Rita M. O’Keefe
Almost every town in the Uplands has some old mine or quarry. Many minerals and metals were sought in the old diggings, but most of the mines resulted in little more than dreams. A few mining ventures were successful, however. Quartz can be found in the Lantern Hill Mine in North Stonington. Iron mining occurs in the Marble Valley, Salisbury, Canaan, Cornwall and Kent. Pegmatite can be located on Route 9 in Deep River. Gems taken from pegmatite are beryl, aquamarine, emerald and tourmaline. Although there were dozens of pegmatite mines throughout the state, only a few in the Middletown-Portland area are still being worked. The Feldspar Corporation runs all of these quarries, producing feldspar for making glass and ceramics, and mica for use in wallboard compound.
MOHS SCALE / Mineral Examples / Ordinary Examples
1: Talc
2: Gypsum / 2.5 Fingernail
3: Calcite / 3.5 Copper penny
4: Fluorite
5: Apatite / 5.25 Glass / 5.5 Knife
6: Orthoclase
7: Quartz / 7.5 Steel file
8: Topaz
9: Corundum
10: Diamond