Spoiler: The "nuclear fire" was just harmless fluorescence.
I should go sometime!
In the early 60s I went to Franklin, NJ to collect some specimens of franklinite and the associated calcite and willemite. There was a large open pit of tailings that we could scavenge through. Never got a chance to go to one of the two night sessions that were held annually. To wander through that pile with battery operated short wave UL lights must have been thrilling.
Ping for later
I’ve been there. It’s about 25 minutes away. It’s a cool place, I love the rocks.
I just wish I had some valuable rocks in my backyard. I put in a shovel and hit...granite. Non-decomposed granite is everywhere around here. We expanded our kitchen and had to cut out a somewhat small section of granite ledge.
They brought in a track hoe with a jack hammer attachment.
Several hours later, the Granite was still laughing at them. They ended up using an abrasive saw to cut slits in it and bash it apart with a sledge hammer.
Back in my rock-hound days I took several trips from Queens, NY to NJ for specimens. My trip to Franklin was mentioned above. I made a few to a trap rock quarry in Summit where we would spend the day swinging sledge hammers breaking up big rocks to find small pockets of crystals. The Sayreville clay pits were another destination where we would find concretions and on rare occasions, amber.
There was a lot going on in that area of NJ for rock-hounds back then. I imagine most of it has been built over with homes now.
For greg
Hoping to visit very soon. The field trip director of one of the gem and mineral clubs I am a member of is trying to arrange it.
Spoiler: The "nuclear fire" was just harmless fluorescence.