Let the Cutting Begin

Summer 2007 Before getting too far along in the mining process, I had to get permission from the town to work the mine. This involved the full-blown permitting, going in front of the planning board, and getting their okay to start mining. With some help, a good presentation was put together and my request was passed unanimously. Then the physical work began, and much of it there was. Although there were few large trees to contend with there were many, many small trees that needed to be removed so that I could start to clean the ledge off of the rock debris and see what I was up against. There was also a need to find a new access into the mine and this was going to be a challenge. The old access had been through the Berry mine and where the access was, was now a 20’ deep hole filled with water. The old access also went across property which I didn’t own. The most likely spot for the new access was through one of the old tailing piles which would need to be removed, and I developed a plan for creating the new access. Now that I had a plan it was time to start cutting all the trees and removing them. This was slow, hard and hot work as it was mid summer when I started. The terrain was very difficult to work, with steep drop offs and large boulders to work around. I did most of it by myself although occasionally I would find another hand to help.

Clearing off one of the old tailing piles in preparation for my new access into the mine

The inside of the mine involved the most tree work but it was also necessary to clear out the parking area and to clear up the edges of the road coming in. My estimate is that 80% of mining is doing laborious work and the other 20% involves mining the fun stuff. If you aren't willing to spend days, weeks, and months working on non productive areas, then you are probably not suited to mine.

Almost done cutting September 2007

It was not all work; I would usually spend some time every day taking a closer look at the rock and to try and figure out what was going on. There were areas that I could clean off with a small amount of shoveling and  other areas where I could peel off the moss and get a look at some clean rock. I didn't get any pictures of some of the first indicators. In truth, there weren't any areas that were jumping out and saying, "Dig here". I didn't spend a lot of time trying to dig through the loose rock as I had plans to bring in an excavator and start removing the loose material.

Getting some education

Summer 2007 When I purchased the Havey it had been 30 years since it had seen any heavy work. I am sure there was the occasional rock hound that had come in for a look, but it was hard to be able to see much as it was overgrown and all the outer rock had a weathered patina. Before work started in the adjacent Berry quarry  in the mid 90’s, it was almost a forgotten site after having had such a glorious past.

Looking into the mine at the beginning of summer 2007

Another thing, although just a minor issue, is that I didn’t know the first thing about mining for minerals. Before purchasing the Havey I had never even visited a mineral mine, but I wasn't about to let a small thing like that slow me down. I am a hands-on learner so it was 'all hands on deck'.  Before purchasing the quarry I had done some research on the Havey and had started studying several books on Maine minerals. There had been some major finds of tourmaline around 1910 and this piqued my interest. I own an excavation company, so I wasn’t completely ignorant about what I was up against as far as moving rock and how to approach the work. Of course that was easy to say then, not realizing how little I knew about minerals; even now I have much to learn. One thing I can say is that the people that are associated with mining in Maine have been more than generous with their time and knowledge in helping me head in the right direction. There will be more on that later.

Although you can't tell from this picture, it looked  promising when it was cleaned off.

In doing some internet research on Maine mining I came across a website for the Maine Pegmatite Workshop  to be held in Maine in late May of that year. This sounded like just what the doctor ordered. It would be in an intensive one week program doing classroom study in the morning and a field trip to a different local mine every day with some pretty interesting and educated people. I signed up and waited impatiently for the time to arrive to start my education. In the meantime I headed up to the Maine Mineral Symposium held in Augusta. This is a weekend-long event with talks, displays, dealers, and field trips. If you are interested in Maine minerals this is one of the annual big events that you don't want to miss. Many of the state's and region's important mineral people are here. This is a great event to catch up with what is going on in the state. I have found that most miners don't venture too far from their own mines during the working season, and we don't get much of a chance to see one another.

Finally, the day of the workshop arrives and it turns out to be a great learning experience. Sure, for someone starting out, some of the geology and the technical terms were a little on the heavy side, but most of the material was covered in a way that made it understandable. It was great to go inside Mount Mica, see it firsthand, and hear the stories about some of the different pockets. To sit around and talk with the legend Frank Perham is a treat that anyone that has an interest in pegmatites should do. He has seen things that most of us can only dream of, and his story telling is unmatched (although he has been known to stray from the subject matter). Either one of these things alone is worth the price for the week. Of course, there is much more to do and see. It was a great week of a hands-on experience and has given me a knowledge base to work from. After a week at Peg camp the one thing I came away with is: no two pegmatites are alike. For me to find out what was in the Havey, I would have to get working. 

	Venue: Poland Mining Camps Poland, Maine, USA May 28 to June 3, 2011 Introduction and Details!
An Educational Week of Classroom, Field Study and Collecting, Studying Granitic Pegmatites in Maine. Presented by Dr. William "Skip" Simmons - University of New Orleans and Faculty of the MP2 Research Group. If you want to be placed on our emailing list for updates, or need further information, please let us know by email.! Fresh from a pocket: Smoky Quartz with parallel growth habit, Citrine Quartz, Smoky Quartz Location: known, classified, but from Maine. You will get to see some of this material if you attend! ©Raymond Sprague, 2011

In the beginning

Although it is 2011 and I am starting a blog on the Havey Quarry, I am going to begin back in 2007 when I first started working the mine so that you are able to see the transformation. Before I start there I will give you a brief history of the Havey. The quarry is actually two different properties, one side being the Berry quarry and the other the Havey quarry. It has stayed this way since mining began here. The workings have overlapped during different periods of time so looking down from a birds eye view it would appear as one continuous quarry.  

Google overhead view of the Berry-Havey mine May 2010.
Active Havey mine is SSW of the pond which is in the Berry Mine

A.R. Berry started mining feldspar in the mid 1890’s. F. L. Havey was a foreman at Mount Apatite mining for feldspar and could see Berry working his property. He must have liked what he saw because he got a lease and started mining the adjacent property around 1902. He worked it off and on until 1910 when he purchased the property. It is believed that he bought it outright in anticipation of hitting tourmaline. 1910 -1912 brought repeated pockets of high quality tourmaline, and then, for unknown reasons, he seemed to just give up on the mine and worked for feldspar in Topsham, over 20 miles away. The news of the finds were written up in newspapers all over the country.  In the mid 70’s it was worked for one year without any major finds and then lay dormant until I opened it up in 2007. The Berry has been worked from the mid 90’s on with some success over the years.

Sterrett, D. B. USGS 497

A. R. Berry feldspar and gem quarry; one and one-half miles south 48 degrees east of Minot, Maine. 
Northwest towards quarry on hill.  F. L. Havey lease on left. 
Androscoggin County, Maine.  June 1913
Note the miner's shacks on the left of the picture. The large maple is still alive, but barely. 

Sterrett, D. B. USGS 499

A.R. Berry feldspar and gem quarry looking north-northwest over F. L. Havey lease. 
Gems found in pockets in foreground.  Best feldspar in further end. 
Androscoggin County, Maine.  June 1913.      Some of these features haven't changed.