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Mount Mica, America's first gem mine, was
discovered in 1820 by two students, Elijah Hamlin and Ezekiel Holmes. While taking a shortcut through the hills of Paris, Maine, the boys noticed a glimmer of green in the soil-covered roots of a upturned tree. Upon
closer examination of the area around the tree, they discovered dozens of gem green tourmaline crystals - thus writing the first chapter in Maine's rich history of gem mining.
That history continued in 1972 when
Dean McCrillis and three partners formed the Plumbago Mining Corporation to mine the Dunton Gem Pit in Newry, Maine. Later that same year they opened up the "richest pocket of tourmaline ever found in North
America". They continued to mine the site until late into 1974, when Plumbago Mining bought Mount Mica, where Plumbago continues to mine to this day. Over a century and a half later, Maine's mining history has
been brought full circle back to where it began.
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