Both mines predate regulatory agencies like the U. The company would produce a metal concentrate to sell to international smelter companies that would melt down and separate the metals to provide materials for a range of uses, from sunscreen and toothpaste to medical devices, ships and money.
The Pickett Mountain mineral deposit was initially discovered by Getty Mining, a division of Getty Oil, in , and was further explored by Chevron between and The proposal includes an ore processing facility, tailings management facility, tailings storage ponds, runoff water catchments and soil reservoirs for site remediation.
The facility is built around wetlands, streams and vernal pools, with roads connecting the various management and storage facilities. Wolfden bought the rights to do this type of exploration drilling at its Big Silver site in Calais but has not shared detailed plans with the public.
At the Pickett Mountain site, Wolfden plans to blast foot wide and foot tall tunnels underground that are big enough to fit trucks, according to documents submitted to the LUPC and interviews with The Maine Monitor. After extracting the material, the company would separate the valuable ore from the non-valuable leftovers, called tailings. Wolfden has proposed an on-site ore processing facility that will prepare the ore to be trucked off to smelter companies.
When the mine closes, the humps — called tailings ponds — will be covered in grasses and shrubs as part of the reclamation process. Some of the most irreversible damage mining causes happens when toxic reactions take off on mining sites and have to be managed indefinitely.
The extraction process Wolfden proposed raised concerns from environmental advocates and groups that have worked to keep the irreversible impacts out of Maine. The biggest concern is heavy metal pollution through a process called acid mine drainage. This process happens after ore is ground up into powder and combined with chemicals that separate the valuable ore that will be shipped off and sold from the toxic tailings that are stored on top of the land.
Land in an unorganized territory near Pickett Mountain, where Wolfden Resources Corporation hopes to mine for copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver. Photo courtesy of Wolfden Resources. The crushed rock waste that is stored in the ground poses a risk to groundwater resources because when ground-up rock rich in metal and sulfur is exposed to water and oxygen, acid is born, microbes multiply and the material becomes toxic.
The process contaminates drinking water, kills aquatic organisms and causes damage downstream as heavy metals like copper, lead, arsenic and mercury bioaccumulate. According to the U. The principal resources being extracted from the ground in Maine today are sand, gravel, and crushed stone, referred to collectively as "aggregate.
Irregular, rough fieldstone or "flat rock" that is used for landscaping projects, may be extracted from glacial deposits or, increasingly, from shallow quarries. The long-stable lime industry continues to be an important part of the Thomaston-Rockland area economy, with large reserves remaining.
Gemstones, both for supplying the jewelry industry and for private collectors, are still being produced by several small operators in southwestern Maine. In addition to the general land-use regulations restricting activities that impact such areas as wetlands, beaches, dunes, water bodies, significant wildlife habitat, or other environmentally sensitive areas, there are specific Maine statutes and rules about excavation, mining, and quarrying.
In the minerals industry, aggregate PDF format refers to a bulk material made up of individual particles or fragments. Sand and gravel and crushed stone are the most common aggregate materials in Maine. Aggregate is used for many construction purposes, including road and building foundations, fill, surface drainage systems, and asphalt road surface material.
Well, it depends. Current regulations require "borrow" pits with 5 acres or more of active area to be registered with a few exceptions. Smaller excavations for sand, gravel, or fill, or inactive pits generally do not need to be officially registered with the State. But excavations less than 5 acres in size for clay, topsoil or silt must be operated in accordance with certain standards to ensure environmental protection.
For a general description of the registration system for gravel pits and similar surface excavations, see the Issue Profile at the DEP web site.
Keep in mind that DEP regulations do not apply in unorganized townships, which are under the jurisdiction of the Land Use Planning Commission , and that local ordinances may have additional, more stringent requirements.
Much of the sand and gravel used for construction purposes in Maine was deposited by water melted from glaciers. If possible, water runs downhill so most gravel deposits are found in valleys and other lowlands where they were laid down in glacial outwash streams, glacial lakes, or the ocean.
Smoky quartz and rose quartz have been found in faceting quality at many locations. Star rose quartz has been produced from the Whispering Pines Quarry. In addition to tourmaline and quartz, the pegmatite deposits of Maine have produced aquamarine , morganite , chrysoberyl , lepidolite , spodumene , and topaz.
Garnet , kyanite , andalusite , sodalite , and staurolite have been produced from the metamorphic rocks of Maine. Home » Gemstones » American Gemstones » Maine Maine Gemstone Mining Maine is one of the world's most famous locations for gem-quality tourmaline, beryl, and quartz. Author: Hobart M. Find Other Topics on Geology. Maps Volcanoes World Maps. State Gemstones. North Carolina. Ethiopian Opal.
Fire Opal. Fancy Sapphires. The prospect of rising metal prices driven by growing world populations and affluence, and the existence of several rich deposits have renewed interest in metallic mineral mining in Maine and spurred revision of the strict regulations governing the establishment of mining operations.
While there are currently no operational metal mines in the state, there were active metal mines in Maine through the s. Volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits are distributed throughout the state and are associated with volcanic belts stretching from the New Hampshire-Quebec border, through northern Maine and into New Brunswick, and along the coast.
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