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Canton Lead Mines (Cherry Brook lead mine; Dyer Farm zinc mine), Rattlesnake Hill, Canton, Hartford County, Connecticut, USAi
Regional Level Types
Canton Lead Mines (Cherry Brook lead mine; Dyer Farm zinc mine)Group of Mines
Rattlesnake HillHill
CantonTown
Hartford CountyCounty
ConnecticutState
USACountry

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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
41° 50' 9'' North , 72° 54' 47'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Group of Mines
Nearest Settlements:
PlacePopulationDistance
Canton Valley1,580 (2017)1.8km
Collinsville3,746 (2017)2.6km
West Simsbury2,447 (2017)6.1km
Weatogue2,776 (2017)7.1km
New Hartford Center1,385 (2017)7.1km
Nearest Clubs:
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
ClubLocationDistance
Bristol Gem & Mineral ClubBristol, Connecticut19km
Lapidary and Mineral Society of Central ConnecticutMeriden, Connecticut34km
Connecticut Valley Mineral ClubSpringfield, Massachusetts40km
Mindat Locality ID:
204749
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:204749:5
GUID (UUID V4):
a68f529f-346f-415d-b4fd-c54bcd1ce4f8


Very little has been written about this old locality, most references give only the briefest mention. A 1910 postcard shows what was called the zinc mine on the Dyer Farm, Collinsville, Conn. The 1869 map of Canton shows a house owned by "D. Dyer" on the road close to the mine location. The Town of Canton web site (see link below) gives a brief history of the Dyer house and property at 1 Dyer Cemetery Road, near the same spot, that had "...a farm of six hundred acres. Over the years it had a sawmill; β€œsilver mine” that produced small quantities of zinc, lead, copper and beryl..." Given the size of the farm and the proximity of the house with the mine, the mine in the postcard must be the Canton lead mine.

Shepard (1837) presaged, or perhaps inspired, the mining of lead here with this short sentence:

Rolled masses [boulders] of quartz including galena have been found in Canton near Collinsville...indicating the existence of veins of such ores in these regions.


A hydrothermal fault vein deposit, probably related to Mesozoic rifting as large-scale faults associated with the Hartford and Cherry Brook rift basins are close by. Minor amounts of galena, sphalerite, and lead secondary minerals occur here. But the locality is most famous for its amethyst, which occurs lining cavities in breccia and varies from larger lavender, mottled and translucent crystals to smaller, clearer, deeply colored druses. Colorless and milky quartz also occurs. Any beryl found must be related to a pegmatite in the host rock that the mine intersected.

Select Mineral List Type

Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.


Mineral List


8 valid minerals.

Detailed Mineral List:

β“˜ Anglesite
Formula: PbSO4
β“˜ Cerussite
Formula: PbCO3
Colour: pale gray to pale yellow-orange
Fluorescence: orange-yellow
Description: small, irregular, resinous crystals on quartz
β“˜ Chalcopyrite
Formula: CuFeS2
Habit: anhedral
Colour: brassy yellow
Description: tiny grains in massive quartz with other sulfides
β“˜ Galena
Formula: PbS
Habit: cubic
Colour: steel-gray
Description: typically cubes and masses frozen in quartz
β“˜ Pyromorphite
Formula: Pb5(PO4)3Cl
Habit: acicular hexagonal
Colour: green
Description: "scanty green coatings of tiny hexagonal crystals" Schooner (1961)
β“˜ Quartz
Formula: SiO2
Habit: stubby parallel crystals or individual elongated prisms
Colour: colorless to milky white to lightly smoky
Description: banded columnar masses lining pockets in breccia grade into amethyst, individual elongated crystals up to 17 cm
βœͺ Quartz var. Amethyst
Formula: SiO2
Habit: stubby parallel prisms lining pockets
Colour: lavender, purple
Description: Cavities in breccia are lined with parallel crystals of ordinary quartz or amethyst. Much cutting quality amethyst has been obtained there. Some is distinctly zoned. Larger crystals are typically paler colored, translucent, typically have mottled appearance. Smaller crystals typically clearer and deeply colored.
β“˜ Quartz var. Milky Quartz
Formula: SiO2
References:
β“˜ Quartz var. Smoky Quartz
Formula: SiO2
References:
β“˜ Sphalerite
Formula: ZnS
Habit: massive
Colour: black, brown, yellow
β“˜ Wulfenite
Formula: Pb(MoO4)
Habit: tabular
Colour: orange
Description: "Tiny orange crystals are occasionally observed on quartz crystals and metallic ores...usually associated with pyromorphite" Schooner (1961)

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts
β“˜Sphalerite2.CB.05aZnS
β“˜Chalcopyrite2.CB.10aCuFeS2
β“˜Galena2.CD.10PbS
Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
β“˜Quartz
var. Amethyst
4.DA.05SiO2
β“˜4.DA.05SiO2
β“˜var. Smoky Quartz4.DA.05SiO2
β“˜var. Milky Quartz4.DA.05SiO2
Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates
β“˜Cerussite5.AB.15PbCO3
Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates
β“˜Anglesite7.AD.35PbSO4
β“˜Wulfenite7.GA.05Pb(MoO4)
Group 8 - Phosphates, Arsenates and Vanadates
β“˜Pyromorphite8.BN.05Pb5(PO4)3Cl

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality


This page 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. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.

References

 
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