The apatite and tourmaline mine in Auburn, Maine, has been reactivated after more than two decades of nonproduction. Despite reports in 1977 that the mine had been tapped, two pegmatite cuts in the early 1990s revealed new potential. Subsequent clearing of schist overburden and further blasting have yielded garnets, beryl and quartz along with tourmaline and apatite. Additional mines are planned for the site.
After decades of inactivity, mining has been resumed on the western slopes of ...