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Explore world-renowned geology and mineralogy in Western Maine!
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| Oxford County Maine is truly unique in its pegmatite formations, incredible variety of precious and semi-precious minerals. Our area has a centuries-long history as a prized mineral source for industrial applications, collectors, and academics. |
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Guided tours of actual mine excavations!
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Enter a ledge cut first mined over 80 years ago. See the geology and mineralogy in some of the oldest and most famous mineral mines in the greater Northeast Region. Then, step into the cool interior of the two tunnels that dramatically present the local mineralogy and mining techniques of days gone by.
(No digging will be permitted in the tunnels, for safety reasons). |
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Do field-accessible digging
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You'll have a chance to dig and find minerals previously excavated from the mines featuring quartz, beryl, rose quartz, feldspar, smoky quartz, and mica. You won't leave empty handed, but remember, mining historically has demanded lots of time and patience to yield results!
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Gem & Mineral Sluice
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| At Bethel Outdoor Adventure we sell $10 buckets of material gathered from several local mines, providing a broad spectrum of area gems and minerals such as blue and golden beryl; amethyst; tourmaline; rose, smoky, and optical quartz; mica; feldspar; apatite; lepidolite, and more. Everybody gets goodies that you can identify using our handy identification board. Try out the antique cast-iron hand pump just as in the days of old.
The sluice operation is a natural fit with the mine tours and provides valuable identification experience before or after the tours.
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TOUR FEE SCHEDULE
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Adults
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$25.00
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Children
(12 yrs and under)
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$9.00
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Parents & their kids
pay no more than
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$65.00
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Clubs
(minimum of 10 adults)
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$15.00/
person |
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