[Rockhounds] chromium and other mining in Lancaster County

[Mark Sigouin]

I was educated as a Geologist at Millersville in the 1970’.  I am now practice hydrogeology for the Commonwealth of PA.  I too have been fascinated on and off with the old mining in the Lancaster Area.  I like Serpentine in general.  I have found many specimens of chormite in hand lens size in the serpentine in general. 

There are Spoils Piles and an open hole at the Wood Mine site.  I was there at a Field Conference about 20 years ago.  I didn’t collect.  The Central Pennsylvania Rock and Mineral Club also go there from time to time.  I’ve seen pictures, but have not had the chance to attend.  I was by late this summer doing some sampling, and the road leading into the farm says Wood on it.  I think the mailbox too.  It doesn’t sound that they are negative to visitors.  

Near by is Nottingham County Park, Chester County.  There once was a chromite processing plant owned by the same person that owned the Wood Mine.  There is the foundation of a mine where they ground the serpentine to sand and then used a flume to sleuth  the chromite crystals. Which fell to the bottom.  

The Boy Scout camps have serpentine outcrops all over the place.  

On the road between the Boy Scout Camp and the two big quarries is an occurrence of metabasalt with really good exposures along a stream near a small trailer park.  

Penn Mar Quarry might let you in.  They mine serpentine there.  

The Lancaster Land Conservatory  owns an area underlain by serpentine called Rock Spring.  They may own the Line Mine, but maybe not.  It is on the same road as the quarry, but on the west side of Rte 272.  They have stripped the vegetation as they are trying to promote regrowth as a Barren.

There is a mine / quarry on the northern fork of Black Baron Road west of Rte 272.  It is on the north side of the road.  There are no trespassing signs.   You’d have to ask the farmers who owns it.  The area is a classic barren. 

Well good luck.

Mark Sigouin


>From: Dorothy Merritts <dorothy.merritts at fandm.edu>
>Date: 2007/10/25 Thu PM 05:16:22 CDT
>To: rockhounds at lists.drizzle.com
>Subject: [Rockhounds] chromium and other mining in Lancaster County

>Dear Rockhound folks:
>
> 
>
>I am a geology professor at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA,
>and I am intrigued by the history of mining in Lancaster County.  I saw a
>reference to the Woods Chrome mine on the Rockhound list.  I am looking for
>a place to take 16 geology and environmental studies students on a short,
>fun field trip near Lancaster next Thursday (Nov 1).  Do any of you know if
>there are any features related to mining, such as tailings piles, or mill
>pond sediments that contain sediment from upstream mining, and that are
>relatively accessible for a short hike?  A scientist from Johns Hopkins, now
>at Univ of Pittsburgh, has worked on stream deposits in MD that contain
>sediments from historic chromium mines, and he uses the chromium in the
>sediments as a tracer to date the various historic sedimentary deposits.
>I'd like to find something comparable in Lancaster to show my students and
>this scientist, as he is visiting next week. 
>Many thanks,
>
>
>Dorothy
>
> 
>
>
>
>--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
>multipart/alternative
>  text/plain (text body -- kept)
>  text/html
>---
>-- 
>_______________________________________________
>Rockhounds at drizzle Mailing List
>Subscription Services:
>http://lists.drizzle.com/mailman/listinfo/rockhounds
>List Home Page, with a link to the List Usage Policy:
>http://www.eclecticlapidary.com/Rockhounds/index.html