Best of Connecticut

You don't. It's gone the way of the Dodo.

A horrible death to an important mine.:(

-Rowan Lytle

son: -picks up huge loose amethyst cluster- "Is this what we're looking for?"
father: "Holy #$@%!

Sorry, but the Bristol Copper Mine is loooooooooong gone!

Well since it has gone the way of the Dodo as David has so nicely said. What was put in its place? Is it possible to visit the former site of it?

A construction company stores equipment on the former site. Very heavy earth moving operations took place on site to obliterate any sign of mining use.

Do you know the address of the site? Have you looked over the site to make sure there is nothing left. I’m down to take a trip up there and just take a look. Sounds like a good hike to me. I like Bristol. There is even a newer highway cut up that way I have not checked out yet. It was opened about a year ago.
Want to go Dave?

You can't access the Bristol mine site, gated, fenced private property. The only thing remaining is a big flooded open pit.

Here's a really nice Stickland elbaite my friend Rich just bought from another Conn. collector who's Dad collected it there many decades ago.

[www.mindat.org]

That’s a nice piece Harold. It has nice color. What will you be entering into the Meriden auction tomorrow?

What is the strike and dip of the sulfide veins or lenses at the Bristol Copper Mine? If there is recent blasting in the area, it may be possible to intercept the orebody at another location. This of course all depends on depth and orientation of the cupriferous ore.

Jeremy that is a good question. I believe Harold maybe able to answer that. I do know for a fact that there is a large amount of wooded area behind where the mine use to be. Close to 32 acres. There are a few other commercial properties around that area.

I can look that up, but I suggest you start a new thread as this is getting way off the topic of this one.

Back in the 1970s and '80s, we used to collect at the Cinque Quarry in East Haven. We stopped at the house and asked Mrs. Cinque for permission to collect, and were always granted permission. We used to pronounce the name like "sink", but the Italian pronunciation is "cheen-kway", and is the number five. Does anyone know how Mrs. Cinque used to pronounce her name? Anyway, here is a specimen of smoky quartz with calcite, collected there in 1977. It measures 6 cm x 3 cm.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/21/2011 06:26AM by Mickey Marks.

I've always wanted to now where cinque is. It seems to have been a good locality.

-Rowan Lytle

son: -picks up huge loose amethyst cluster- "Is this what we're looking for?"
father: "Holy #$@%!

The Cinque quarry was also known as East Haven Traprock Quarry, and was (is?) off of Laurel Street near where the Weeping Willow Restaurant was (is?). The quarry was (is?) located about 1.2 miles west of the Connecticut Turnpike, and the exit we used was High Street. If the quarry is still in existence, and is open to collecting, there probably is good material still to be found there. Does anyone know if it is still in existence? Here is a photo of amethyst which I collected in May 1983. Field of view is about 7 cm x 5 cm.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/21/2011 09:37PM by Mickey Marks.

Plume Mica, Woodbury, Connecticut. Measures 10 x 4 x 3.5 cm.

Apatite, Strickland Quarry, Portland, Middlesex Co., Connecticut. Got this in trade from a good friend who collected it at the quarry in the late 1950's. Measures 10 x 8 x 4 cm.

Cinque is looooong gone, developed into industrial park. I added the coordinates to the mindat page yesterday. When McKay Ave. was built into the trap rock just north of it in the late 1980s a plethora of similar stuff turned up for a while. All done now - residential. I will add this site to mindat once I photograph the stuff I have from there.

Jay and Mickey, you may be interested in reading my new article on the Strickland Quarry, if you haven't already.

-Rowan Lytle

son: -picks up huge loose amethyst cluster- "Is this what we're looking for?"
father: "Holy #$@%!

Here's an example of the things found in East Haven back in the day: epitaxial goethite on calcite. Not only are the goethite fibers symmetrically oriented on the calcite faces, but there is a 3-lobe structure to the overgrowth! Weird stuff.






Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/2011 06:46AM by Rock Currier.

Fritz, that is one amazing photo...and specimen.