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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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! |
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| 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 | |
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