The Geology of Newry's Lithium Deposit with Myles Felch

Myles Felch of the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum joins the Center for an Ecology-Based Economy for an evening to discuss recent USGS-funded bedrock mapping efforts surrounding the Plumbago North pegmatite (PbN) in Newry and explain the geology of the deposits that host the lithium-bearing mineral, spodumene. He places the PbN deposit in context with other types of lithium deposits globally and provides an overview of how hardrock spodumene deposits are quarried and processed. He also touches on Maine's current metallic mining law and explains how the Plumbago North deposit is not a sulfide-bearing mineral deposit.
Myles Felch is a curator and geologist at the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum in Bethel, Maine. He holds two geology degrees and specializes in granitic pegmatites, especially those located in Maine.