*Image copyright the Sterling Hill Mineral Museum (http://sterlinghillminingmuseum.org/)

The Franklin-Ogdensburg Mining Region

The Franklin-Ogdensburg mining region in Sussex County, New Jersey, USA is one of the most famous and prolific mining regions in the entire world, and played an extensive role in the history of the area and the US as a whole! The two primary mines were the Franklin Mine in Franklin and the Sterling Hill Mine in Ogdensburg, but there were many other smaller mines and prospects over the years as well. The Sterling Hill Mine was first worked in 1739, making it one of the oldest mines in the United States! It's opening marked the beginning of nearly 3 centuries of mining heritage and history in Sussex County.

Sterling Hill produced more than 11 million tons of zinc ore, which was extremely rich and averaged nearly 25% zinc content, which was unheard of at the time. Together with the Franklin Mine, over 33 million tons of zinc, iron, manganese and other ore was extracted from earth. The ore occurred in thick seams that were worked to a depth of more than 2,550 ft below the surface. The underground tunnels at Sterling Hill alone totaled more than 35 miles in length, making it one of the most extensive mining operations in the US at the time.



*Image copyright the Sterling Hill Mineral Museum (http://sterlinghillminingmuseum.org/)

The Franklin and Sterling Hill Mines are one of the world's premiere mineral localities due to the vast amount of minerals found and their diversity. Together with the Franklin orebody, which is roughly 2.5 miles north of Sterling Hill, approximately 360 different mineral species have been found, which is more than anywhere else in the world for an area of its size. Moreover, the area is the type locality for almost 30 of the minerals found here have been found nowhere else on Earth. More new minerals are still being found as well, so the list continues to grow to this day!

The two mines are also world famous for their fluorescent minerals, and the area is known as the Fluorescent Mineral Capital of the World. Just over 90 unique mineral species have thus far been documented as fluorescent. Specimens from Franklin and Sterling Hill are widely regarded by collectors as the world's finest, due to their wide range if colors and extreme brightness. The most famous and abundant fluorescent minerals are Willemite, which glows bright green in shortwave and also sometimes longwave ultraviolet (UV) light, and Calcite which glows orange/red in shortwave UV light, but there are many, many more minerals and colors to be found! Here are 2 pictures showing the walls of the pit at Sterling Hill Mine and also the underground "Rainbow Tunnel" at Sterling Hill, both illuminated with large UV lights :






*Images copyright the Sterling Hill Mineral Museum (http://sterlinghillminingmuseum.org/)

The area is a geological oddity and nothing quite like these deposits exists anywhere else on Earth. Despite the area being heavily studied by mineralogists and the scientific literature on these deposits amounting to more than 1,000 research papers, scientists have yet to agree on how the deposits formed. Many of the minerals that are found in the deposits should not have been able to form given the chemistry and environmental factors required to form other minerals that are found in close proximity. Hopefully someday we will have a better understanding of this unique geological formation.



*Image copyright the Sterling Hill Mineral Museum (http://sterlinghillminingmuseum.org/)

Visiting the Area Today, and Of Course, Collecting!

Thanks to the immense interest in the mineralogy of the area, you can still visit the area and also do some collecting as well! There are 2 different museums in the area where you can learn about the history of the mines, view some exceptional specimens from the mines and elsewhere, and also collect minerals fluorescent and otherwise. There is the Franklin Mineral Museum in Franklin and the Sterling Hill Mining Museum in Ogdensburg, and they're only about 2 miles apart, so you can even visit both in a single day! Both offer everything I mentioned above, and the Sterling Hill Mining Museum also offers guided tours down into the mines with fluorescent lights, which is absolutely amazing! I highly recommend for anyone who is in the area to visit. Even if you're not really into rocks and minerals, I'm sure you will enjoy the beauty of all the different colors and patterns! I've included the info for each if them below in case anyone is interested.


The Franklin Mineral Museum
32 Evans St.
Franklin, NJ 07416
https://franklinmineralmuseum.com


Sterling Hill Mining Museum
30 Plant St.
Ogdensburg, NJ 07439
http://sterlinghillminingmuseum.org

That's all I have for now! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed my article! If you did, please upvote and comment and/or leave questions below! Follow me for more rocks & minerals, memes and other random thoughts of the day!

@therockman