‘Anomaly’ on Maine mountain proves to be rare minerals, USGS says. ‘I was astonished’

An “anomaly” spotted by aerial mapping technology over northern Maine has turned out to be a deposit of rare minerals critical to national defense, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The celebrated find was revealed in a Nov. 10 report that pinpoints the location as Pennington Mountain, “a remote peak in central Aroostook County, about 40 miles northwest of Presque Isle, Maine.”

“The discovery included rare earth elements, niobium, and zirconium, which are important for electronics, defense, and manufacturing applications,” the USGS reported.

Both elements are key components of electronics, but niobium is considered particularly important for use in the super alloys required for jet engines, experts say.

A USGS research geophysicist is credited with making the discovery, which scientists say is a “rewriting of the geologic and tectonic history” of a region that has been “geologically ignored for many decades.”

The aerial data, collected in 2021, suggests there may be similar deposits elsewhere in northern Maine, officials say.

“Northern Maine is full of amazing geologic wonders. You never know what is next to discover,” University of Maine at Presque Isle Professor Chunzeng Wang said in the report.

“I was astonished when seeing the analytical results that the rocks were so significantly enriched.”

More exploration is needed to determine whether the deposit is “economically significant” enough to be mined, officials said. Plans are underway “to identify the depth of the geologic deposit, as well as how it formed, and which specific minerals contain the rare earth elements identified to date.”

The wilderness area is not zoned for mining and Maine officials say a rezoning and a minimum of two years worth of “baseline environmental monitoring” would be required before a permit application could be submitted.

A Nov. 4 research article in GeoScienceWorld credits the discovery to scientists with the USGS, University of Maine at Presque Isle, and Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Maine Geological Survey.

This story was originally published November 14, 2022 at 7:18 AM with the headline "‘Anomaly’ on Maine mountain proves to be rare minerals, USGS says. ‘I was astonished’."