GE-SE Mine, Buckfield, Oxford County, Maine, USAi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| GE-SE Mine | Mine |
| Buckfield | Town |
| Oxford County | County |
| Maine | State |
| USA | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
44° 15' 51'' North , 70° 24' 7'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Locality type:
KΓΆppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Buckfield | 1,791 (2017) | 4.1km |
| Hebron | 1,095 (2017) | 7.3km |
| Paris | 5,073 (2017) | 7.9km |
| South Paris | 2,267 (2017) | 9.9km |
| Turner | 5,470 (2017) | 11.6km |
Nearest Clubs:
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
| Club | Location | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Oxford County Mineral and Gem Association | South Paris, Maine | 10km |
| Kennebec Rocks and Minerals Club | Winthrop, Maine | 34km |
The GE-SE (southeast) is the southern most pit of 3 opened by Perien Dudley in the 1920s in search of pollucite, an extremely rare cesium mineral. All three granite pegmatite quarries are located on Hodgdon Hill in Buckfield. At the time there was demand for cesium to be used in the manufacture of vacuum (radio) tubes. Both the General Electric Company and their main rival, Westinghouse, were buyers of pollucite. Later bismuth replaced pollucite in this application and the mining ended. Modern uses for pollucite are in the preparation of environmentally friendly drill fluids used in oil and gas well development. Cesium is also used in GPS satellites for their extremely precise atomic clocks. Modern efforts by Coromoto Minerals, LLC has confirmed that pollucite is relatively abundant at the GE-SE. However, there is a perplexing question that comes with this occurrence. In almost all other pollucite occurrences worldwide pollucite is associated with even larger amounts of lithium typically in the form of lepidolite, spodumene and petalite. These minerals appear to be absent on Hodgdon Hill. The only lithium mineral encountered at the GE-SE in any quantity has been montebrasite.
All three of the pegmatite dikes strike essentially NW. All are near vertical and relatively narrow at +/-7m'. The GE-SE pegmatite has been traced over the surface for 400 meters and measures to a depth of at least 30 meters.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsDetailed Mineral List:
| β Albite Formula: Na(AlSi3O8) Reference: Gary Freeman |
| β Albite var. Cleavelandite Formula: Na(AlSi3O8) Reference: Gary Freeman |
| β 'Apatite' Formula: Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) Reference: Gary Freeman |
| β Beryl Formula: Be3Al2(Si6O18) Reference: Gary Freeman |
| β Cassiterite Formula: SnO2 Reference: Gary Freeman |
| β Elbaite Formula: Na(Li1.5Al1.5)Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) Reference: Gary Freeman |
| β Montebrasite Formula: LiAl(PO4)(OH) Reference: Gary Freeman |
| β Pollucite Formula: (Cs,Na)2(Al2Si4O12) · 2H2O Reference: Gary Freeman |
| β Schorl Formula: NaFe2+3Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) Reference: Gary Freeman |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| β | Cassiterite | 4.DB.05 | SnO2 |
| Group 8 - Phosphates, Arsenates and Vanadates | |||
| β | Montebrasite | 8.BB.05 | LiAl(PO4)(OH) |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| β | Albite | 9.FA.35 | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| β | var. Cleavelandite | 9.FA.35 | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| β | Beryl | 9.CJ.05 | Be3Al2(Si6O18) |
| β | Elbaite | 9.CK.05 | Na(Li1.5Al1.5)Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| β | Pollucite | 9.GB.05 | (Cs,Na)2(Al2Si4O12) Β· 2H2O |
| β | Schorl | 9.CK.05 | NaFe2+3Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| Unclassified Minerals, Rocks, etc. | |||
| β | 'Apatite' | - | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | β Pollucite | (Cs,Na)2(Al2Si4O12) · 2H2O |
| H | β Apatite | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
| H | β Montebrasite | LiAl(PO4)(OH) |
| H | β Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| H | β Elbaite | Na(Li1.5Al1.5)Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| Li | Lithium | |
| Li | β Montebrasite | LiAl(PO4)(OH) |
| Li | β Elbaite | Na(Li1.5Al1.5)Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| Be | Beryllium | |
| Be | β Beryl | Be3Al2(Si6O18) |
| B | Boron | |
| B | β Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| B | β Elbaite | Na(Li1.5Al1.5)Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | β Pollucite | (Cs,Na)2(Al2Si4O12) · 2H2O |
| O | β Cassiterite | SnO2 |
| O | β Apatite | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
| O | β Beryl | Be3Al2(Si6O18) |
| O | β Montebrasite | LiAl(PO4)(OH) |
| O | β Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| O | β Elbaite | Na(Li1.5Al1.5)Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| O | β Albite var. Cleavelandite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| O | β Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| F | Fluorine | |
| F | β Apatite | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
| Na | Sodium | |
| Na | β Pollucite | (Cs,Na)2(Al2Si4O12) · 2H2O |
| Na | β Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| Na | β Elbaite | Na(Li1.5Al1.5)Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| Na | β Albite var. Cleavelandite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Na | β Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | β Pollucite | (Cs,Na)2(Al2Si4O12) · 2H2O |
| Al | β Beryl | Be3Al2(Si6O18) |
| Al | β Montebrasite | LiAl(PO4)(OH) |
| Al | β Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| Al | β Elbaite | Na(Li1.5Al1.5)Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| Al | β Albite var. Cleavelandite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Al | β Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | β Pollucite | (Cs,Na)2(Al2Si4O12) · 2H2O |
| Si | β Beryl | Be3Al2(Si6O18) |
| Si | β Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| Si | β Elbaite | Na(Li1.5Al1.5)Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| Si | β Albite var. Cleavelandite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Si | β Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| P | Phosphorus | |
| P | β Apatite | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
| P | β Montebrasite | LiAl(PO4)(OH) |
| Cl | Chlorine | |
| Cl | β Apatite | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | β Apatite | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | β Schorl | NaFe32+Al6(Si6O18)(BO3)3(OH)3(OH) |
| Sn | Tin | |
| Sn | β Cassiterite | SnO2 |
| Cs | Caesium | |
| Cs | β Pollucite | (Cs,Na)2(Al2Si4O12) · 2H2O |
References
Sort by
Year (asc) Year (desc) Author (A-Z) Author (Z-A)U.S. Bureau of Mines (1943), Rare Alkalis of New England, Information Circular 7232.
U.S. Bureau of Mines (1968), New England Beryllium Investigations, Report of Investigation 7070.
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Ganderia DomainDomain
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GE-SE Mine, Buckfield, Oxford County, Maine, USA