Public Tour

Please plan to arrive 1/2 hour before the tour begins. A 1,300-ft underground stroll through the Sterling Hill zinc mine is a featured part of the mine tour. Within the mine passages are numerous pieces of equipment used while the mine was in operation, plus exhibits on the underground mining process. Visitors will see the lamp room, the shaft station, mine galleries dating to the 1830's, and much more. The entire mine tour route is well lit, and no climbing is involved visitors walk on hard-packed… Show more gravel the whole way. All parts of the route are wheelchair-accessible. For many visitors the most anticipated part of the mine tour is the Rainbow Tunnel, where brightly fluorescent zinc ore is exposed in the mine walls, exactly as it was in other parts of the mine where ore was produced. Illuminated under ultraviolet light, the walls glow bright green and red, the green signaling the presence of willemite, one of the main zinc ore minerals at Sterling Hill. While in the Rainbow Tunnel visitors are invited to take a piece of the fluorescent zinc ore home with them as a memento of their underground mine tour. Call first (973-209-MINE [6463]) to inquire in case of inclement weather.

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