The Chromite State: VanRyswick Reps Geological Survey in General Assembly

April 8, 2025

Maryland State Geologist Stephen Van Ryswick testified in front of the Maryland General Assembly this session providing information in support of making chromite the official state mineral.

Legislation designating chromite was approved on the last day of the session. It is headed to the governor's desk.

Found abundantly in Baltimore, Harford, Howard and Montgomery counties, chromite is a hunk of Maryland history. The mineral was initially discovered in Baltimore County in 1808, and before long it was being used to strengthen metal alloys such as steel and iron.

Maryland was the primary and sometimes sole source of chromite during the post-colonial industrialization period. Chromite is used to strengthen metal alloys.

“Without chromite, the development of steel would not have been as advanced in this nation,” Van Ryswick said.

Chromite was mined in Maryland until the 1860s, when larger, more readily obtainable deposits were found.

If approved, chromite will join the geologic ranks of coal - the state mineral of Kentucky, gold - the state mineral of California, and galena - the state mineral of Kansas, Missouri and Wisconsin. In all, twenty-seven other states have a state mineral.

Maryland already has a state gem: Patuxent River Stone, a red-yellow agate found only in Maryland.