgravel operation known as Mt. Cydonia No. 2, operated in
the eastern part of Franklin County in the early 1980s. The
bottom photograph shows the same operation about 10 years
later, following reclamation of the land to form a pond and
golf course. Photographs courtesy of Randy Van Scyoc, Val-
ley Quarries, Inc.Educational Series 12The NonfuelMineral Resourcesof Pennsylvaniaby John H. Barnesand Robert C. Smith, IIPENNSYLVANIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEYFOURTH SERIESHARRISBURG2001ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThe authors wish to thank the following for their participation on the advisorycommittee that guided the initiation of this project: Margaret S. Burton, Capital Area
Math/Science Alliance; Greg Eckert, The Nature Conservancy; G. Robert Ganis and
David (Duff) Gold, consulting geologists; Tom Holleran, Aggregates Mining and Min-
erals, Inc.; Johnny Johnsson, Arundel Corporation; Kurt Leitholf, Conservation and
Natural Resources Advisory Council; Kim Myers, Pennsy Supply; Randy Newcomer,
Rohrer’s Quarry; Helen Olena, Director of Environmental Education, Department of
Environmental Protection; Lane Schultz, Sheridan Construction Group; Evan Shus-
ter, Bureau of Mining and Reclamation, Department of Environmental Protection;
Andrew A. Sicree, Curator, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum, The Pennsylvania
State University; and Randy Van Scyoc, Valley Quarries.This booklet has been improved by thoughtful reviews by the following com-mittee members: Bob Ganis, Johnny Johnsson, Helen Olena, Lane Schultz, Evan
Shuster, and Randy Van Scyoc. It has been further improved by the work of addi-
tional reviewers: Kurt Carr, Chief, Division of Archaeology and Protection, Pennsyl-
vania Historical and Museum Commission; Joan Clippinger, Coordinator, Education
and Information, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; Donald T.
Hoff, retired curator of Earth Sciences, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Com-
mission; Dave Hopkins, Baker Refractories; E. Willard Miller, Professor of Geogra-
phy, The Pennsylvania State University; and Arthur A. Socolow, consulting geolo-
gist and retired director of the Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey. Addi-
tional review was provided by Samuel W. Berkheiser, Jr., Chief, Geologic Resources
Division, Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey.iiWhen reproducing material from this booklet, please cite the source as follows:Barnes, J. H., and Smith, R. C., II, 2001, The nonfuel mineral re-
sources of Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Geological Survey, 4th ser.,
Educational Series 12, 38 p.Pennsylvania web site: www.state.pa.usDepartment of Conservation and Natural Resourcesweb site: www.dcnr.state.pa.usBureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey web site:www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeoIllustrations drafted by James H. DolimpioFirst Edition, June 2001Fourth Printing, Slightly Revised, June 2006ne day, several million years ago, a very early ancestor of ours whose
identity is lost forever picked up a rock and used it to do something.
Whether the rock was used to crack open a nut, frighten away a preda-tor, or was simply a toy to play with, this was the start of our dependence on
mineral products. With time, our ancestors were shaping rocks into better
tools. By 2.3 million years ago, prehuman toolmakers in east Africa realized
that some rocks were better for making sharp-edged tools than other rocks.
After many millennia of evolution and learning, the knowledge of how to sepa-
rate the chemicals that make up rocks was unlocked. This allowed the use of
rock products to manufacture other products. Centuries later, this knowledge
helped to give rise to the industrial revolution and our modern way of life.At the dawn of the twenty-first century, we live in an information agedominated by the excitement of powerful new technologies. We refer to the
long-ago era of stone tools and spear points as the Stone Age. But our need
for “stone” is as great now as ever. New uses are constantly found for the
raw materials that come only from the earth. Everything that we need to
build the most advanced computer comes from the earth and has been avail-
able since prehistoric times! Today we use knowledge accumulated over cen-
turies to combine raw materials in new and exciting ways. Tomorrow, raw
materials from the earth will be combined in ways that we cannot even imag-
ine. Despite all of our advances, we are at least as dependent on nature’s raw
materials as any cave dweller ever was.According to the U.S. Geological Survey, $1.26 billion worth of nonfuelminerals was mined in Pennsylvania in 2003. We will explore the past, pres-ent, and future impact
of that production. At
the end of the booklet
is a list of books that
have additional infor-
mation. We also rec-
ommend reading Edu-
cational Series book-
lets 3, 7, and 8 to learn
about Pennsylvania’s
groundwater, coal, andoil and gas resources. For an introduction to geological concepts discussed
in this booklet and an overview of the events that, over billions of years,
formed Pennsylvania’s mineral resources, we recommend Educational Series
booklet 4, The Geological Story of Pennsylvania.1The Nonfuel Mineral Resources of PennsylvaniaOWHAT ARE MINERAL RESOURCES?Mineral resources are naturally occurring materials that are found in theground and are used in our daily lives. When the resources are extracted
from the ground they are referred to as mineral products. Most of the items
that we deal with in life are made from mineral products. These include
nearly everything you might think of, including television sets, refrigerators,
stoves, computers, autos, planes, and trains. Even our homes contain min-
eral materials in the bricks, tiles, window panes, roofing, cement, wiring,
pipes, linoleum, and insulation. Although plant and animal products, such as
wood, wool, and cotton, are not minerals, they are processed and manu-
factured by machinery made of metals and are fastened by nails, buttons, or
zippers.All rocks are made up of minerals, but only mineral occurrences forwhich there is a market and commercial use qualify as mineral resources. To
be extracted (or mined), a mineral resource has to have a high enough quality
and quantity to cover the cost of mining and processing. Pennsylvania is for-
tunate to have a considerable number of minable resources whose annual
total value makes this state a leading mineral producer.The word “mineral,” like many words,has more than one meaning. To a person
who works with mineral products and re-
sources, “mineral” includes rocks, sand,
gravel, and even coal and petroleum. This
is different than the definition used by
scientists who study a branch of geology
called mineralogy.To a mineralogist, a mineral is a naturally occurring, inorganic substancethat has a specific composition and crystal form. Minerals are the building
blocks that make up rocks. Some minerals that are
commonly found in Pennsylvania include the silicon-
based minerals quartz, feldspar, mica, and pyroxene;
and the carbonate minerals calcite (calcium carbon-
ate) and dolomite (calcium magnesium carbonate).
Rocks that are considered to be mineral resources in-
clude two carbonate rocks, limestone, which consists
mostly of calcite, and dolomite, which consists mostly
of the mineral dolomite; diabase, which consists mainly
of interlocking laths of feldspar and pyroxene (a mi-
croscopic view is shown to the right); and sandstone, which commonly con-
tains quartz and feldspar.2THE NONFUEL MINERAL RESOURCES OF PENNSYLVANIAWHAT ARE MINERAL RESOURCES?3At the end of the tw
entieth century
,appro
ximately 700 active quarr
ies and mines dott
ed the landscape of 64 of Penn-sylv
ania’s 67 counties. They produced nonfuel minerals useful for construction, agriculture, preventing pollution, andmanufacturing many products, including bricks, roofing materials, glass, china, po
t
t
ery
,r
efractories, and fluxes.WHAT MINERAL RESOURCES ARE PRESENTLYBEING MINED IN PENNSYLVANIA?Mineral Products Usedin BuildingThe most obvious way in which we see mineral products in use in ourdaily lives, and the one that consumes the greatest amount of material in
Pennsylvania, is construction. Many buildings, roads, and monuments con-
tain stone that is used with little modification, as it has been for centuries.
The production of these raw materials is a large industry. Just in Pennsylva-
nia, mined construction products had a total value of more than a billion dol-
lars in 2002.Dimension stone.A good place to see stoneused in its purest form is a cemetery. The monuments
are examples of dimension stone. Dimension stone is
cut and commonly polished, and it may be artistically
carved, but it is otherwise unprocessed after it is ex-
tracted from the earth. If a cemetery in your town
contains graves that date from before the twentieth
century, you may see monuments that are made of lo-
cally quarried rock such as sandstone, slate, or mar-
ble. Marble was a favorite because of its beauty and
because it is easily cut and polished. The people who
requested it probably did not anticipate that the writ-ing on these stones would become hard to read with time. The principal min-
eral in marble is calcite, which gradually dissolves because it is attacked by
weak acids that are naturally present in rainwater.A walk through the cemetery demonstrates how some types of stone aremore suited to certain uses than others. Some monuments, such as this one,
stand the test of time better. They are made of
granite or diabase. Diabase is inaccurately called
“black granite” by some people. These igneous
rocks were formed by the crystallization of red-hot,
molten material underground. They are composed
of interlocking crystals of silicon-based minerals such
as quartz, feldspar, and pyroxene, and are not
readily attacked by rainwater. Writing carved on
granite or diabase is easy to read for centuries. Dia-
base for dimension stone is found in many places
in southeastern Pennsylvania and is currently quar-4THE NONFUEL MINERAL RESOURCES OF PENNSYLVANIAried in Chester County. Granite, which has a lighter color, is quarried in North
Carolina, Vermont, and other states.Dimension stone is also used in constructing buildings and bridges. InGettysburg, diabase is plentiful and was used in many buildings. The wall in
this photograph is made of diabase. West Chester is noted for its green build-
ings constructed of serpentinite, an unusual
type of rock that was quarried nearby.Pennsylvania is also known for its slatequarries. Slate is a metamorphic rock. The
word “metamorphic” means “changed form.”
Metamorphic rocks were changed from their
original form by heat and/or pressure in the
earth. Marble is another metamorphic rock.
Before their forms were changed, marble was
originally limestone or dolomite and slate
was originally shale. Several quarries northeast of Allentown obtain slate from
a bedrock unit called the Martinsburg Formation. The slate that is mined is
used as the hard, flat surface underneath the felt of many billiard tables. It is
also split and cut into shingles and used for roofs, such as the roof in the pho-
tograph above. A slate roof is heavy and expensive, but it can last for more
than a century and requires little maintenance.“Bluestone” is a type of fine-grained sandstone that is obtained frommany small quarries in the Catskill Formation in northeastern Pennsylvania
and the adjacent part of New York. It is more gray than blue to most peo-
ple’s eyes, and is used as flagstone for floors and sidewalks.There are other quarries around the state from which dimension stoneis obtained. Some mine sandstone. Two in southeastern Pennsylvania mine
the metamorphic rock schist, which makes an interesting decorative stone.Altogether, in 2003, Pennsylvania was the nation’s tenth largest producerof dimension stone, producing a total of 51 thousand tons worth nearly $10
million.Aggregate.Of all of Pennsylvania’snonfuel mineral resources, the biggest in
terms of both dollars earned and tons mined
is aggregate. Aggregate is the name given to
materials such as crushed stone, sand, and
gravel. Modern, inexpensive, high-speed
transportation would be impossible without
it. Highways, airport runways, railroad-track
beds, and wharves for large ships could notRESOURCES PRESENTLY BEING MINED IN PENNSYLVANIA5be built without aggregate. In 2003, Pennsylvania was the nation’s third-
largest producer of crushed stone, producing approximately 106 million tons
having a value of $547 million. If it all met the standards for highway con-
struction, this would be enough to pave about 700 miles of four-lane high-
ways. The state also produced nearly 20 million tons of sand and gravel
worth $115 million. Most of the operations on the map on page 3 produce
either construction aggregate or other materials required for building, such as
shale or other “fill” that is used to level the ground at construction sites.Aggregate cannot be made from just any type of rock. As we have seenin looking at dimension stone, some types of rock are better than others,
depending on the use. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation testsaggregate for durability
and resistance to polish,
which can contribute to
skidding. In Pennsylvania,
most aggregate is made
by quarrying limestone,
dolomite, or sandstone
and crushing it. In the
areas of northeastern and
northwestern Pennsylva-
nia that were covered byglaciers during the Pleistocene Epoch, sand and gravel deposited by the gla-
ciers can sometimes be used for aggregate. Sediments from former river
channels are also mined. Most sand and gravel is mined from open pits on
land, but it is also dredged from the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers and even
from Lake Erie.Aggregate is commonly mixed with portland cement or a black, tarrymaterial, asphalt, to make concrete. It is sometimes spread and compacted
or applied without a binder to make gravel roads.Riprap is a type of aggregate made up of chunks of rock up to severalfeet across, depending on the application. It is commonly used along shore-
lines and riverbanks to protect property from wave erosion.Railroad-track beds contain fist-sized aggregate that is used as ballast tokeep the rails from shifting as trains pass over them. Diabase is very tough
and dense and is especially suited to this purpose.Portland cement.The portland cement that is mixed with aggregateto make concrete is another product of Pennsylvania. It is ideally made from
shaly limestone that is low in magnesium and contains the correct amounts
of silica, iron, and alumina. This kind of limestone is found in eastern Penn-6THE NONFUEL MINERAL RESOURCES OF PENNSYLVANIAsylvania, especially north of the Allentown-Bethlehem area. Pulverized lime-
stone is burned at approximately 2,000°F with a clayey material such as
shale and a source of iron to form calcium silicates or aluminates. Pulveriza-
tion of this substance and the addition of gypsum to slow the rate of curing
completes the process of making portland cement.Portland cement is a step beyond the other construction materials thatwe have looked at, which we said represent the most obvious and pure use
of stone. It is the first product that we have mentioned that is manufactured
from stone that has been altered chemically to create different substances.The use of cement dates back thousands of years. The ancient Egyp-tians made a relatively soft cement from gypsum, which was used as mortar
between the stones of the pyramids. This type of cement, known today as
plaster of paris, is still used for some purposes. The Romans later developed
a stronger cement that was made from limestone and fine silicon-based min-
erals that are present in volcanic ash. That type of cement was used in the
construction of such enduring landmarks as the Colosseum, the Appian Way,
and the aqueducts.Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the knowledge of how to makesuch durable cement was lost during the Middle Ages. Research on cement
in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries led to the first manu-
facture of portland cement by Joseph Aspdin in England in 1824. Portland
cement is stronger than the cement made by the Romans, and was said to
resemble stone obtained from the Isle of Portland off the coast of England.Pennsylvania was the site of the first facility to manufacture portland ce-ment in the United States. In 1871, David O. Saylor set up the first plant in
Coplay, Lehigh County. His early plants used vertical kilns, pictured here, to
heat the ingredients required to
make cement. This procedure
was soon replaced by rotary
kilns, which are more nearly
horizontal. Rotary kilns have the
advantage that they can be op-
erated continuously. Ingredients
are fed in at one end, and the
product, called clinker, comes
out at the other end. The clin-
ker is pulverized and gypsum is
added to make cement.In 2003, Pennsylvania ranked third among the states in the productionof portland cement, producing 6.8 million tons valued at $457 million.RESOURCES PRESENTLY BEING MINED IN PENNSYLVANIA7Mineral Products Usedin ManufacturingWe mentioned that slate is used to make billiard-tabletops and roofingshingles. These are just a few of the many uses of Pennsylvania’s mineral
products in manufacturing. They are also among the most direct uses. Many
manufactured products contain the state’s minerals, processed and combined
with other ingredients so that the original mineral is no longer recognizable.
Very few people think of minerals when they use paper, tile, plastic, pottery,
or paint, but these are among the products
that contain minerals extracted from Pennsyl-
vania’s quarries.When the Quaker colonists arrived inPhiladelphia in the late 1600s, one of their
first tasks was to buildbrickhouses. WilliamPenn wisely recommended this to reduce the
danger of fire, which had devastated so many
other cities of that time when most buildings
were constructed of wood. Bricks are still an
important building material in Pennsylvania.
At the close of the twentieth century, the clays
and shales that are the principal raw materials
for making bricks were being mined in Adams,
Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Berks, Mont-
gomery, Northumberland, and York Counties.
Clays and shales mined in Armstrong and Clinton Counties are also used in
the manufacture of various kinds oftiles and sewer pipe.Another important use of clays is asfiller.Fillers add bulk, strength, orother desired properties to a product. Depending on how they are to be
used, fillers can also consist of limestone or other materials. They are used
in products as varied as plastics, rubber, paint, shingles, and even food and
medicine. York County is an important source of white limestone and dolo-
mite fillers in Pennsylvania. Limestone filler is also quarried in Northumber-
land, Lancaster, and Snyder Counties. Clay fillers are found in Bucks and
Northumberland Counties. A sandstone deposit in Huntingdon County is a
source of silica filler.Some of the limestone quarried in York County, from the Kinzers For-mation, has a high calcium carbonate content and a special quality known aswhitingand is used to improve the properties of paper. The limestone ispulverized and added during the papermaking process. The limestone fills in
irregularities between cellulose fibers so that the paper will be smooth and8THE NONFUEL MINERAL RESOURCES OF PENNSYLVANIAthe ink will be absorbed properly. It also protects paper from aging by neu-
tralizing acids, and it may also improve the whiteness of the paper.Some of the deposits that are sources of fillers also provide the raw ma-terials forglass and ceramics.Limestone from the quarries in York Countyis used as an ingredient in the manufacture of ceramics and glass. A quarry
in Huntingdon County produces sand that is of the quality needed for mak-
ing glass, enamel, and pottery, and also for making molds that are used for
casting metal objects such as automobile engine parts.High-purity limestones and dolomites are used for their chemical prop-erties in industrial applications. Pennsylvania is one of the nation’s leading
states in the production oflime.Lime is made by heating limestone ordolomite to a high temperature, at which it breaks down into carbon dioxide
gas and calcium and magnesium oxides. Lime is a highly reactive chemical.
It is used in the paper industry to bleach pulp, a step toward producing white
paper. It is also used as afluxin steelmaking to remove impurities such asphosphorus, silicon, and sulfur and lower the processing temperature. Chemi-
cal compounds formed by the reaction of the lime and the impurities float to
the top of the furnace and are removed asslag.Slag is of value as light-weight construction aggregate for building skyscrapers and for use as anti-
skid material on icy roads. Companies in Allegheny, Beaver, Berks, Cambria,
Chester, Dauphin, Lawrence, Northampton, and Westmoreland Counties sell
slag for these purposes.Dolomite is also used in the manufacture ofrefractorymaterials. Re-fractories have the opposite effect of fluxes in that they can withstand ex-
tremely high temperatures without melting or reacting chemically. York
County is the United States’ only source of dolomite that is used in the manu-
facture of refractory bricks for steel furnaces and cement kilns.Carbonate rocks thatare mined for their chemi-
cal properties include Ann-
ville limestone in Berks,
Lancaster, and Lebanon
Counties; Snyder and Lin-
den Hall limestones in Bed-
ford, Blair, Huntingdon,
and Lycoming Counties;
Kinzers limestone in Adams
and York Counties; Ledger
dolomite in Adams, Ches-ter, Montgomery, and York Counties; Valentine limestone in Centre County;
and Vanport limestone in Butler County.RESOURCES PRESENTLY BEING MINED IN PENNSYLVANIA9Mineral Products Usedin FarmingIt has been said that any large deposit of a single mineral is an economicresource. Pennsylvania has extensive deposits of relatively purelimestone,a rock that is composed principally of a single mineral, calcite. Pennsylvania
has many limestone quarries, such as the one pictured here as seen from
above, as well as under-
ground limestone mines,
because the chemical
and physical properties
of limestone give it so
many uses.The strength anddurability of limestone
make it useful for con-
struction aggregate. The
appearance of some
kinds of limestone make
it desirable as dimension
stone. Its chemical prop-
erties allow the manu-
facture of cement, provide stability to glass, and make limestone useful as a
fluxing agent to remove impurities from molten steel. Because of its nontoxic
properties and ease of grinding, limestone is used as filler in foods and medi-
cines and as an abrasive in household cleaning products. The color of some
limestone makes it useful as filler in paper and other materials. Limestone is
also an important resource in preventing air and water pollution.In addition to all those other uses, limestone is important to farmers.Whenagricultural limestone or dolomiteis pulverized and applied to afield, its chemical properties reduce the acidity of soil, making the soil better
suited for growing most crops. (This product is commonly referred to as “ag
lime,” which is not the same as the “lime” described on page 9.) Farmers
also use limestone aspoultry grit,which is given to chickens to aid their di-gestion and produce stronger eggshells.Agricultural limestone and dolomite are produced in Pennsylvania byquarries and mines across the state in Adams, Armstrong, Berks, Blair, But-
ler, Centre, Chester, Cumberland, Franklin, Lancaster, Lawrence, Mifflin, Mon-
tour, Montgomery, Northumberland, Snyder, Somerset, Union, and York
Counties.10THE NONFUEL MINERAL RESOURCES OF PENNSYLVANIAFrom U.S. Department of Agriculture aerial photograph AQA–9HH–78, 1967, Ashcom
quarry, Bedford County.Mineral Products That HelpKeep the Environment CleanThe importance of protecting Earth’s environment became especiallyapparent during the final decades of the twentieth century. The old attitude
inherited from our nation’s pioneer days, that air, water, and land can be
thought of as inexhaustible and able to absorb unlimited dumping of waste
products, is no longer acceptable.This change of attitude has affected themineral-resources industry in two ways. First,
the operators of quarries and mines try to
be better neighbors through efforts such as
using water to keep dust under control, pro-
viding buffers, such as this Christmas tree
farm, around quarries, and using better blast-
ing techniques. They now accept the re-sponsibility of restoring the land after they have
finished mining it. Second, the requirement that
other industries also do a better job in protect-
ing the environment has created new uses for
some mineral products.Carbonate rock.One of those prod-ucts is carbonate rock such as limestone and
dolomitic limestone. For many years, pollu-
tants were released from coal mines and facilities that burn coal. Some of
these pollutants can now be captured before they reach the environment by
taking advantage of the chemical properties of these rocks.Water that drains from coal mines is typically acidic because coal de-posits contain sulfur-bearing minerals such as pyrite. The sulfur reacts with
water to form a weak solution of sulfuric acid. Just as farmers have long used
limestone to neutralize the acidity of soils, the operators of coal mines can
now use limestone to neutralize acid mine drainage before the water reaches
and pollutes streams.When coal is burned, the sulfur-bearing minerals in the coal burn withit. This releases sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. The sulfur dioxide mixes
with rain, sometimes hundreds of miles from the place where it was released,
and makes the rain more acidic than normal. This acid rain can cause dam-
age to plant and aquatic life as well as to buildings and monuments contain-
ing copper, aluminum, limestone, and marble.The use of limestone has helped facilities that burn coal to become bet-ter neighbors than in the past. The sulfur dioxide in flue gases from burningRESOURCES PRESENTLY BEING MINED IN PENNSYLVANIA11coal can now react with
limestone (or with lime,
which is more reactive)
before it is released into
the atmosphere, reduc-
ing damage to wildlife
and structures caused
by acid rainfall. The use
of limestone also makes
the burning of coal
waste for power gen-
eration (shown in the
photograph above) en-vironmentally acceptable. The by-products of this reaction are gypsum,
which can be disposed of safely or utilized in the manufacture of wallboard,
and carbon dioxide. Limestone for sulfate absorption is mined in Bedford,
Blair, Huntingdon, Lancaster, Mifflin, Northumberland, and Union Counties.
This solution is not perfect, though. There is concern that the release of too
much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere may have long-term effects on
Earth’s climate. Also, the use of limestone does not reduce the amount of
particulate matter, known as fly ash, that is given off.Limestone is also used in underground coal mines to reduce the risk ofexplosion and fire. Powdered limestone is sprayed on the walls to create a
light-colored, fire-resistant layer. It is also used to dilute the coal dust in the
air, reducing the possibility of an explosion. “Coal-mine rock dust” is mined
in Bedford, Blair, Butler, Centre, and Huntingdon Counties.Clays.Clays are also important in keeping the environment clean.Most clay minerals consist of extremely tiny, flat plates that can only be seen
by using an electron microscope. Just like a deck of playing cards that is
tossed onto the floor, the clay particles tend to lie flat against each other in
an overlapping arrangement, creating a barrier that liquids cannot easily pene-
trate. Because of this property, clays are used to line landfills to prevent pol-
lutants from leaking into the groundwater and streams. Clays used for that
purpose are mined in Berks, Dauphin, Fayette, and York Counties.Sand.Unlike landfills, septic systems are not effective unless water canflow away from them quickly and efficiently. But the water must be filtered as
it moves away, to protect the groundwater. Certain types of sand make an
efficient filter for septic systems. As of the late 1990s, mining operations in
Bradford, Bucks, Dauphin, Erie, Jefferson, Lackawanna, Lawrence, Lehigh,
Mifflin, Monroe, Northampton, Northumberland, Tioga, Union, and Wyoming
Counties reported the production of sand that is appropriate for this use.12THE NONFUEL MINERAL RESOURCES OF PENNSYLVANIAMineral Products Usedin RecreationMineral products play asimportant a role in recrea-
tional activities as in other as-
pects of life. The most obvi-
ous recreational activity that
involves rocks and minerals
isrock, mineral, and fos-sil collecting.Clubs organ-ize trips for their members to
quarries and other sites that
are not open to individuals.
Hundreds of fossil and min-eral species, such as celestine, pictured here, have been identified in Penn-
sylvania. At least eight minerals were unknown to the world before they were
discovered in Pennsylvania. The discovery ofcelestine,strontium sulfate, inBlair County was announced to the world in a German publication in 1797.
Nearly 80 years later, in 1875, the discovery of a zinc-bearing clay mineral,sauconite,in Lehigh County was revealed. In 1888 and 1890, two hy-drated magnesium carbonates,lansforditeandnesquehonite,were dis-covered in stalactites in coal mines in Carbon County. Another long gap, this
time of 87 years, passed before the publication in 1977 of the discovery ofdowneyite,selenium dioxide, an elusive mineral associated with burningcoal mines in Schuylkill County. This was followed quickly bymatulaite,hy-drated calcium aluminum phosphate, from the Bachman iron mine in North-
ampton County in 1980;laphamite,arsenic selenide-sulfide, from a burn-ing anthracite waste pile in Northumberland County in 1986; andeaston-ite,a magnesium-bearing mica, from a serpentine quarry in NorthamptonCounty in 1998.Amateurartists,as well as theirprofessional counterparts, are also de-
pendent upon mineral products. Sculp-
tors cannot work without a medium and
commonly use natural materials such as
clay or dimension stone. Skilled crafts-
men in Pennsylvania carve small items
from slate and anthracite. Various min-
erals are used as pigments in paint, as
well.RESOURCES PRESENTLY BEING MINED IN PENNSYLVANIA13Weekendgardenersneed the same mineral products as farmers, buton a much smaller scale. Besides spreading pulverized limestone in their gar-
dens, gardeners who wish to modify their soil might also purchase topsoil
that can be blended with their existing soil. A number of companies in Penn-
sylvania mine and sell topsoil, usually from the floodplains of rivers.For those whose activities center onsports,mineral products play asignificant role. The suitability of Pennsylvania’s slate for making smooth,
flat, and stable billiard-tabletops has already been mentioned. But what about
outdoor sports? Have you ever wondered where the sandy material for the
infield of a baseball diamond
comes from? As of the late
1990s, there were several min-
ing companies in Pennsylvania
that reported the production of
“baseball infield mix.” The lines
on a football field are made of
pulverized carbonate rock. A
golfer whose ball lands in a
sand trap can take heart that
this may not be ordinary, every-
day sand. Mining companies
report the production of sand
specifically for use in sand traps. The operators of horse tracks, too, are very
particular about the type of sand the horses tread on.It would be hard to think of any recreational activity that does not, insome way, depend upon mineral resources. Evenreading a bookinvolvesthe use of paper that may contain limestone to
provide a clearer printed image on the page
and to make the page whiter and last longer,
and clay to provide a glossy coating. Inks may
contain mineral pigments. Of course the press
on which the book was printed contains metals
and other products of mining. So do the chair
and lamp in the reader’s home. Even the golfer
who always manages to stay out of sand traps
and the gardener who has perfect soil use
metal clubs and garden tools.Can you think of any products or activities in which mineral resourcesplay no role at all?14THE NONFUEL MINERAL RESOURCES OF PENNSYLVANIAPENNSYLVANIA’S OTHER MINERAL RESOURCESSo far, we have talked about only mineral resources that are presentlybeing mined in Pennsylvania. They make up only a small fraction of the variety
of mineral resources that can be found in the state. Many others, especially
metal ores, have been mined in the past, and a few may be mined in the future.The story of past mining in Pennsylvania is a colorfuland interesting one. You may be surprised at what re-
sources Pennsylvania holds, the stories that surround them,
and how far back into history we must go to find the earli-
est evidence of mining in Pennsylvania.What is being mined at any given time depends agreat deal on the basic economic law of supply and de-mand. Any mineral commodity will usu-
ally be mined from occurrences from
which it can be delivered to the con-
sumer at a competitive cost. Some com-
modities, such as precious metals and
gems, are in such limited supply and
have such high demand that they have
a high unit value and can be shipped
economically halfway around the world.
High-unit-value commodities are ob-
tained where the deposits are easiest tomine and in greatest supply, or in nations where labor costs are low and con-
cern for the environment might be weak. In contrast, commodities such as sand
and gravel have a low unit value and must be mined in volume close to the
place where they will be used. Most of the commodities presently being mined
in Pennsylvania have a relatively low unit value and are used in high volumes.Many of the mineral resources that are no longer mined in Pennsylva-nia have a moderate to high unit value and are now obtained elsewhere at
less expense. But that does not mean that the presence of these commodi-
ties should be forgotten. Changes in demand, politics, and economic devel-
opments can lead to the closing of some mines and the opening of others.
Commodities that had been mined in Pennsylvania in the 1800s were con-
sidered for mining again in the 1900s during both World Wars when access
to foreign sources became uncertain. A resource remains a resource, even if
it is not presently being mined, as long as there is the potential that it may
be used.PENNSYLVANIA’S OTHER MINERAL RESOURCES15Knapping MaterialsThe use of materials in Pennsylvania that can beknappedbegan at least15,000 years ago when continental glaciers were still present. Mining in
Pennsylvania may have begun approximately 11,000 years ago in the SouthMountain area of Adams and Franklin Coun-
ties. This was about 2,000 years after the gla-
ciers last left Pennsylvania. We know almost
nothing about the miners or where they came
from. The metamorphosed volcanic rockmeta-rhyolitewas mined, possibly by more thanone method, and knapped using hammers
made of an extremely tough, dense igneousrock known as Rossville Diabase. The Rossville Diabase forms Seminary
Ridge in Gettysburg, the Confederate position on the final day of the Battle
of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863.Based on the duration of mining and the fact that metarhyolite fromSouth Mountain was transported hundreds of miles, it is apparent that this
was a very important resource and an impor-
tant trade good. Because South Mountain meta-
rhyolite is not an easy material to knap into use-
ful tools, it may resemble a material with which
the original miners had previous experience or
that they held in esteem before they reached
South Mountain.Higher quality knapping material was mined,perhaps for 11,000 years, from several quar-
ries in the Reading Prong of Lehigh and Berks
Counties. Here, distinctive tan jasper, which becomes reddish when fired,
was mined from pits up to about 12 feet deep and utilized in an area extend-
ing hundreds of miles from the quarries. Jasper was also quarried in Centre
County.Quartz,especially as the closely related varieties chert, jasper, and flint,was recovered from dozens of sites and used to produce tens of thousands
of tools. These varieties were commonly found within belts of limestones and
dolomites and along the streams draining them.Quartzite,a metamorphicrock, was a popular knapping material in southeastern Pennsylvania.Native Americans also carved bowls from a soft rock containing talc andserpentine, calledsteatite,in and near Lancaster and Chester Counties.16THE NONFUEL MINERAL RESOURCES OF PENNSYLVANIAIronPennsylvania’s abundant and diverse iron ores and the abundant lime-stone for the flux required to process them enabled the American colonies to
support Great Britain’s dominance over France in North America in the 1700s.
A few decades later, they enabled the
colonies to become independent of Great
Britain. The Revolutionary-era cannon
at right was made at the Cornwall Fur-
nace in Lebanon County. Still later,
Pennsylvania’s iron ores and industry
provided a substantial proportion of
the iron needed by the Union army to
support President Abraham Lincoln’s
goals of preserving the Union and rid-
ding the nation of slavery. By 1859, there were 160 charcoal-fired and 97
anthracite-fired iron furnaces operating in nearly all regions of Pennsylvania
except the northern tier of counties.In addition to instruments ofwar, Pennsylvania’s iron industry
produced household items such as
stoves, cooking utensils, and nails
that helped Americans meet their
needs independently of British in-
dustry. This stove was cast at the
Hopewell Furnace in Berks County
in 1772.Richhematiteandmagnetiteores, typically containing 68 percent
ferric oxide (Fe2O3), were known inthe Reading Prong in the Durhamarea of northern Bucks County by 1698, and limited mining may have begun
then. The first iron furnace at Durham was in operation by 1727 and, using
local ores, it supplied cannon shot for both the French and Indian War and
the War for Independence. A “new” 2,000-foot-long mine adit was com-
pleted two years prior to the Civil War.The Rittenhouse Gap district in the Reading Prong was worked prior to1785, resulting in open cuts up to 60 feet deep and 200 feet long from
which shafts were sunk at least another 160 feet. Typically, magnetite veinsPENNSYLVANIA’S OTHER MINERAL RESOURCES17were 10 to 20 feet thick, and remarkable ground magnetic anomalies remain
today. In 1899, Thomas A. Edison had a magnetic survey done of the Vera
Cruz district of the Reading Prong in Berks County. From this, he estimated
that 20 million tons of magnetite could be recovered magnetically. However,
the actual magnetite veins were no more than 15 feet thick and the “re-
serves” included 260-foot-thick sections containing only approximately 20
percent iron. Efforts at magnetically beneficiating similar ores in New Jersey
failed, and all of the 300,000 tons of ore produced from the veins at the Vera
Cruz district was recovered using traditional methods.Mining in Berks County likely goes back to the start of ColebrookdaleFurnace on Ironstone Creek in approximately 1720. This is the oldest known
iron furnace in Pennsylvania, and it may have used both local Cornwall-type
ores and ores from the Reading Prong.The expression “Cornwall-type ore” refers to the type of ore depositfound at Cornwall, Lebanon County, and elsewhere in southeastern Penn-
sylvania. Such deposits are found where the dark igneous rock called diabase
came in contact with limestone.Iron mining began at Cornwall in 1742 and ceased on June 30, 1973.During that period, 106 million tons of magnetite ore, probably averaging
approximately 54 percent Fe2O3, was mined. The mining removed three hillsand left a deep pit (shown above in an aerial view), which is now a lake filled18THE NONFUEL MINERAL RESOURCES OF PENNSYLVANIAFrom U.S. Department of Agriculture aerial photograph AHN–2LL–166, 1970, Cornwall open pit.with high-quality water. Another Cornwall-type iron-copper deposit was dis-
covered in southern Berks County in 1948 via an aeromagnetic survey. This
deposit was developed as the Grace mine and produced an estimated 45 mil-
lion tons of ore between 1958 and 1977. Drilling to the northeast just be-
fore closure confirmed thicker, rich ore. Very large unmined Cornwall-type
deposits are reported to occur near Gettysburg, Adams County, and Pine
Swamp, Chester County. Much smaller Cornwall-type deposits yielding more
than 1 million tons of ore were located at Boyertown, Berks County; Dills-
burg, York County; and French Creek, Chester County.In many valleys in southeastern Pennsylvania, limestones and especiallydolomites dissolved over time, leaving behind their impurities as orange-
brownlimoniteiron ores and clays. As iron furnaces multiplied, farmers atfirst picked wagonloads of limonite from
fields during seasons when crops could not
be grown and the fields were accessible.
Eventually, the fields that were richer in
limonite evolved into open pits as some
farmers evolved into iron miners. At the
best of these, it was not uncommon for
shafts to be sunk in pursuit of still more
ore. From approximately 1850 to 1890
there were likely more than a thousand of
the small “valley ore” pits and mines sup-
plying several dozen local iron furnaces,
such as the one at Pine Grove Furnace,
Cumberland County, pictured here, and
the historic Caledonia Furnace in Franklin
County, pictured on page 15. Lehigh Countyalone had at least 261 such pits and mines. Statewide, these pits may have
supplied 100,000 to 1 million tons of ore per year for this period. Their sig-
nificance far exceeded their actual production because they enabled dozens
of small, scattered furnaces to support local economies in large portions of
Penn’s Woods.Siderite,or iron carbonate, was one of the least important types ofiron ore by volume, but its use permitted the operation of small iron furnaces
in areas lacking other ores, such as in western Pennsylvania. Siderite had the
advantage of being nearly self-fluxing, meaning that it was unnecessary to
have access to a separate source of limestone to mix with the ore to remove
impurities from the molten iron. The best-known siderite ore, the “buhrstonePENNSYLVANIA’S OTHER MINERAL RESOURCES19ore,” occurred on top of the Vanport Limestone in Venango County and was
typically only 6 inches thick.Iron ores occurring within layers in metamorphosed sedimentary rockwere once mined at Strickhousers in York County. “Clinton ores,” so named
after the geologic formation in which they occur, were mined throughout the
Ridge and Valley province of south-central Pennsylvania, spreading out the
iron industry even more.Lead and ZincAlthough nobody was looking forleadat the time, silver-bearing leadsulfide was being mined at Pequea, Lancaster County, prior to 1709 when
William Penn inquired about possible royalties due him. Less than 70 years
later, shipments of lead from southern Sinking Valley, Blair County, helped
supply the Continental Army during the American Revolution. The cost of
obtaining lead from that frontier outpost rose to $6.00 per pound to coverthe expense of protecting the miners from attack by the Native American
residents, who did not appreciate the presence of a lead mine in their area.
Lead mines in the Audubon area of Montgomery County, as shown above,
may have supplied the same army. Jean Audubon, father of the naturalist
J. J. Audubon, bought the property, which was operated by the famous natu-
ralist and the son of a business partner. Under different ownership in 1835,
zinc ores from these same mines were used to help make the standard brass
weights and measures that were requested by Congress.Nearly all lead ores have a bright, metallic appearance, as shown in thephotograph of millimeter-sized crystals of galena at the top of the next page.
This appearance helped attract attention to them. They were generally easy20THE NONFUEL MINERAL RESOURCES OF PENNSYLVANIAView of Perkiomen-Whim-Ecton mines, Audubon, Montgomery County, from Smith (1977), p. 254, courtesy of A. V. Heyl.to smelt, and lead was useful lo-
cally. Thus, there were many small
lead mines and prospects in cen-
tral Pennsylvania. A genre of folk-
lore evolved about lead mines,
wherein an early white settler be-
friended a Native American who
returned the favor by taking the
settler blindfolded to an outcrop
rich in pure lead—so pure that it
only needed to be cut out with a
knife and carved to make bullets!Zincores lack the silverlike appearance of most lead ores, are difficultto smelt, and zinc itself was frequently regarded only as an adulterant to cop-
per until the mid-1800s, even when used to make brass. An attempt to smelt
iron from high-grade zinc ore from Friedensville, Lehigh County, circa 1830,
failed miserably. Likewise, attempts to smelt zinc- and lead-bearing iron ores
from the Old Clippinger mine, Cumberland County, resulted in the interior ofthe iron-furnace stack being
coated with 92 percent zinc
and 6 percent lead!By approximately 1850,the combination of abundant,
rich zinc ore, efficient smelt-
ing technology, and markets
came together for the Frie-
densville zinc deposits in Le-
high County. These deposits
lacked arsenic, which was
deleterious in brass shell cas-
ings, and lead, both of which
are present in many zinc
ores. The Ueberroth mine at
Friedensville is pictured here
as it appeared in 1877. By
the time the mining ended
in 1983, at least 885,306
tons of zinc had been pro-
duced. Ore still remains at
Friedensville at the start of
the twenty-first century. In-PENNSYLVANIA’S OTHER MINERAL RESOURCES21From Miller, B. L., 1924, Lead and zinc ores of Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Geo-
logical Survey, 4th ser., Mineral Resource Report 5, p. 70.teresting zinc and lead prospects also remain in several other areas of Penn-
sylvania, especially in the central part of the state.ChromiteA Baltimore industrialist, Isaac Tyson, controlled nearly the entire world’ssupply ofchromitebetween 1828 and 1850. A major use of chromite at thattime was for paint pigment, and most of it was obtained from the State Line
District of southeastern Pennsylvania and northeastern Maryland. Most of it
was mined in Lancaster County, where the Wood mine alone produced more
than 96,000 tons and the Red Pit more than 25,000 tons.Part of Tyson’s success was that he looked for chromite deposits in theappropriate geological environment. He recognized that chromite deposits
occur only in a relatively rare type of rock called serpentinite. He also cor-rectly associated the
occurrence of ser-
pentinite with areas
of unusual, sparse
vegetation known
as barrens, such as
the area near the
Wood mine pic-
tured here in the
1920s. Another
reason for Tyson’s
success was that he
controlled not only
the sources of chro-
mite, but also its pro-cessing and recovery. Today, some serpentinite bedrock and even some chro-
mite grains concentrated in stream sediments (known as placer deposits) can
be seen nearby in Nottingham County Park, Chester County.At present, global monopolies such as Tyson’s are not usually possiblefor ores that, because of their high unit value, can be shipped great distances.
The successful producers are the ones who are in the lowest third in terms
of cost per unit of ore delivered to the consumer. Unfortunately, this tends to
shift metal mining to Third World countries, which are frequently unable to
apply the least disruptive mining and recovery techniques. Sometimes, at-
tempts to prevent mining in prosperous countries only shift the mining to
places where the damage to the environment is much greater.22THE NONFUEL MINERAL RESOURCES OF PENNSYLVANIAFrom Smith (1978), p. 172. Used with permission of Friends of Mineralogy, Pennsylvania Chapter.Nickel and CobaltThe elementnickelwas discovered by A. F. Cronstedt in 1751. Wordapparently was slow to spread to Lancaster County, where prospectorsseemed to know that
they had found some-
thing that might be of
value, but they did not
know exactly what. One
Benjamin Henfrey of-
fered a vaguely worded
1797 stock proposal
“. . . to Smelt and Re-
fine the [Gap] Ores,
whether of Copper,
Lead, Tin, Silver or
Gold.” What he and his
investors did not know
was that the real value
of the deposit at Gap
was in the newly dis-
covered element nickel.
It was not until 1852
that the Mine Captain,
Charles Doble, turned
to Dr. Friedrich August
Ludwig Karl Wilhelm
Genth, later to become
the Chief Mineralogist
of the Pennsylvania Geo-logical Survey, who set progress at the Gap mine on its proper course by
identifying the ore as nickel rich.With this new information andhis political influence, the new owner,
Joseph Wharton, perhaps following
the example of Isaac Tyson, arranged
for the Gap nickel mines to supply
nickel for the 75 percent copper, 25
percent nickel U.S. 5-cent and 3-cent
coins. From 1863 through 1893, Whar-PENNSYLVANIA’S OTHER MINERAL RESOURCES23ton’s mines produced 8 million pounds of nickel and 135,000 pounds ofcobalt.Cobalt was also obtained from the Cornwall mines in Lebanon Countyas one of several by-products of iron and copper mining.Pyrite(iron sulfide)separated from the ore typically contained 1.1 to 1.4 percent cobalt. Sulfide
concentrates from the similar Grace mine in Berks County contained from
0.5 to at least 0.7 percent cobalt.CopperReddish metalliccopperand the colorful copper carbonates deep-blueazuriteand greenmalachitegenerally excite primal instincts far more thantheir economic value warrants. In Michigan, Native Americans reportedly re-
covered up to one billion pounds of copper, some of which was released from
enclosing rock by glacial erosion during the Pleistocene Epoch. In south-
central Pennsylvania, the glaciers stopped approximately 35 miles short of
the smaller 1- by 5-mile belt containing trace- to minor amounts of native
copper in Adams and Franklin Counties, so copper nuggets there were never
released from their enclosing metabasalt. Eight named mines are known in
the native-copper belt in Pennsylvania, but production was minimal.The 106 million tons of iron-copper ore mined at Cornwall, LebanonCounty, contained 0.3 to 0.7 percent copper, and probably averaged 0.4 per-
cent. The primary interest of
the mine operators was in ob-
taining iron, so magnets were
used to separate ore from
waste. Because of that, much
high-grade copper ore from
the upper side of the ore-
body was lost in milling. The
similar Grace mine in Berks
County had the potential to
produce slightly smaller
amounts of copper, but closed
before the ore to the east,
richer in copper and up to
480 feet thick, was reached.
Still farther east, the Jones
mine, also in Berks County,
produced 500,000 tons of
ore, at least several thousand
tons of which contained 6 to24THE NONFUEL MINERAL RESOURCES OF PENNSYLVANIAContour map showing the locations of the
buildings and tunnels of the Jones mine,
about 1908.From Spencer, A. C., 1908, Magnetite deposits of the Cornwall type in Pennsyl-
vania: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 359, pl. 18.7 percent copper. There are numerous other copper prospects in the reddish
Mesozoic-age rocks of southeastern Pennsylvania. The Perkiomen mine, Mont-
gomery County, was in a deposit of this type and is recorded to have pro-
duced 617 tons of concentrates containing 18 percent copper in 1852.Attracted by thin films of bright-green malachite, prospectors dug dozensof prospects in the Devonian red beds of the Catskill Formation of northeast-
ern Pennsylvania. Only mines in the New Albany area, Bradford County, are
known to have shipped even a few tons of ore. The amount of copper pro-
duced at the Gap nickel mine in Lancaster County is unknown, but 270,000
tons of ore containing 0.68 percent copper and 1.12 percent nickel remains.Uranium and ThoriumAt the start of the nuclear age in the early 1950s, the U.S. Atomic En-ergy Commission offered to pay a bonus to anyone mininguraniumore. Thus,300 tons of uranium ore was mined at Mt. Pisgah in Carbon County. The
only value of the ore was in the bonus, however. It was never shipped to any
of the available mills, all in western states, and so was never used for any-
thing. The deposit that produced this ore has since been proven to contain
2 million pounds of uranium oxide and probably twice that amount of vana-
dium oxide, but that is not enough to support a mill. Mills to handle radioac-
tive ores are typically not welcomed in populated areas, anyway. Further-
more, demand for uranium declined late in the twentieth century following
incidents in 1979 at Three Mile Island and in 1986 at Chernobyl, Ukraine.PENNSYLVANIA’S OTHER MINERAL RESOURCES25Other moderate-sized deposits are known elsewhere in Pennsylvania.Uranium andthoriumoccur together on the south side of the ReadingProng, a belt of metamorphic rocks extending from near Reading to Easton
and into New Jersey. A shipment from the Pennsylvania Uranium mine in
Berks County turned out to be mainly thorium. Uranium and thorium also
occur in an outlier of the Reading Prong called Chestnut Hill. Smaller ura-
nium prospects and occurrences associated with copper are known in Brad-
ford, Bucks, Columbia, Huntingdon, Lycoming, and Sullivan Counties. There
are also other deposits in Carbon County.The rock pictured on the previous page, from eastern Pennsylvania,contains dark patches of thorium-bearinguraninite.The radioactive natureof this mineral is revealed by the strip of photographic film, shown below the
photograph, which was placed on the flat, sawn rock slab in the area out-
lined by the dashed line for several hours. The radioactive elements formed
the dark spots on the film.Gold and SilverIt is true that there isgoldin “them thar hills,” but most of them tharhills on the east coast are in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia,
Maryland, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. The “hills” that contained
gold in Pennsylvania were Big Hill, Middle Hill, and Grassy Hill, all at Corn-
wall in Lebanon County, but those hills are no more. They were mined to
create a large open pit at the Cornwall mine, which operated from 1742 to1973. An estimated
67,000 ounces of
gold and 443,000ounces ofsilverwere recovered as
a by-product of
iron mining at
Cornwall. The simi-
lar Grace mine at
Morgantown, Berks
County, produced
lesser amounts from
1958 to 1977.One of themore interesting attempts to mine gold in Pennsylvania took place at the Re-
liance Mining and Milling Company’s Hunterstown mine in Adams County
around 1905, shown in the photograph above. No production resulted.26THE NONFUEL MINERAL RESOURCES OF PENNSYLVANIAFrom Hoff, D. T., and Smith, R. C., II, 1985, An Adams County copper-gold mine—Doomed to
failure: Pennsylvania Geology, v. 16, no. 6, p. 13, courtesy of Edith Criswell.Placer gold(loose grains found in sediment) was discovered in south-eastern Pennsylvania in 1978, and has been the target of recreational gold
panning. Perhaps as much as 2 ounces of placer gold has been recovered
since then, and recreational opportunities are likely to continue unless mecha-
nized equipment is allowed.Flour gold(gold grains the size of flour) hasbeen verified in the glaciated areas of Pennsylvania. Outside the glaciated
areas, colors (grains smaller than 1/50 of an inch) are found in the region of
Pennsylvania east of Interstate Route 81 and south of U.S. Route 30.As much as 10 tons ofgalena(lead sulfide), perhaps containing 275ounces of silver per ton, may have been mined from at least three under-
ground mines known as the Pequea silver mine area, Lancaster County. Min-
ing there began in colonial times. One of the mines has been open at times
as a tourist attraction. Also in colonial times, five 50-foot-deep shafts were
being dug for silver in 1754 in Bucks County, but only a very small quantity
of silver was recovered.ManganeseDeposits containing impurities that cannot be economically removed arenot ore.Manganeseis an essential metal used in making steel hard andtough. However, manganese deposits such as we have in Pennsylvania, whichtypically contain minor amounts of phos-
phorus, do not constitute ore in normal
times. Thus, of the 3,512 tons of manga-
nese ores produced in Pennsylvania, 2,240
tons was produced during an abnormal
time, in support of the World War II effort
in 1940.Deposits of manganese having knowngrades and tonnages occur on the north slope
of South Mountain, Cumberland County,
and in Sherman Valley, Bedford County.
Such deposits formed as insoluble residues
from the weathering of dolomite during the
Miocene Epoch, from 6 to 24 million years
ago, and near the beginning of the Eocene
Epoch, about 58 million years ago.Most of the manganese deposits inPennsylvania were found accidentally while
attempting to locate limonite iron ores forcharcoal-fueled iron furnaces. Iron ores containing too much manganese and
phosphorus were unsatisfactory for making good pig iron.PENNSYLVANIA’S OTHER MINERAL RESOURCES27Manganese nodule from Hunt-
ingdon County; top, interior;
bottom, exterior.Although not directly related to Pennsylvania, nodules containing morethan 20 percent manganese, as well as some cobalt, occur on vast areas of
the ocean floor. They cannot presently be mined economically and therefore
are not ore, but they are a potential resource.SaltPrior to the arrival of Native Americans in Pennsylvania, wild animalsgathered aroundsalt licksthat were found near oil seeps. In the area aroundOil Creek in northwestern Pennsylvania, Native Americans and, later, settlers
from Europe utilized the seeps as hunting sites and recovered petroleum for
medicinal purposes. Perhaps because of a disagreeable petroleum aftertaste
and the dilute nature of the brines, recovery of salt from the petroleum seeps
did not develop into a thriving industry in that area.Brines pumped from wells drilled to depths of as much as several hun-dred feet were evaporated to make salt in western Pennsylvania from at least
1815 to 1860. Some of the best-known areas included Conneautville in
Crawford County, Natrona Heights and Tarentum in Allegheny County, and,
certainly not least, Saltsburg in Indiana County. Many of these wells also pro-
duced gas, petroleum, or both in what was at first a nuisance amount. By
1841, however, coal was being partly replaced by the gas from the wells as a
fuel for evaporating
brines. Drilling tech-
nology advanced to
keep up with the de-
mand for salt brine.
Petroleum by-prod-
ucts for perceived
medicinal purposes,
lamp fuel, and lubri-
cants grew in im-
portance, and re-
fineries were built at
Tarentum. As a result,
those who wanted to
take advantage of
Colonel Edwin Drake’s earthshaking oil discovery were able to utilize the ex-
isting brine-drilling technology and operational petroleum refineries that pre-
dated his discovery in western Pennsylvania.There is the potential for deep solution mining of salt in several coun-ties to create underground cavities that would be useful for the storage of natu-28THE NONFUEL MINERAL RESOURCES OF PENNSYLVANIAFrom Fergusson, W. B., and Prather, B. A., 1968, Salt deposits in the Salina Group in Penn-
sylvania: Pennsylvania Geological Survey, 4th ser., Mineral Resource Report 58, p. 27.ral gas. If various problems can be overcome, the synthetic brines that are
removed to create the cavities might be sold and used for road deicing.The map on the previous page shows the thickness of the F–3 salt bed,one of several salt units in Pennsylvania. Much of Tioga County is underlain
by at least 600 feet of Silurian-age salt at depths ranging from 3,000 to
6,000 feet. Areas in Bradford County are underlain by up to 776 feet of salt.FeldsparFeldsparis the most abundant mineral in the crust of the earth, but de-posits that are pure enough for use in manufacturing ceramics or glass are
uncommon. However, such deposits were found and mined in Chester and
Delaware Counties and worked mainly in the early twentieth century. Dur-
ing the period from 1900 to 1920, Pennsylvania produced 265,000 tons of
feldspar. In 1907, Pennsylvania was the second-largest producer of feldspar
in the country. Pits from feldspar mining are up to 200 by 80 feet across and
up to 115 feet deep. Millstones used to grind feldspar near a mine in Chester
County are pictured below.Many of the deposits in Chester County occurred in coarse, light-coloredigneous rocks calledpegmatite dikesthat cut serpentinite. The feldsparwas present as the sodium-bearing species albite. This type of feldspar occur-
rence can be seen at Nottingham County Park in Chester County. Pegmatite
dikes outside the serpentinite in Chester County and in Delaware County
tend to contain more of the potassium-bearing feldspar microcline. Many of
these are weathered to a white clay, composed of the mineralkaolinite,near the surface. The kaolinite was also mined for the ceramics industry, but
not for the glass industry.PENNSYLVANIA’S OTHER MINERAL RESOURCES29From Stone, R. W., and Hughes, H. H., 1931, Feldspar in Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Geological Survey, 4th ser., Mineral Re-
source Report 13, p. 23.30THE NONFUEL MINERAL RESOURCES OF PENNSYLVANIACOMMODITYAbrasivesAsbestosBar
i
t
eBer
y
l“Flint”(v
ein quartz)Ganister(quartzite)GraphiteHISTORYCorundum masses up to200 tons and corundum crys
tals we
r
eminedi
nt
h
e 1800s. Garnet was mined int
h
e early 1900s, pre
sumably tomake abrasive paper
s hav
i
ng sharp-edged grains.Chrysoti
l
e and amphibole asbes
t
os such as tremolite hav
ebeen ob-serv
ed at man
ylocalitie
s, but no records of th
e small quant
it
ie
s pro-duced are know
n
.Barit
e from hydr
ot
h
e
r
mal ve
i
ns and breccia fil
l
i
ngs, as we
l
las looselumps weath
e
r
ed free from th
e
se, was mined, mainly int
h
e pe
r
i
o
d1880 to1900. Barit
e appears t
ohav
ebeen mined ina
nunsuccessfulsearch for sil
v
er inBucks County in1754. Undev
elop
ed occurr
encesof nodular barit
e are also know
n
.A fe
w shipments of hand-sort
ed beryl we
r
emined and sold. One ship-ment in1962 contained 10,138 pounds of beryl.A ve
i
nof whit
e quartz was mined for sandpaper and flux inir
on fur-naces. Se
v
eral moderately pure deposits inmetarhyolite we
r
epros-p
ected and/or mined.Mini
ng for silica refractor
ie
s is documented for appro
ximately 100years beginning in1887. Origi
nally
, much of th
e mater
ial was trimmedfr
om raw blocks. More recently, t
h
e quartzite was crushed and va
r
iousbi
nders we
r
eadded tomake a va
r
iety of sizes and shape
s
.Pr
o
duction began in1750. Th
e major graphit
e-pro
ducing dist
r
i
ct op
-erated in
t
e
r
mitt
ently from th
e late 1870s to1948. Graphit
e was minedf
or crucibles, lubricant
s, and st
o
v
e polish.G
EOLOGY AND LOCATIONCorundum inlow-silica pegmatit
e
s, usually inor near ser-p
enti
nit
e, Che
s
t
e
r
,Delaw
a
r
e, and Le
h
igh Countie
s. Garnet inunusual gneiss, Delaw
a
r
eCounty
.Chrysoti
le inChe
s
t
e
r
,Delaw
a
r
e, and La
ncast
er Countie
s. Am-phibole inDelaw
a
r
ea
nd Nort
hampt
on Countie
s.V
e
i
ns inf
aults i
nr
ocks ranging inage from Cambria
n, Ordo-v
ician, and Siluria
n toT
r
iassic. Small-scale mini
ng of th
e
se inBlair, Bucks, Fr
a
nklin, and Fult
on Countie
s. Nodular barit
e oc
-curs i
nPurcell limes
t
one inBedfor
d, Hunti
ngdon, Montour,a
nd Nort
humberland Countie
s. In th
e latt
er county
,it occursw
i
t
hsphalerit
e. Nodular barit
e also occurs int
h
e HamburgS
equence of we
s
t
er
n Be
r
ks County
.Commercial beryl occurs incomplex pegmatit
e
sof igneousor
igi
n, Che
s
t
er County
.Most v
e
i
ns cut Chickies quartzite, Che
s
t
er County
.T
h
e oth
e
rdepositsw
e
r
eassociated wi
t
hmetarhyolite, Adams County
.F
r
om Tuscarora quartzite, Blair, Bedfor
d, Centre, Hunti
ngdon,Juniata, and Miffli
n Countie
s. Le
sser amounts we
r
epro
ducedfr
om Chickies quartzite, Che
s
t
e
r and Montgomery Countie
s,a
nd from Hard
y
s
t
on quartzite, Be
r
ks and Lebanon Countie
s.Mostly from black shales metamorphosed tographit
ic gneissi
na
n8-mile-long belt, Che
s
t
er County
,but deposits we
r
ealso wo
r
k
ed inBucks and Le
h
igh Countie
s.Other Mineral Resources in Pennsylv
aniaPENNSYLVANIA’S OTHER MINERAL RESOURCES31Kaoliniticwhite clayL
apidarymaterialsMagnesiteMicaMica-bearingf
illersMineralpigments(A) In 1967, th
e Phi
l
adelphia Clay Comp
a
n
y was pro
ducing 40,000t
ons per year for whit
e-cement manufacture. Pro
duction began in1890 for paper fil
ler
. (B) Fr
om appro
ximately 1870 tot
h
e mid-1960s,100,000 tons was pro
d
uced, mainly for refractor
y mortar ins
t
eelmaking. Th
e Stor
mst
o
w
ndeposit was at least 2,000 feet long. Mostof th
e
se deposits we
r
efirs
tprospected for iron. (C) Pro
duction begin-ni
ng in1891 was for a va
r
iety of pro
ducts, but since 1932 has appar-ently been mainly for whit
e cement. For at least 30 years, pro
ductionhas been 200 or more tons per day
.(A) “W
i
l
liamsite” occurr
ed as a sheath about th
e Line Pit chromite orebod
y
. (B) Moss agate. (C) Va
r
i
ous nati
v
ecopper- or piemontit
e-
bear-i
ng metav
olcanic rocks. (D) Ta
n jasper
. (E) Blue quartz. (F) Oolitic ch
e
r
t
.Inter
mitt
ent undergr
ound and surf
ace mini
ng from befor
e 1828 to1871 yielded we
l
lo
v
er 10,000 tons of magnesit
e, mainly used tomanu-f
acture Epsom salts
.Small shipments of split and trimmed muscov
i
t
efr
om Walt
er
s mine in1951. Muscov
i
t
esheets we
r
es
t
ockpiled from near Coate
s
v
i
l
le; how-e
v
er
, no sales of th
e
se hav
ebeen confirmed.Ground for fil
l
er by Gross Minerals an
d used inman
yapplications fo
ra fe
w decades unti
lappro
ximately 1995. Mine area now part of a na
-ture pre
serv
e. Se
v
eral earlier op
erations int
h
is area, one of which alsocontained py
r
o
phyllit
e.F
r
om 1856 to1947, at least 200,000 tons of red pigment was pro-duced from th
e “Pai
nt Ore Bed.” Th
e ore wa
s blue-gray as mined butturned red, es
p
ecially when roast
ed. Ochre, umber, and sienna we
r
e(A) Alteration of limes
t
one by weath
e
r
i
ng and hydr
ot
h
e
r
m
a
lpr
ocessesyielded a deposit at least 1,600 feet long, Cum-berland County
.(B) We
at
h
e
r
i
ng of carbonate rocks associ-at
ed wi
t
hsandst
one. AtStor
mst
o
w
n, Centre County
,leachedt
ot
h
e st
age of gibbsite (a bauxitemineral) fo
r
mation. Oth
e
rdepositswo
r
k
ed inBedfor
d, Blair, and Hunti
ngdon Coun-t
i
e
s. (C) Weath
e
r
i
ng of impure carbonate rocks has pro-gr
e
ssed only tokaolinite and a fine mica called il
lit
e, MonroeCounty
.(A, B) Se
r
p
enti
nite, La
ncast
er County
.(C) Catocti
nF
o
r
m
a-t
ion, Adams and Fr
a
nklin Countie
s. (D) Cobbles weath
e
r
e
dfr
om Hard
y
s
t
on Fo
r
mation, Le
h
igh and Be
r
ks Countie
s.(E) Mafic gneiss, Che
s
t
er County
.(F) Nitta
n
yDolomite, Cen-tr
e County
.V
e
i
ns up to3 feet wide inserp
enti
nite, southwe
s
t
e
r
nChe
s
-t
er County and south
e
r
nL
a
ncast
er County
.P
egmatit
e
si
nt
h
e Womelsdorf outlier of th
e Reading Prong,B
e
r
ks County
,a
nd Honeybrook Upland, Che
s
t
er County
,r
e
-sp
ectiv
ely.Sheared metarhyolite (a light past
el volcanic rock) fromsouthwe
s
t
e
r
nAdams County
.Summit Mini
ng pro
ducedsericite schis
t from southwe
s
t
e
r
nY
o
r
kCounty
.T
h
e primary paint ore was a sedimentary layer of anir
oncarbonate called siderit
e mined along a length of at least 16mile
s i
nCarbon County
.Man
yof th
e oth
er op
erations we
r
e32THE NONFUEL MINERAL RESOURCES OF PENNSYLVANIAHISTORYmined from numerous oth
er o

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