Meckley's Quarry


		*Meckley's Quarry*
		Mandata, PA
		September 24, 2006: Meckley Quarry, Mandata, PA For those of you who have never been to Meckley, I strongly recommend attending this open house. It is an event that the entire family can participate in. For a donation of $1, young and old alike can get into the quarry from noon to 5 PM and collect as much material as one can haul out! The quarry is in Mandata, Pennsylvania, northeast of Harrisburg. Meckley is best known for its blue celestite, white and golden calcite, and strontianite crystals. You can get further information about the open house by contacting me or at http://www.meckleys.com/rockhound.html. Note: This is about a 4-hour drive from Delaware. September 25, 2005, Sunday: Meckley Quarry, Mandata, PA.

		Blue Celestite from Meckley's Quarry
		(Photo by Ken Casey)
Meckley's Quarry, Mandata, PA Fieldtrip Slide Show, 5-23-2004 (IE)
Meckley's Quarry, Mandata, PA Fieldtrip Slide Show, 5-23-2004 (N)
Out in the Field Bob Asreen Meckley Quarry, Mandata, Northumberland Co., PA On Sunday, Sep 26, Meckley's Limestone Products, Inc. held its annual open house for collectors at their quarry in Mandata, PA. The quarry is operated primarily for the production of road aggregate from the Silurian limestones of the Keyser Formation. Mineralization in the quarry occurs within fracture zones and along fault planes. Minerals found at the quarry are numerous with the most common being celestite, calcite, strontianite, fluorite, dolomite and pyrite. Five members of the DMS, Karissa Hendershot, Guy and Wendy Sbriglia, Jeff Chalfant and yours truly, joined about 200 other collectors of all ages from as far away as New York and Illinois for the open house, which started at noon. It was great to see children of all ages who were wearing bicycle helmets for hard hats and riding in oversized wagons pulled by their parents and an occasional grandparent. The veteran collectors came equipped with large sledge hammers, hand trucks, wheel barrows and other wheeled devices to move their finds from the pit to the parking area. It was beautiful fall day as the weather was cool in the morning and gradually warmed up as the day wore on. The sun was shining brightly and there were very few clouds in the sky…just about perfect collecting weather! We spent the afternoon roaming about the levels of the quarry and breaking down boulders in search of the blue celestite crystals for which the quarry is famous. We were somewhat successful in our endeavors as each of us came out of the mine with several nice cabinet and thumbnail sized specimens of white to clear calcite and celestite crystals, some of which were sprinkled with white radiating crystals of strontianite. Some small specimens of purple fluorite were also found along with several large vugs containing blue celestite crystals. We also collected about a half dozen flats of material for the junior booth for our March 2005 Show. All in all it was a great day to be outside!

Out in the Field

September Program:

To Be Announced