March 2021 Program Information
March 2021 Program
Presentation by Jim Bradley – a member who ZOOMed us from Boston, MA!!Jim and his wife, along with a friend of theirs, has made the long trek three times from MA to Ontario, Canada to visit some great digging locations. He said it’s about 750 miles from Amelia Courthouse, VA. They stay in RV camps in their tent, and have a wonderful time visiting with and making new friends. They spend about a week or so at the locations, so there is ample time for collecting. Some of his specimens were tiny – a few mm to quite large – several pounds in size.
He gave us a brief geology lesson about the area being a thrust fault as part of the original Canadian Shield. He visited several areas, with each having their own unique minerals. Jim showed photos of himself covered in mud, inside crevices, and otherwise completely enjoying his digs!! Some areas are fee based, while others are free, and a few need property owner’s permissions. Respect for Mother Earth is a must! He used a wonderful guide book that he bought from the Bancroft Chamber of Commerce which listed locations and mineral types.
Locations included:
• Eganville – green and red apatite
• Desmont Mine at Monmouth – calcite, granite pegmatite, limestone, molybdenite
• Crown properties (must have permit) – fluorite, apatite, amphibole, scapolite
• Beryl pit at Lyndoch Township in Renfrew County – This was a historic area that mined beryl in the 1920s to send to Germany for tank manufacturing. There was tourmaline, beryl and euxenite Y – a rare earth/dump mineral.
• Wilberforce – richterite (only one of 6 locations in the world that have this)
• Haliburton construction site – the guys actually leave minerals lying out for collecting! Tremolite
• Craigmont mine – Corundum found at a huge dump
• Gibson Road – Titanite Hill (Tommy showed us a video last month on ZOOM of this exact area) Calcite vein, green apatite (4” crystals), amphiboles
Jim enticed us with some actual samples –
• Green apatite
• Euxenite (radioactive 2”)
• Hornblende w/ microcline
He told a story of a man who collected so many radioactive samples in Canada, that when he came back across the border, the Geiger counter set off an alarm. Every single sample he had was unwrapped & all items in his car were searched. (The guards did NOT re-wrap them, either!)
Unfortunately, due to COVID, Jim’s travels may be over for a while, but we certainly enjoyed hearing about his adventures and seeing his treasures!! (and I apologize to Jim if I misspelled or misrepresented any specimen or area)
JIM, THANKS SO MUCH FOR SHARING YOUR TIME & TREASURES!!