Where to find amethyst in ontario

Ontario's amethyst mine is the most dazzling adventure to take this summer. Amethyst Mine Panorama is located outside of Thunder Bay , and his home to tons of shining stones. Discovered in , the mine includes a digging area where visitors can search for their very own amethysts to take home. You can wander over a five-acre expanse of beautiful landscape in search of these shiny gems. You can find a variety of amethysts in the digging area, which is replenished on a regular basis so that there are always stones to discover.

Once you've collected all the rocks your heart desires, you can head over to the washing station to make your newfound treasures sparkle. The mine also features a Welcome Centre, where you can view an amethyst in the rough, learn from interactive panels, and shop at the gift store.

There are also guided tours available at visitors' request. English French. Get Narcity on the Go. Visitors with young children will especially love digging for Amethyst as the experience is like a treasure hunt that the entire family will enjoy. Once you find your treasures the mine has a cleaning station where you can wash and scrub away any dirt and sediment in order to make your Amethyst shine.

The mine consists of several interpretive signs inside and outside the Welcome Centre, and near the digging and picking areas. These multiple panels and descriptive signs offer the reader information surrounding the history and geology of Amethyst. Guided tours are also available for those who are really interested in learning the history of both Amethyst and the mine. During my latest visit to the mine I opted for the guided tour and I was not disappointed. I left the mine much more knowledgeable of not only Amethyst but of Northern Ontario as well.

Our tour was guided by one of the family members operating the mine, he kept everyone engaged and entertained while making sure to educate us on the topic. One last word of advice — if you keep your eyes open while visiting the mine you may be lucky enough to find the Million Dollar Truck. Legend has it this old pick-up hauled over a one-million dollars worth of ore in its lifetime! But off they went and I can still see the smoke slowly wafting through the trees and the smell of cordite in the air as we made our way back.

And there lay our first amethyst specimens, which I still have to this day. We collected about pounds or so of specimens and packed them into the canoe for the trip back. This was the beginning of a year-long relationship, first with Gunnar and later with his sons. Drilling at the Diamond Willow Mine in later years I. My father was a teacher and so he had the summers off.

While I was in school, we would return to the Diamond Willow every year, collecting for several weeks. Later my father and mother bought a trailer in a nearby camp and spent the summers there — I would join them as time allowed. We learned how to quarry, drill and blast. Although we used feather-and-wedge method of rock removal as much as possible to minimize chances of damage , blasting was normally mandatory.

Holes set I. We typically used Forcite 40, which we found to be a good general purpose explosive and usually loaded the holes lightly so as to crack the rock but not throw it to minimize damage to the pockets. It might take a full day of drilling to lay out a blast and I clearly remember not being able to open my hands fully without pain after a day on the plugger. Loading the holes I. Wired and ready! Initial aftermath when the dust has cleared I.

Vugs lined with amethyst crystals in a tight brecciated zone I. The amethyst at the Diamond Willow Mine had a complex history of formation, with the crystals first forming tight to the walls of the pockets and then later, probably due to more geologic activity along the fractured fault systems the plates of crystals collapsed into a jumbled mass.

At some later time these pockets became filled with a stiff red clay. This history of formation is something of a mixed blessing. If the pockets had not collapsed the crystalline plates would have to be cut or otherwise chiselled off the walls making recovery much more difficult. But of course, because they are collapsed, the plates suffered nearly ubiquitous damage. Although we have not been back to the Diamond Willow for many years now, today it is still in production.

Crystallized quartz in the Thunder Bay District is found in vugs and cavities of varying sizes, from 2 cm across to a cavity large enough that you can crawl in. Donald Elliott describes one pocket that was 15 x 3 x 2. Amethyst crystals from the Thunder Bay District are most commonly cm in size, but larger crystals are also occasionally found. Rarely, very large crystals have been found — a crystal 61 cm across is reported in Elliott Thunder Bay quartz crystals occur in many colours and shades, from colourless to smoky quartz, and the variety amethyst occurs in crystals from delicate pale lilac to a deep purple that can approach black.

The lustre of Thunder Bay amethyst ranges significantly from the best of the brilliant, lustrous crystals at the Diamond Willow Mine some of which look perpetually wet! The inclusion of red highlights, red zones, and even completely red amethyst crystals are all a classic look for Thunder Bay specimens. The crystal morphology of Thunder Bay amethyst is basic, as most crystals exhibit only well-developed pyramidal faces.

Prism faces are uncommon, and doubly-terminated crystals are rare. Some specimens are entirely red, and some show distinct zoning — the crystal surfaces are red and amethyst is evident as an earlier phase growth.

One of the authors has always thought the completely red ones look like clusters of jasper crystals, if only jasper crystals existed. Certain of the completely red crystals have been found to be comprised internally of zoned ametrine, underneath the red outer layer.

The best of the amethyst specimens mined by David and Ian Nicklin at the Diamond Willow Mine are remarkable, in part for their brilliant lustre and exceptional condition. The history of the amethyst discoveries and production of the past is helpful in understanding locality information, particularly for older specimens. Similarly, it would be a feat today to obtain an amethyst specimen excavated in the silver mines of the area before the early 20th century.

These amethysts are contemporary classics for mineral collectors. Because the amethyst-lined vugs of any size naturally have collapsed during their history before anyone has found or collected their contents, excellent quality specimens will always be uncommon, hard to obtain and highly prized.

Quartz, var. Amethyst has been found at many localities over a considerable area within the Thunder Bay District localities up to km apart and mining continues today at a few properties. As Frank Melanson points out, thanks to our winters it is a short mining season, and thanks to the rugged terrain, access and access cost is always an issue, so it is difficult to mine Ontario amethyst profitably. And yet, the lure of the amethyst continues to inspire ongoing efforts, despite the economic hardships and not to mention the black flies!

It is possible to personally collect amethyst in the Thunder Bay District, primarily on a fee-collecting basis, and also at other prospects and exposures. All of the authors have collected amethyst crystals in the Thunder Bay District. Most individual collecting is typically on the dumps, notably at the Amethyst Mine Panorama, but it is difficult to find collector-quality fine mineral specimens on the dumps.

When amethyst was first encountered in the early silver mines of the nineteenth century, no-one would have foreseen the story of Thunder Bay amethyst as it has unfolded. Thanks to the later vision and pioneering efforts of Gunnar Noyes, Rudy Hartviksen and others, those first finds of amethyst would lead to the discovery of significant amethyst deposits and the preservation of spectacular amethyst specimens that now reside in museums and collections all over the world.

It is unclear how many Thunder Bay amethyst mining ventures will be able to continue in the future, but it is likely that fine specimens will continue to be found, in very small numbers, relative to the amount mined. It is also likely that the best amethysts mined by David and Ian Nicklin will, for a very long time, be considered among the finest quality amethysts ever collected in the Thunder Bay District.

Lake Superior, Ontario. Many, different, beautiful amethyst specimens from this locality are available on both McDougall Minerals and David K.

Joyce or McDougall Minerals links to go directly to them. Thank you to the Noyes family for their kindness and generosity, and for enabling the development of their deposit such that Diamond Willow Mine amethyst crystals will be enjoyed in collections worldwide for generations to come. Thanks also to Tory Tronrud and the Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society for kind assistance and permission to share the Fort William mountain train photograph in this article.

Elliott, D. March-April , vol.