Known as the Kensington or Gilmore Mica Mine
Located in Wheaton, Maryland (a suburb of Washington, DC)
Years of operation - 1882 to approx. 1914
Ref:
Sterrett/1923/p.24
Ostrander/1940/p.34
Clayton Doak/April 30, 1976/"Kensington-Gilmore Mica Mine: A description with emphasis on Interpretational Potential"/University of Maryland Geology Department
Remains of the Kensington Mica Mine can be found in what is now the "Springbrook Forest" subdivision (Wheaton, Maryland) and the adjoining "Northwest Branch Park." Little remains of the workings, which consisted of two shafts, a number of dumps, and a large cut through the pegmatite. The trenches used to float the mica in the seperating process are still extant and a very small portion of the dump piles remain, extending down into the park on the west side of Northwest Branch. An old shack, associated with the mine, still exists in the park as well. Some of the driveway borders for homes along Stonington and Remington Drive are decorated with pegmatite material left from the mining operation, some encrusted with large Almadine Garnets and splays of Schorl.
After heavy rain, small books of mica can be seen washed out onto some of the streets of the neighborhood, especially at the corner of Remington Drive and Stonington Drive.
This was a mica mine in pegmatite.
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Map Reference: 38°57'N , 76°58'W
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