Above: Willemite (fl. green) with quartz (non-fl.) and sphalerite (fl. orange). Quartz is rare in the ore rocks of Franklin, because the willemite used up most of the available silica. The specimen above is therefore very unusual.
Specimen was found on the Buckwheat in 2006.
Above: Sometimes, after much searching, you can find hardystonite on the Buckwheat. The above specimen is about 2 inches tall.
The Franklin Mineral Museum has in its possession a very large and mostly
solid piece that I donated. I found it on the Buckwheat during one
of their night digs a few years ago. Last I heard, they'd had the piece
made into a sphere. I haven't yet had the chance to see the sphere,
though.Click here for more mineral photos.
The Franklin Mine, once an important source of zinc and manganese, closed in 1954. The shafts are sealed and the mine is flooded.
Today, through the efforts of many dedicated individuals of the past and present, there are still one or two places where you can collect Franklin minerals, right where they were dumped as they were hauled out of the mine (any time between the 1870's and 1954). To the serious rockhound, there is no experience that can quite match being able to collect at Franklin.
The Franklin Mineral Museum contains a great collection of minerals from the Franklin Mine, as well as specimens from the nearby Sterling Hill Mine. The museum's display collection has some of the finest examples of these minerals known. There are also some stunning mineral specimens from the rest of the world on display.
The fluorescent room at the museum has a spectacular display of Franklin
minerals that glow under ultraviolet: willemite, calcite, barite, manganaxinite,
margarosanite, esperite, wollastonite, and more.
The Buckwheat Dump is down the hill behind the
museum; there is an entrance fee (not sure what it is lately, but last
I checked it was $6) and a poundage fee (again, not sure what the current
one is; I recall its being $1.50 a pound). You can keep apprised
of changes to this at the
museum's official website.
The Buckwheat was originally a pile of overburden rock from the mining operation,
containing material that was either devoid of zinc ore or too low in ore
content to be useful. That's not to say you won't find any zinc ore there;
it's just that the rock put on the Buckwheat was generally too low-grade
for the refining process. A few solid chunks of ore did escape the
crusher, but these are fairly uncommon.
There are many tons of Buckwheat dolomite there, which actually contained
no zinc ore at all. This can however have some interesting micro minerals
in it. In fact, there are at least a dozen interesting minerals in
the Buckwheat dolomite alone.
Today there is still some nice stuff being found on the Buckwheat, despite
the fact that the area has been collected on for many years. You can find
the classic green- and red-fluorescing willemite / calcite combination there.
Other fluorescent minerals are more unusual but do turn up with persistent
searching. The overall number of mineral species you can find on the
Buckwheat has to be around 100. Of these, I'd say there are 40-50 you
have a decent chance of finding on any given day.
I have found actinolite, albite, allanite, andradite, aragonite, arsenopyrite,
barite, bementite, biotite, brookite, bustamite, cerussite, chalcopyrite,
clinochlore, clinohedrite, cuspidine, diopside (fluorescent and otherwise),
edenite, epidote, fluorapatite, fluorite, friedelite, gahnite, galena, glaucochroite,
goethite, graphite, greenockite / hawleyite, hardystonite, hematite,
hemimorphite, hendricksite, hyalophane, hydrozincite, lennilenapeite, lizardite
/ clinochrysotile, magnesioriebeckite, magnetite, malachite, manganite /
pyrolusite, meionite, microcline, monazite, norbergite, petedunnite, phlogopite,
powellite / scheelite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, quartz, rhodochrosite, rhodonite,
smithsonite, sphalerite, synchysite, talc, tephroite, thorite, thorutite,
zincite, and several other interesting minerals on the dump... not to mention
plenty of calcite, franklinite, and willemite. These are just the ones I'm
reasonably sure of. I have quite a few specimens with "unidentified"
labels on them. In my unverified-but-possible group I'd have to include
fayalite, franklinphilite, johnbaumite, manganosite, pyrochroite, turneaureite,
and something that resembles pyrochlore / microlite / samarskite.
According to at least one collector whose specialty is rare-earths, there's
also been thortveitite found occasionally
on the dump. That's pretty cool, because thortveitite is one of the
very few minerals that contains the element Scandium (Sc).
It may take careful searching for the serious collector to find something
of interest on the surface... unless you're into micromount collecting, in which case you'll
be able to find plenty.
The old timers used to claim there was "nothing good left on the Buckwheat",
but this is completely untrue. What were they finding that made it
so much better, esperite or something? Nobody can really answer this.
The fact is, if you want to field-collect something good, you have
to put in the time. There is no guarantee, just hard work and possibilities.Willemite is easy to identify if you have a short-wave lamp, because it fluoresces brilliant green.
Most of the Buckwheat calcite fluoresces bright red to reddish-orange in SW, but some of it responds with more of a pinkish color. There is even some calcite from here that fluoresces bluish in mid- and long-wave UV, like the Terlingua material, but it's not as bright.
Some of the finest steel known was made from Franklin iron, because the ores contained very little sulfur. Sulfur tends to make steel brittle.
Somewhere around here I have an old chisel that is labeled "silico-manganese steel". It is probably from the 1920's or 30's. I wouldn't be at all surprised if that steel originated at Franklin or Sterling Hill.
One suggestion I have for people who collect here for the first time: bring
SAFETY GOGGLES, gloves, strong work boots, and a rock hammer. If you
want a good rock hammer, they sell Estwing hammers and equipment at the museum
gift shop. Don't use a carpenter's hammer, since its steel is more brittle
and can send off shards when striking rocks.
A bricklayer's or mason's hammer is good if you don't have a rock hammer.
Also, if you bring small children, you should make them wear hardhats or
bicycle helmets in case they fall, which children have a habit of doing.
Now I know you're probably laughing and saying "Ha! Helmets?
I'm not going to make the kids wear helmets."
Afraid of the fashion police, are you? Well then you'd better be ready
to watch every move your children make. Falling on rocks is very painful
(been there, done that). Hitting your head against a rock can put a
crimp in your activities.
You've never seen exuberance until you've seen
100 kids who think for some reason they are going to find "gold". It
is during these times that I usually try to hide my bucket of hammers and
chisels... along with any good minerals I've found, because they tend to
get "re-found" by marauding gangs of school children.
I'll never forget the day this one busload of children descended on the dump.
They found my hammers and chisels-- took 'em right out of my bucket.
As if I had left them specially there, just for them. I had my back
turned but I knew right away when I heard the clank of steel against rock.
They wasted no time: "ka-klink, ka-klink, ka-klink!".
Way back when, I was taught never to borrow something without asking.
I guess these kids never got the word (*sigh*). Anyway they sure had
fun during those brief moments before the proverbial big mean ogre
(yours truly) came over and repossessed the hammers and chisels.
But hey, it's all good. A field trip to that rockpile can start a child
on a lifelong interest in science. The first time I went I was five
years old, and I was hooked right then and there.
By the way, in case you missed the tour or just weren't paying attention:
you cannot find gold on the Buckwheat unless
you have an electron microscope handy. Now, it's completely understandable
for sixth-graders to associate a mine dump with gold, but I've seen at least
a couple adults who came down to the Buckwheat thinking they were looking
at gold mine tailings... even after they'd already gone through the whole
tour that explained it was a zinc mine. Well, there's always the chance to take the tour again. Besides, that gives another chance to see the mineral display.