Canfield’s Phosphate Mine (1870-1881)

Dan Century 1 Comment

The New Jersey Highlands are festooned with abandoned iron mines, many of which are still visible. Some mines, like the Hibernia Bat Mine have large openings you can walk up to. Some are filled with water and tailings. Others are hidden behind fences and thickets of trees, weeds and vines.

Canfield’s Phosphate Mine is an old iron mine located in Mine Hill Township, New Jersey, along Canfield Ave, nestled behind a fence and hidden by trees. Little remains other than a shaft that is visible through the chain link fence. Visitors cannot access it, but it is cool to see.

CANFIELDS PHOSPHATE MINE

CANFIELDS PHOSPHATE MINE

See the Mindat page for more information. Canfield’s Phosphate Mine, today, is best known for pink fluorescent Apatite found in old tailings from the mine. Pink fluorescent Apatite is found throughout the Highlands.

If you want to visit the inside of an actual mine in New Jersey, I highly recommend The Sterling Hill Mining Museum in Ogdensburg, NJ. Sterling Hill was a zinc mine (not iron) that is best known for fluorescent minerals like willemite and sphalerite.

Hibernia cave

Hibernia Bat Mine Mine in Hibernia, New Jersey

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Nestled in a hillside in Hibernia, New Jersey, you’ll find the Hibernia mine (mindat.org page). In the 18th and 19th centuries, New Jersey was a top location for iron production. In the south there was bacteria-created “bog iron”, and in the north, in places like Hibernia, magnetite, magnetic iron ore, was torn from the bellies of mountains.

Map of The Hibernia Mines

It took me a while to find the mine. The trail, starting at the trailhead at Green Pond Road & Lower Hibernia Road, forks in several places. One path leads to the graffitied ruins of a building, one leads to a pile of mine tailings, one leads to more ruins…

Hibernia ruins

… and the top of the mountain, and one — the one you want — that heads toward the mine. Starting from the trailhead, I think it’s the second fork on the right; you walk up a hill and when you see what looks like the back of someone’s backyard, take the train on the left. When you get near the cave, you’ll feel the air get colder. There’s a wood platform on the left and on the right the final path to the mine.

As you get closer…

Approaching Hibernia Mine

And closer to the mine entrance, you’ll notice the air coming from the mine is very chilly…

Hibernia Mine entrance

Freezing cold, in fact.
Hibernia Mine a chilly 30 degrees

The mine is sealed off to protect it, and the bats who live there, from vandals and ne’er-do-wells. Though you cannot explore inside, what can be seen from the outside is visually impressive, and the cool air is a refreshing treat on a hot summer day.

Geologically speaking, you’ll find all kinds of interesting rocks in the park surrounding the mine: massive glacial erratics, purple & white “pudding stone”, pink granite, magnetite, biotite, milky quartz, and lots of banded, and some folded, gneiss. Migmatite, maybe?

In terms of hiking and discovery, throughout the park, you’ll find the collapsed entrances to mines, piles of tailing from mines, a cemetery for miners, stone ruins of building used to process ore, massive bear turds, and plenty of beautiful New Jersey nature.