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Palmerton zinc smelter slag locality, Palmerton, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, USAi
Regional Level Types
Palmerton zinc smelter slag localitySlag Locality
PalmertonBorough
Carbon CountyCounty
PennsylvaniaState
USACountry

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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
40° 48' 29'' North , 75° 34' 59'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Nearest Settlements:
PlacePopulationDistance
Palmerton5,305 (2017)2.5km
Walnutport2,061 (2017)6.1km
Bowmanstown884 (2017)6.7km
Slatington4,276 (2017)7.1km
Cherryville1,580 (2017)7.1km
Nearest Clubs:
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
ClubLocationDistance
Monroe County Earth Science AssociationStroudsburg, Pennsylvania38km
Mindat Locality ID:
234751
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:234751:9
GUID (UUID V4):
0


Located about 128 km north of Philadelphia, and owned by Zinc Corporation of America (ZCA).

Built in 1897, and operated for 90 years, closed 1987.

The waste pile is 3.6 km long, averages 30 metres deep and contains about 30 million tons of retort waste.

In the early years, zinc ores were brought from local Pennsylvania deposits and from the Franklin district, New Jersey.

In later years, zinc ores were brought from further afield, including from Virginia, and even as far away as Thailand, so the origin of zinc minerals in any given slag sample would be difficult to determine.

Consisting of two facilities, The original Palmerton plant, the West plant, began processing ore in 1898 exclusively from the Franklin/Sterling Hill, NJ mines.

It was updated in 1903 to process sulfide concentrates, and continued operations until its closure in 1987.

The Lower Towamensing Township, or East plant, was constructed in 1910-11, originally designed to process non-sulfidic ores and concentrates, but was expanded in 1916 to also treat zinc sulfide ores (mainly sphalerite).

Both the acid and sinter plant, located at the East plant, closed by the end of 1980, but updates to the Waelze kilns allowed for treatment of secondary zinc sources up to 2008.

It is estimated that nearly 80% of the ores processed at the two plants originated from New Jersey Zinc co. owned mines in NJ, PA and VA.

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Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Mineral List


5 valid minerals.

Rock Types Recorded

Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!

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Alphabetical List Tree Diagram

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
ⓘZincite4.AB.20ZnO
ⓘFranklinite4.BB.05Zn2+Fe3+2O4
ⓘHematite4.CB.05Fe2O3
Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates
ⓘGypsum7.CD.40CaSO4 · 2H2O
Group 9 - Silicates
ⓘWillemite9.AA.05Zn2SiO4

List of minerals for each chemical element

HHydrogen
Hⓘ GypsumCaSO4 · 2H2O
OOxygen
Oⓘ FrankliniteZn2+Fe23+O4
Oⓘ GypsumCaSO4 · 2H2O
Oⓘ HematiteFe2O3
Oⓘ WillemiteZn2SiO4
Oⓘ ZinciteZnO
SiSilicon
Siⓘ WillemiteZn2SiO4
SSulfur
Sⓘ GypsumCaSO4 · 2H2O
CaCalcium
Caⓘ GypsumCaSO4 · 2H2O
FeIron
Feⓘ FrankliniteZn2+Fe23+O4
Feⓘ HematiteFe2O3
ZnZinc
Znⓘ FrankliniteZn2+Fe23+O4
Znⓘ WillemiteZn2SiO4
Znⓘ ZinciteZnO

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality


This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.

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