American Mine (Alpha Copper Mine; Bridgewater Mine; Somerville Mine; Somerville deposit), Bridgewater Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, USAi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| American Mine (Alpha Copper Mine; Bridgewater Mine; Somerville Mine; Somerville deposit) | Mine |
| Bridgewater Township | Township |
| Somerset County | County |
| New Jersey | State |
| USA | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
40° 36' 54'' North , 74° 37' 0'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Green Knoll | 6,200 (2017) | 1.7km |
| Bridgewater | 44,464 (2017) | 3.1km |
| Somerville | 12,202 (2017) | 4.6km |
| Martinsville | 11,980 (2017) | 5.1km |
| Raritan | 8,031 (2017) | 5.2km |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| New Jersey Mineralogical Society, Inc | Mountainside, New Jersey | 23km |
| Morris Museum Mineralogical Society | Morristown, New Jersey | 23km |
A Cu occurrence/mine located about 3 miles North of Somerville. Owned by the American Copper Mine Co. Some mining was begun well before the Revolutionary War. Woodward (1944) reported that about 1900 pounds of copper was recovered prior to 1754. Restarted 1821 and closed about 1840, then reopened 1881 and closed 1910. A suburban house now occupies the site.
Featured the "Spencer slope" (1,300 feet long to the 600 foot level). The Mine exploited a conformable, copper-bearing horizon, generally 18-24 inches thick, in the uppermost Passaic formation immediately beneath the Orange Mountain basalt. Copper occurred mostly as thin veins, irregular small masses and sheets of native copper. The mineralized horizon has been darkened, mainly by recrystallization of hematite. This rock has been referred to as a hornfels but its origin appears to be due to hydrothermal fluids and not thermal recrystallization. Bleaching of the sediments almost always accompanies native copper. Chalcocite is much subordinate to native copper. It generally occurs in later veinlets that crosscut the copper and associated bleaching. Bleaching is rarely associated with chalcocite deposition but has been observed. The geology of the American Mine is very similar to that of the Chimney Rock Mine (Cummings, 1998).
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
14 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Atacamite Formula: Cu2(OH)3Cl References: |
| ⓘ Calcite Formula: CaCO3 |
| ⓘ Chalcocite Formula: Cu2S |
| ⓘ Chalcopyrite Formula: CuFeS2 References: |
| ⓘ Chrysocolla Formula: Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| ⓘ Cuprite Formula: Cu2O |
| ⓘ Epidote Formula: (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
| ⓘ 'Feldspar Group' Colour: Green. |
| ⓘ Laumontite Formula: CaAl2Si4O12 · 4H2O |
| ⓘ Malachite Formula: Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| ⓘ Native Copper Formula: Cu |
| ⓘ Native Silver Formula: Ag References: |
| ⓘ Prehnite Formula: Ca2Al2Si3O10(OH)2 References: |
| ⓘ Pyrite Formula: FeS2 |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 References: |
| ⓘ Quartz var. Agate Formula: SiO2 References: |
| ⓘ Quartz var. Chalcedony Formula: SiO2 |
| ⓘ 'Tourmaline' Formula: AD3G6(T6O18)(BO3)3X3Z |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 1 - Elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Native Copper | 1.AA.05 | Cu |
| ⓘ | Native Silver | 1.AA.05 | Ag |
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
| ⓘ | Chalcocite | 2.BA.05 | Cu2S |
| ⓘ | Chalcopyrite | 2.CB.10a | CuFeS2 |
| ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| Group 3 - Halides | |||
| ⓘ | Atacamite | 3.DA.10a | Cu2(OH)3Cl |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Cuprite | 4.AA.10 | Cu2O |
| ⓘ | Quartz var. Agate | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | var. Chalcedony | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 | |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
| ⓘ | Malachite | 5.BA.10 | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| ⓘ | Epidote | 9.BG.05a | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
| ⓘ | Prehnite | 9.DP.20 | Ca2Al2Si3O10(OH)2 |
| ⓘ | Chrysocolla | 9.ED.20 | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| ⓘ | Laumontite | 9.GB.10 | CaAl2Si4O12 · 4H2O |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Feldspar Group' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Tourmaline' | - | AD3G6(T6O18)(BO3)3X3Z |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Atacamite | Cu2(OH)3Cl |
| H | ⓘ Chrysocolla | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| H | ⓘ Epidote | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
| H | ⓘ Laumontite | CaAl2Si4O12 · 4H2O |
| H | ⓘ Malachite | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| H | ⓘ Prehnite | Ca2Al2Si3O10(OH)2 |
| B | Boron | |
| B | ⓘ Tourmaline | AD3G6(T6O18)(BO3)3X3Z |
| C | Carbon | |
| C | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| C | ⓘ Malachite | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Quartz var. Agate | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Atacamite | Cu2(OH)3Cl |
| O | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz var. Chalcedony | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Chrysocolla | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| O | ⓘ Cuprite | Cu2O |
| O | ⓘ Epidote | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
| O | ⓘ Laumontite | CaAl2Si4O12 · 4H2O |
| O | ⓘ Malachite | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Prehnite | Ca2Al2Si3O10(OH)2 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Tourmaline | AD3G6(T6O18)(BO3)3X3Z |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | ⓘ Chrysocolla | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| Al | ⓘ Epidote | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
| Al | ⓘ Laumontite | CaAl2Si4O12 · 4H2O |
| Al | ⓘ Prehnite | Ca2Al2Si3O10(OH)2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz var. Agate | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz var. Chalcedony | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Chrysocolla | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| Si | ⓘ Epidote | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
| Si | ⓘ Laumontite | CaAl2Si4O12 · 4H2O |
| Si | ⓘ Prehnite | Ca2Al2Si3O10(OH)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Chalcocite | Cu2S |
| S | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Cl | Chlorine | |
| Cl | ⓘ Atacamite | Cu2(OH)3Cl |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Ca | ⓘ Epidote | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
| Ca | ⓘ Laumontite | CaAl2Si4O12 · 4H2O |
| Ca | ⓘ Prehnite | Ca2Al2Si3O10(OH)2 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Epidote | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
| Fe | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | ⓘ Atacamite | Cu2(OH)3Cl |
| Cu | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Cu | ⓘ Chalcocite | Cu2S |
| Cu | ⓘ Chrysocolla | Cu2-xAlx(H2-xSi2O5)(OH)4 · nH2O, x < 1 |
| Cu | ⓘ Cuprite | Cu2O |
| Cu | ⓘ Native Copper | Cu |
| Cu | ⓘ Malachite | Cu2(CO3)(OH)2 |
| Ag | Silver | |
| Ag | ⓘ Native Silver | Ag |
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American Mine, Bridgewater Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, USA