Positively NJ: The push to name Franklinite as the official mineral of New Jersey

For the better part of a decade, lawmakers and rockhounds from Sussex County have been trying to get Franklinite - a rock comprised of zinc, iron and manganese - made into the official mineral of the Garden State.

Jan 19, 2023, 4:02 AM

Updated 703 days ago

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New Jersey has a state bird, a state flower, a state animal, a state shell, etc. So why shouldn't it also have an official state mineral?
For the better part of a decade, lawmakers and rockhounds from Sussex County have been trying to get Franklinite - a rock comprised of zinc, iron and manganese - made into the official mineral of the Garden State.
So far, it hasn't gone so well. Five times the bill has been introduced, and five times it's failed to clear the two houses of the state Legislature.
On today's episode of "Brian's Positively New Jersey,” Brian Donohue travels to the Sterling Hill Mine Museum - and deep into the old mine itself - to learn why people feel so passionately about a heavy, gray rock - and why it just may be the perfect symbol for New Jersey.