Collecting Beryllium Minerals in New Hampshire
Fri, Mar 08
|Sharon Woods Park Visitor Centre
Don Dallaire presents beryllium pegmatite mining from New Hampshire. Of all elements, beryllium is the most widespread in granitic pegmatites and forms many species. The best known of which is beryl (think aquamarine). Don is an avid field collector and has personally assembled a fine collection.
Time & Location
Mar 08, 2024, 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM
Sharon Woods Park Visitor Centre, 11450 Lebanon Rd, Sharonville, OH 45241, USA
About the event
Speaker: Donald Dallaire, Maine Mineral & Gem Museum in Bethel, Maine
Topic: Collecting Beryllium Minerals in New Hampshire
Beryllium is an uncommon element at 0.00019 percent of Earth’s crust. There are forty-nine elements that are more common in Earth’s crust. New England, however, has a relative abundance of beryllium minerals, of which New Hampshire has more than its fair share. Of all the rare elements, beryllium is the most widespread in granitic pegmatites.
Beryllium metal is light and strong, and its alloys are used in the aerospace, automotive, computer, defense, medical, and other modern industries. Because of its use in the defense industry, it was classified as a strategic material by the U.S. Defense Department.
The mineral Beryl is a beryllium aluminum silicate. While beryl mining in New Hampshire has rarely been economically viable, the mineral clubs of New Hampshire proposed beryl as the state mineral because it is essential…