The first mention of gold in New Jersey dates back to 1829 when gold was reported from the general area around Franklin. The report failed to mention whether this was lode or placer gold, but from the geological history of that area it could have been either. One of the features in New Jersey shares in common with all the other states of the northeastern United States is the possibility of placer gold being brought down from the Abitibi Gold Belt in Canada .
An adit in the Sterling Hill Museum at Sterling Hill, NJ |
Gold has been reported in the ancient rocks of Grenvellian age from Sussex County associated with the iron deposits. It has also been reported from the Schwangunk conglomerate from extreme western Sussex County in the vicinity of High Point , New Jersey . The stone here is a conglomerate composed of quartz pebbles that is identical to the conglomerates of the Schwangunk Mountains of New York State .
There have been reports of so-called gold mines in the past one notable example was in the Schuler Mine that showed some gold in quartz. Many of the reported gold mines in Bergin County during the 19th century were actually scams.
Although gold appears to be sparse in New Jersey there is otherwise a very rich history of mining for several other commodities including copper and silver in the Newark Basin basalts and sandstone. In the mid-19th century there were several mines producing copper and byproduct silver in this area of New Jersey .
Great article
ReplyDeleteCash for Gold Maple Philadelphia, NJ