Mineral Collecting in Maine

Virtual Tour

Our virtual tour is a series of photos which portray some of the minerals found in Maine, the State's mining history, and the hobby of mineral collecting. Please be patient as Java applets and associated images load into your computer.

With assistance from the Maine Mineral Symposium Association, Inc. (MMSA), we are arranging with New England quarry operators to hold a series of collecting trips that will be open to the public.

The Survey's popular Collector's Guide to Maine Minerals is now available in an online edition. Maps and descriptions of collecting sites are available as PDF files for download.
Chapter 6 of the online guide contains detailed maps, directions, mineral lists, and other data for individual collecting localities.
Only sites currently open for collecting are listed. Collectors should consult the list of closed mineral localities before planning any collecting excursions.

Mineral Collecting in Maine
Collecting Localities and Field Trips
Mineral Displays
- Maine Mineral Displays
- Maine Geology at the Smithsonian Institution
Mineral Descriptions

The Maine Mineral Symposium is an annual "rite of spring" for New Englanders interested in mineralogy and the mineral collecting hobby. Over 300 people from throughout the Northeast now attend this event. The heart of the symposium is a one-day program of talks on minerals and related subjects such as gemstones and mining history. These talks cover a wide range of localities in Maine and other parts of New England and eastern Canada. Often there is also a presentation on some exotic part of the world, with past topics including personal accounts of mineral pursuits in Siberia, Germany, and the French Alps.

Last updated on February 13, 2009