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Tourmaline as Accessory Mineral
The most common occurrence of tourmaline is as an accessory mineral in igneous and metamorphic rocks. It often occurs as millimeter-size crystals scattered through granite, pegmatite, or gneiss. In this mode of occurrence, tourmaline rarely makes up more than a few percent of the rock’s volume. The variety of tourmaline most often found as an accessory mineral is…
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Alluvial Tourmaline
Tourmaline has a Mohs hardness of 7 to 7 ½, and that hardness makes it a durable sediment granule. Tourmaline is also relatively resistant to chemical weathering. So, particles of tourmaline weathered from igneous or metamorphic rocks can persist in a stream and can be transported long distances from their source area. Tourmaline gem rough is mined…
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Geologic Occurrence of Tourmaline
Tourmaline most commonly occurs as an accessory mineral in igneous and metamorphic rocks. Large, well-formed crystals of tourmaline can form in cavities and fractures during hydrothermal activity. Tourmaline is a hard and tenacious mineral. That enables it to persist during stream and beach transport as durable grains in sediments and sedimentary rocks. Tourmaline Crystals The most spectacular tourmaline…
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If You Know of An Abandoned Mine…
Dangerous mining sites should be reported – especially if you know that there are dangerous activities going on there. You can start by reporting to your local police.
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People of All Ages Are Killed
Abandoned mine accidents claim the lives of people of all ages. Children sometimes enter mines without supervision, and adults sometimes take children with them when entering an abandoned mine site. A table on this page shows the age distribution of abandoned and inactive mine deaths. Most victims are young and die by drowning. Older victims…
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Equipment, Structures, and Mine Openings
The buildings, structures, and equipment left at abandoned mines are also dangerous. The buildings and structures can be old and unstable. Floors can collapse when they are walked on. Supports can be rusted away. Chemicals, explosives, or electrical equipment and other dangers are sometimes left inside. Don’t explore equipment and structures at abandoned mines. Underground…
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Why No Reclamation?
Today all mining operations must be reclaimed when work is completed. Miners are expected to return the land to a condition similar to before the mining was done – or in an alternative condition specified in their approved mining permit. To assure that reclamation is done, the mining company must post a performance bond. The…
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Falls and Asphyxiation
Falls are also deadly. Rock climbing in a mine or quarry is especially dangerous. The rock of a high wall or a mine has been fractured by blasting and can be highly unstable. The rocks that the climber depends upon for support can break free, or the climber’s weight can destabilize an entire face of…
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ATV Accidents
ATV accidents are the second leading cause of death. Quarries and surface mines are dangerous places to ride an ATV. Riders unfamiliar with the quarry can speed over a quarry’s high wall or embankment. Death can result when an ATV is driven too close to a high wall and the rock, previously fractured from blasting,…
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Don’t Go Swimming in a Quarry
Most deaths that occur in abandoned mines and quarries are drownings. Most of the people who drown didn’t fall in by accident. They went there to swim. Don’t swim in a quarry. The water can be dangerously cold, there are no lifeguards, no rescue equipment, and it is simply not safe. ATV Accidents ATV accidents…