Myles Felch Submitted photo
It took just two sessions of an introductory geology class at the University of Maine at Farmington for Myles Felch to discover his life’s calling. He switched majors and embarked on a career path studying and sharing his knowledge of Maine’s rich history of rocks, minerals and gems.
As curator and staff geologist at the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum in Bethel, Felch is developing a new exhibit on lithium, a timely topic following the discovery last year of a large deposit of lithium in nearby Newry, worth an estimated $1.5 billion according to owners.
Born in New Hampshire, Felch grew up in the mid-coast region of Maine, graduated from UMF and received his master’s degree from the University of New Orleans.
How did you get involved in the museum? I began interning at the museum after completing my undergraduate degree in 2012 and continued as an intern while I was working on my graduate degree. After finishing my master’s, I was hired full time in 2015.
What are your duties? What is a typical day for you at the museum? I am a curator, so my work revolves around collections management and exhibitions. I am currently working on developing a long-term, but temporary exhibit on lithium. So, at present I spend quite a bit of time researching, obtaining exhibitable objects and other content like images or video, as well as writing the narrative and designing the layout (graphics, labeling, mounts, etc.) for the exhibit. Collections management involves cataloging and recording data associated with objects. The museum’s collection specializes in Maine minerals, rocks, gems, and fossil, as well as meteorites from extraterrestrial sources. In the past I have been involved in field-based research projects, led group field trips, and conducted presentations on various topics related to Maine geology. There are also various administrative duties that I am involved with.
When did your fascination with rocks and minerals begin? From early on I was always very intrigued by minerals, particularly muscovite mica. My interest in rocks really began when I took an introductory geology course at the University of Maine at Farmington, taught by the late Dr. Thomas Eastler, “Dr. Rock.” By the second class meeting, I switched majors and never looked back.
What type of research do you do at the museum? My expertise is with granitic pegmatites, which are very coarse-grained igneous rocks. So, my research tends to focus on these types of deposits, specifically those found in Maine. Over the past two years I was involved in a project with the Maine Geological Survey, part of a United States Geological Survey Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) funded grant, that focused on mapping and understanding potential lithium resources in western Maine. The potential lithium resources in Maine are hosted in granitic pegmatites.
What is it about Maine’s geology that makes it one of the top places to find tourmaline? Though tourmaline can be found in a range of different rock types, it is commonly associated with granitic pegmatites. Although there are a couple different species found in the state, elbaite is what’s most desired as it can be used to facet gems. In Maine, most of the well-known tourmaline-bearing pegmatite deposits are in Oxford and Androscoggin counties, though some can also be found in Sagadahoc County. The location of these deposits correlates well with high-grade metamorphic rocks present in southern and western Maine.
There is no simple answer here. It really all comes down to the right tectonic situation (a mountain building event) and the presence of “fertile” rocks, which develop because of plate tectonic processes. When these fertile rocks begin to melt, they can produce a magma with the necessary concentrations of elements that otherwise exist in low quantities. These melts are sometimes capable of producing pegmatite deposits with gem-quality minerals like tourmaline, beryl, topaz, as well as other rare and unusual mineral species. Important to note, the melts that formed the pegmatites found in Maine crystallized several miles below the surface of the Earth more than 250 million years ago. So, even after they formed, they were not exposed at the surface like they are today. This is where successive glacial episodes have subsequently eroded the overlying rock and brought these gem deposits up from depth to the current surface. If you look around the world where other gem-tourmaline deposits are found, you’ll see patterns similar to the circumstances described above, i.e. a mountain building event and fertile precursor rocks. Again, this is a bit of an oversimplification. There have been and continues to be an incredible amount of research on the origins of these deposits. We don’t have all the answers yet.
Where are the best places in the state for amateur “rock hounds” to go and find tourmaline and other gems? I always recommend that anyone interested in rock hounding should join a local or regional mineral club. Maine has five clubs last time I checked, some more active than others. There are a couple reasons for this: 1) most pegmatite deposits are privately owned, and access is by permission only and club members are in the know of what is accessible 2) Clubs offer field trip opportunities to many of the sites that are closed to the public. Most clubs also host annual mineral shows that are open to the public. You’re likely to find some tourmaline at one of those if you cannot find any in the field. If you happen to be at the museum, you can ask our staff in the store. They are very up to date on accessibility to the local diggings. In short, locations in western Maine are where you’re going to want to look for tourmaline. If you’re going at it on your own, I strongly encourage you to seek landowner permission before accessing any property that is not yours.
Bethel seems like an unlikely place to have such a vast collection of meteorites from the moon, Mars and the asteroid belt, including the largest lunar meteorites and the largest intact rock from Mars. How did they end up in Bethel? The museum’s meteorite exhibit is one of the most significant contemporary collections of meteorites in the world. There is more lunar material at the museum than all the natural history museums in the world combined. It is likely the only place in the world where you can hold a piece of the moon and Mars in your hands. There are many other meteorites on display, including a massive slab of pallasite (a metallic meteorite with greenish gemstones). The museum’s founder, Dr. Lawrence Stifler, developed a close relationship with one of the world’s foremost meteorite dealers, Darryl Pitt of the Macovich Collection. He successfully engaged Darryl to be the meteorite chair of the museum, which led to the breathtaking array of meteorites now on display.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I am a father of two, so I spend most of my free time being a dad. Guitar, art with different mediums, a small garden and sleep are what I find myself enjoying in my remaining free time.
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