The rock beneath this area is between 1.0 and 1.2 billion years old, and has been subjected to volcanic activity, glacial scouting, extreme heat and pressure, and intense faulting and folding. The result of all this is a rich and varied array of semi-precious minerals that provide a paradise for rock hounds. They travel from all over the globe to examine the amazing geology and to collect unique specimens.

Rock collecting is a safe and enjoyable pastime. Equipment, guides, maps and supplies are available locally at hardware stores, sporting good stores, rock shops and the Bancroft Chamber of Commerce. Basic equipment should include a first-aid kit, plenty of water, long pants, long sleeved shirt, hat, safety boots, safety glasses or goggles, a rock hammer, rock chisel, small shovel, sample bags, newspaper, a pocket knife, magnet, compass, pen or pencil, maps and a note book.

Collecting sites & most common minerals:

Baptiste Lake North augite, actinolite, feldspar, apatite, scapolite, titanite

Bear Lake Diggings apatite, biotite, feldspar, calcite, hornblende, titanite, monazite, quartz, and pyrite

Beryl Pit beryl, peristerite, amazonite, smoky quartz, cleavelandite, euxenite, tourmaline, fluorite

Bessemer Mine magnetite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, amphibole, calcite, chalcopyrite, epidote, garnet, pyroxene

Bower's Point Roadcut augite, calcite, scapolite, titanite, zircon

Burgess Corundum corundum, biotite, magnetite, muscovite, pyrite, rutile, scapolite, titanite, zircon

Cancrinite Hill cancrinite, sodalite, apatite, cleavelandite, molybdenite, magnetite, tourmaline

Davis Hill biotite, nepheline, apatite, calcite, feldspar, magnetite, sodalite

Davis Quarry sodalite, hackmanite, zircon, cancrinite, apatite, biotite, calcite, galena, muscovite, tourmaline, uraninite

Desmont Mine clinopyroxene, amphibole, ancylite, apatite, chondrodite, garnet, hydroxylbastnaesite, molybdenite, monazite, pyrite, quartz, scapolite, serpentine, stillwellite, titanite, tourmaline uranothorite

Diamond Lake Roadcut feldspar, hornblende, mica, pyroxene, scapolite, and titanite

Egan Chute corundum, sodalite, nepheline, albite, biotite, calcite, cancrinite, pyrite, tourmaline

Essonville Roadcut flourorichterite, phlogopite, diopside, calcite

Faraday Hill Roadcut tremolite, apatite, calcite, molybdenite, pyrite, uraninite

Goudling-Keene Quarry nepheline, biotite, apatite, calcite, cancrinite, graphite, natrolite, pyrite, scapolite, sodalite, zircon

Grace Lake Roadcut tremolite/actinolite, diopside, phlogopite, calcite, hornblende, molybdenite, quartz, pyrite

Gutz Farm Corundum corundum allanite, natrolite, hdyro-nephelite, sodalite, cancrinite

Lily Robertson Property corundum (blackstar), magnetite, molybdenite, scapolite, sodalite, spinel, tourmaline

Macdonald Mine feldspar, quartz (white and smoky), graphic granite, allanite, zircon

Musclow Occurrences quartz (smoky and amethyst), augite, calcite, feldspar, hematite, mica, scapolite, pyrite, titanite

Quirk Lake quartz, albite, apatite, augite, hematite, mica

Saranac Mine zircon, thorite, allanite, calcite, chlorite, hematite, goethite, graphite, pyroxene, scapolite, serpentine, titanite, tourmaline

Silver Crater Mine betafite, biotite, apatite, calcite, feldspar, hornblende, magnetite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, zircon

Upper Turriff garnet

Warwickite Occurrence Herschel Ward warwickite, anatase, apatite, chondrodite, clinoamphibole, fluorite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, scapolite, serpentine, sinhalite, spinel, tourmaline

York River Skarn garnet, vesuvianite, clinopyroxene, brucite, calcite, cancrinite, scapolite, spinel, wollastonite, zircon



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