Gap Mine, Bart Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA

A plate of acicular crystal spheroids of Millerite, typical of the deposits at the Gap Nickel Mine, Gap, Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania (Dana locale). Specimens of Millerite are no longer collectable from this long closed mining site, other than in compacted seams or acicuar xtls which have formed within small pockets. Millerite does not survive ...

© 2004 M. R. Heintzelman

Acicular crystals of Millerite, forming multiple radial spheroids. A very fine specimen with exceptionally good expression from the Gap Nickel Mine, Gap, Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania (Dana locale). The Gap mine was once considered the world class locality for the species. Old collection specimen. Specimen size: 3.5 x 1.3cm. From the PA Annex of my ...

© 2004 M. R. Heintzelman

Millerite. Specimen is from the George Vaux collection at Bryn Mawr 1972, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, USA. Scale at bottom of image is an inch with a rule at one cm.

© Rock Currier

Millerite. Specimen is from the George Vaux collection at Bryn Mawr 1972. Scale at bottom of image is an inch with a rule at one cm.

© Rock Currier

4.5 x 3.2 x 1.5 cm

© Dan & Diana Weinrich Minerals

Acicular crystals of millerite in divergent radial groups, the largest spherical aggregate being 0.2 cm in diameter. A small amount of sphaerosiderite can be seen in the upper left corner of the image. Specimen is ex. Seaman Museum, Michigan, ex. L. L. Hubbard (1849-1933) S407-043 N1262N

© 2009, JGW

Millerite from a classic east-coast US locality. S402-503 N1054N

© 2009, JGW

Specimen of massive Nickeloan Pyrrhotite, a constituent of the primary ore body at the Gap Nickel Mine, Gap, Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania (Dana locale). The Gap mine ranks as the first productive Nickel mine in North America. Owned and operated by Joseph Wharton, Founder of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and one ...

© 2004 M. R. Heintzelman

Harvard Mineralogical Museum, no. 133405. Label is 7 cm long. P. Cristofono photo.

© 2007 Peter Cristofono

Botryoidal translucent sphaerosiderite underlying millerite crystal clusters. S407-043a N1262N Originally from the Seaman Museum, Michigan, from L. L. Hubbard (1849-1933).

© 2009, JGW

Millerite, 5 cm by 7 cm. Formerly in the Florian A. Cajori collection. Cajori was a famous Swiss-American mathematician who acquired this specimen in 1927. Currently in the collection of Joseph Polityka.

© Joseph Polityka

4.2 x 4.2 x 0.7 cm. An OLD-TIME and CLASSIC millerite specimen from the famous Gap Mine of Pennsylvania. This showy piece is a solid plate of brassy, acicular millerite needles. The Gap Nickel Mine was discovered in 1732, and was worked to some extent for copper. Nickel was discovered in the 1850s, as millerite and the mine was taken over in the ...

© Rob Lavinsky & irocks.com

FOUND ONE!! Oh, the wonders of probability! Or more exactly, my three year old granddaughter pointed out the shiny vein running through a large cobble I had hauled home and discarded to the rock garden border. She had a closer view and a different angle. I collected this millerite specimen on the day David Berstein took the photos ...

© Mark J. Sigouin

Botryoidal translucent sphaerosiderite underlying millerite crystal clusters. S407-043b N1262N Originally from the Seaman Museum, Michigan, from L. L. Hubbard (1849-1933).

© 2009, JGW

Magnesio-hornblende cleavage exhibiting weak iridescence in massive to somewhat fibrous hornblende - this is the host amphibolite rock of the Gap mine. The yellow crusty material is jarosite. Both have been confirmed via SEM/EDS analysis, see child photo for magnesio-hornblende analysis. S419-335 N5916N

© 2016 - JGW

Magnesio-hornblende cleavage in massive to fibrous hornblende - the host amphibolite rock of the Gap mine; the yellow crusts are jarosite. S419-336 N5916N

© 2016 - JGW

1.9 x 1.4 x 1.2 cm. A beautiful specimen of classic bronze colored semi-acicular millerite from this famous locality in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Up close, you can really appreciate the sharp, "needle"-like crystals in radial aggregates. The Gap Nickel Mine was discovered in 1732, and was worked to some extent for copper. Nickel was ...

© Rob Lavinsky & MineralAuctions.com

1.9 x 1.4 x 1.2 cm. A beautiful specimen of classic bronze colored semi-acicular millerite from this famous locality in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Up close, you can really appreciate the sharp, "needle"-like crystals in radial aggregates. The Gap Nickel Mine was discovered in 1732, and was worked to some extent for copper. Nickel was ...

© Rob Lavinsky & MineralAuctions.com

1.9 x 1.4 x 1.2 cm. A beautiful specimen of classic bronze colored semi-acicular millerite from this famous locality in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Up close, you can really appreciate the sharp, "needle"-like crystals in radial aggregates. The Gap Nickel Mine was discovered in 1732, and was worked to some extent for copper. Nickel was ...

© Rob Lavinsky & MineralAuctions.com

Millerite, solid radial-crystal vein with a small-botryoidal top surface (video). Ex Bill Pinch, exchange 1969 Doug Scott Collection

© JR Montgomery

1.9 x 1.4 x 1.2 cm. A beautiful specimen of classic bronze colored semi-acicular millerite from this famous locality in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Up close, you can really appreciate the sharp, "needle"-like crystals in radial aggregates. The Gap Nickel Mine was discovered in 1732, and was worked to some extent for copper. Nickel was ...

© Rob Lavinsky & MineralAuctions.com

Old specimen of botryoidal millerite with radiating acicular crystals, attached to a gneiss matrix (not seen in this photo). Child photos show closeup, specimen labels, and opposite side. Ex T. Hunt, Jay Lininger, Eric Quinter, via Phil Persson.

© Kelly Nash

Closeup of botryoidal millerite with radiating acicular millerite crystals.

© Kelly Nash

Our fearless leader, Kerry Matt searching one of the trenches he arranged to have dug the night before our dig. VERY private property. Visited with permission.

© 2011 David S. Bernstein

An organized field trip to this tranquil spot yielded some nice specimens. Although, to my knowledge, no Millerite was found, most folks went home with nice material. April of 2011. VERY private property. Visited with permission.

© 2011 David S. Bernstein

Walking towards the dumps. No one seemed to mind the nasty conditions that arrived two hours later.

© 2011 David S. Bernstein

What you see is three hours of broken rock. In additions to the trenches, small pits were also dug by the backhoe providing a nice place to sit and hammer yourself into oblivion.

© 2011 David S. Bernstein

A large boulder pile.

© 2011 David S. Bernstein

The historic mine has a lot of mineral diversity , I was looking for the Millerite but I did'nt find any.

Seen in the vicinity of the main, now flooded working.

© 2011 David S. Bernstein

Berks Club Field Trip/2011. VERY private property.

© 2011 David S. Bernstein

I believe, if you look at Gordon's book on Minerology in Pennsylvania, you can see this pit back in the day when the mine was in operation. It was a deep pit with an entrance to underground workings at the bottom. April of 2011. VERY private property. Visited with permission.

© 2011 David S. Bernstein

Seaman Museum label for millerite specimen, ex. L. L. Hubbard (1849-1933). Label is 50 mm x 26 mm S419-658 N1262N

© 2020, JGW

Unattributed label, 30 mm x 30 mm S419-661 N1054N

© 2020, JGW

Magnesio-hornblende analysis, courtesy of Excalibur Mineral Company. S420-921 N5916N

© 2024 - JGW

Specimen labels - a note on the back of the second label indicates that Eric Quinter obtained the specimen at the auction of Jay L. Lininger's collection in May, 2005 ("JLLC 5-05 RI ex PM lot #652). The name on the bottom label: T. Hunt, Catasauqua, PA, is not familiar to me.

© Kelly Nash