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The Passaic pit is an old open cut workings dating to the late 19th century (circa 1870), operated by the Passaic Zinc Co. It mined an outcropping of altered ore which sets within the folds of the Sterling orebody. Primary zinc ores were weathered principally to hemimorphite "maggot" ore and a suite of secondary manganese, zinc and lead minerals. It is now on the property of the Sterling Hill Mining Museum and is still producing minerals.
This locality is within the Franklin Mining District. The complete list of mineral species occurring within this district, as well as the official boundaries of the district, can be found under the locality file for "Franklin Mining District." Those who share an interest in the unique mineralogy of the Franklin, NJ, area owe a special debt of thanks to the late Professor Charles Palache, Harvard University; Dr. Pete J. Dunn, Department of Mineral Sciences, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; and John L. Baum, Curator Emeritus, Franklin Mineral Museum, and former Head Geologist, New Jersey, Zinc Co., Franklin, NJ, for their significant contributions to the body of knowledge of the history, geology and mineralogy of this district.
References:
Key bibliographical publications for the Franklin District include, but are not limited to:
- Bayley, W.S. (1910): Iron mines and mining in New Jersey, Geological Survey of New Jersey, Volume VII of the Final Report Series of the State Geologist, Trenton, NJ 512pp. and 2 maps (out of print) [cited as: Bayley, W.S.(1910): XX]
- Dunn, P.J. (1995): Franklin and Sterling Hill New Jersey: the world's most magnificent mineral deposits, 5 parts + 2 supplements, 978 pp. (in print) [cited as: Dunn, P.J.:Pt X:XX]
- Palache, C. (1935): The Minerals of Franklin and Sterling Hill, Sussex County, New Jersey, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 180, 135pp., with map (reprinted in 1937, 1961 and 1974) (out of print) [cited as: Palache, C. (1935): XX]
- Proceedings Volume: Lehigh University Department of Geological Scienes and the Franklin-Ogdensburg Mineralogical Society Symposium on Character and Origin of the Franklin-Sterling Hill orebodies (1990), Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, 118pp. (out of print)
- The Picking Table, Journal of the Franklin-Ogdensburg Mineralogical Society (F.O.M.S.), volumes 1 through 42 (in print)
NOTE: A comprehensive bibliography of the publications relevent to the Franklin District is found in Dunn, P.J. (1995): Pt1.
Mineral List:44 entries listed. 38 valid minerals. 4 type localities (valid minerals).
The above list contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database!
