Mineral Resources

Contents
• Periodic Table of Elements
• Mineral Resources
• Standard classification of metals
• Classification of deposit types (14)
• Non-metals & Industrial Minerals
• Mineral Collecting
• Fireworks
• Gems & Gemstones
• Gem deposits
• Gems in Canada
 Periodic Table of Elements
• Metals (copper)
• Non metals (oxygen)
• Alkali metals (sodium)
• Alkaline earth metals (magnesium)
• Halogens (chlorine)
• Noble gases (helium)
 Name of elements
• Discovered one by one
• Some from the locality where they were found
first (Yttrium from Ytterby, Sweden)
• Greek/ Latin roots in most names
• Hydrogen= ydor, hydro (water) + gene
(creating)
• Helium is the Greek word for the Sun, because
it was discovered there by the spectrum
• Lithium= Greek word for stone, because it
comes from rocks not plants (like its neighbors
on the Table)
• Oxygen= acid creator (erroneously thought)
• Chlorine= means green-yellow
• Nickel= from Old Nick meaning the Devil,
because you get no copper. They thought the
reddish mineral would give Cu on smelting
• Molybdenum= meaning “lead” or “a soft,
black substance that can be used for writing”
• Antimony= “instead of by itself” or not found
by itself, always mixed with other minerals
• Iodine= the color of violet (flower)
• Lanthanum= “easily missed” because it is
hidden among other minerals
• Gold= yellow
• Platinum= “small silver” because it is white
and usually found with gold
• Uranium= from planet Uranus, discovered at
about the same time as the element
 The Elements
• Arranged according to atomic number (size of
atom)
• From element # 1 to element # 26 (Iron)
manufactured by our Sun (the star)
• All higher than # 26 manufactured by
supernova explosion of pre-existing stars
• Therefore, our solar system is second
generation star system (attractive to aliens?)
 The Periodic Table
• Tabular arrangement of elements
• Atomic number is # of protons in the nucleus
• Rows called periods, columns are groups
• 18 columns, 7 rows with a double row below
• 4 rectangular blocks: s-block to the left, p-
block to the right, d-block in the middle & f-
block below
• The table incorporates “recurring trends”, like
similar properties
• Table can also predict properties of new
elements
• Atomic number is # of protons in the nucleus-
equal to # of electrons
• A new row (period) is created when the atom
has a new electron shell & has its first electron
• Elements with the same # of electrons in a
particular shell occupy the same column
• Elements with similar properties belong to the
same group
• Today, 114 confirmed elements
• Only 98 elements occur naturally
• There are 18 columns or groups
 Can change one element to the next
• With a higher atomic number
• Simply by giving it energy
• If unstable, it will give off this extra energy –
doing some useful work – and change back to its
original
• Example from “Jerusalem Dome of the Rock UFO”
• Flash is when it changes into a higher element,
then gives off its energy by climbing up fast while
it changes back to its earlier form – the element
created is probably element 116 which is
unstable
 Electronic equipment we use
• Necessary to have good conductors (metals)
• Need special properties of conductors
• Many of these are provided by the REEs
• Rare Earth Elements: China has the bulk of
them, but others may have them too
• Need exploration to find them
 Where to find information
• Textbooks
• Unfortunately, the textbook for this course is
out of print, new one not ready
 Info on the web
• Mineral Resource Classification: Wikipedia
• Ore Genesis : Wikipedia
• Hydrothermal circulation: Wikipedia
• Hydrothermal synthesis: Wikipedia
• Volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposit:
Wikipedia
• Seafloor massive sulfide deposits: Wikipedia
 Info on elements for project
• Look under name of element / metal
• Look under deposit of that element / metal
• Find something you like or you want to know
more about (such as the gems of Manitoba!)
• Make a presentation and/or send by email
 Where the metals come from?
• Every rock you pick has traces of metals, but
you can’t see them – in trace amounts
• These metals can be absorbed by hot water
solutions going through the rocks
• The solutions will also have other solvents like
sulfur that can dissolve other metals
• When conditions change along the way the
metals can be deposited – they precipitate out
 Examples of changing conditions
• Change in temp. or pressure
• Change in rock type
 Metals
• Their abundance in rocks of various types has
been measured
• In order for them to become “ore” nature has
to collect them in some place or trap
• This concentration over millions of years of
time has created ore deposits
• The concentration factors of metals varies
quite a lot
 Concentration of metals into ore
• abundance concentration factor
• Al 8.2% 4
• Fe 5.6 % 9
• Cu 55 ppm 180
• Zn 70 ppm 700
• Au 4 ppb 1250
• Pt 5 ppb 1000
 Magma
• Dissolves surrounding rocks
• Within a liquid mass, some metals can
accumulate if they are heavier, for example
• These “heavies” accumulate at the bottom of
magma chamber and can solidify to form a
layered deposit when magma cools down, for
example, chromium, platinum
 Human history and resources
• Stone Age
• Copper Age – but Cu is soft
• Bronze Age 3,000 BC – Cu + Sn (tin)
• Iron Age 1,200 BC
• Many new discoveries since industrialization ~
200 years ago
 Mineral Resources
• Resources (available if feasible) v. reserves (ready
to mine)
• Material of economic interest. Needs to be
calculated, usually after drilling. Then, called
“ore”
• Theories on how materials form in the Earth’s
crust: “ore genesis”
• Material has a source, usually magma, then it is
transported and deposited in a suitable
environment (trap)
 Ore genesis processes
• Inside the Earth: magmatic, hydrothermal,
metamorphic
• On the surface of the Earth (example, gold
nuggets in a river)
 Concentration of metals
• One can get a clue of the mineralizing
solutions from the so-called “fluid inclusions”
or remains of those fluids trapped in the rocks
 Fluid Inclusions
• 4 common types
• Aqueous: liquid + minor vapor
• Aqueous: vapor + minor liquid
• Aqueous; liquid, vapor, halite, anhydrite
• CO2 – bearing
 Compare them to our own blood
• Which passes through our body bringing
nourishment, oxygen, etc & removing other
substances
• (blood is a solution identical to the sea water)
• Most metal deposits are sulfides
• But metal sulfides are extremely insoluble in
pure hot water
• Evidence comes from fluid inclusions: small
samples of fluid trapped in minerals
• Inclusions contain a lot of Na, Ca, Mg, Cl & S
and metals
• Metals transported as soluble compounds,
such as PbCl2 + H2S = PbS + 2HCl
 example
• Galena (PbS) precipitated when the lead
compound comes in contact with hydrogen
sulfide gas
Standard classification of metals
 Common ores
• Iron
• Lead-zinc-silver
• Gold
• Platinum
• Nickel
• Copper
• Uranium
• Titanium and zirconium
• Tin, tungsten and molybdenum
• Rare earths, niobium, tantalum, lithium
• Phosphate
• Vanadium
• Gems
• Industrial minerals (sand, gravel,
diatomaceous earth, silica sand)
 Iron (Fe)
• Mostly magnetite in ancient sediments
accumulated on the ocean floor in an oxygen
poor atmosphere and acidic water
• Weathering converts magnetite into hematite,
much easier to process
• Some deposits within the Pilbara region of W.
Australia formed as placer deposits
• They formed by accumulation of hematite gravels
called pisolites, which form channel-iron deposits
 Iron Formations
• Found in Proterozoic rocks (Precambrian)
worldwide
• Large deposits in Ontario & Quebec
• Small occurrences throughout Manitoba –
example, near Bissett
• Big production in Michigan (cell phones may
not work in some places due to abundant
magnetite deposits)
 Lead-Zinc -Silver
• Form by the discharge of deep sedimentary brine
onto the sea floor (SEDEX), or by replacement of
limestone, some associated with volcanoes.
• Vast majority of SEDEX deposits are of
Proterozoic age, some are of Jurassic age.
• The carbonate replacement type deposits form
by degradation of limestone by hydrocarbons
which are thought to be important for
transporting lead
 Pb-Zn-Ag
• The minerals are galena & sphalerite. Silver is
found in inclusions within galena
• Silver-rich galena will have a striped
appearance (see hand samples)
 Gold (Au)
• Form in a very wide variety
• Primary or placer or residual
• Plate tectonics generates gold deposits
• Primary are lode or intrusion-related
• Lodes associated with orogeny or other
collision events
• Most lode deposits sourced from
metamorphic rocks
• Form by dehydration of basalt during
metamorphism
• Gold transported up faults by hydrothermal
waters and deposited when the water cools too
much to retain gold in solution
• Lode deposits are high-grade, thin, vein or fault-
hosted. Usually in quartz veins or reefs
• Usually hosted in basalt or in sediments known as
turbidites, although when in faults that may be in
granite
• Intrusive-related gold hosted in granite,
porphyry or dikes. May also contain copper,
tin, tungsten, etc
• These deposits rely on gold existing in the
fluids associated with the magma
• Placer deposits form via gravity with gold
sinking into a trap or bends in rivers
Gold “Reef”, Quebec
East Malartic mine, Quebec
Next to the town of Malartic
Gold in a chert horizon
 Laterite gold
• Form after prolonged weathering of primary
gold deposits
• Example: Ketza deposit in the Yukon – see
samples
Ketza river mine
 Uses of Au
• For 70 years it was a standard treatment for
rheumatoid arthritis to inject a liquid
suspension of gold, which acts like an anti-
inflammatory – no one knows why or how
• Windows coated with Au to help reflect the
sun in the summer and retain heat in winter
• About 20 % of decorative gold is in the thread
of Indian saris
 Toronto’s Royal Bank Plaza
• Two 41-and- 26 storey towers
• Has 14,000 windows
• All have very thin coating of 24-carat gold leaf
• 2,500 ounces (70.8 kg) of gold worth over 1
million $
 Can you change metal into Au?
• Soviet nuclear reactors transformed some lead
nuclei into gold
220 oz X $1,500= $330,000
 Gold in history
• World production from ancient times to now
is about 165,000 tons
• A lot is reused
• Biggest source of gold is in the ocean water,
but you can’t recover it
• Alexander inherited 5,000 tons of gold –the
bulk of the gold produced prior to zero year -
when he conquered Persia (it brought its gold
from Uzbekistan / Tajikistan, Persia had none)
• Egypt has many gold treasures, but the
country has no gold – it brought it from Sudan
• The Incas of ancient Peru had lots of gold from
the volcanic / igneous rocks of the Andes
• California “started” with the Gold Rush, later a
“Yukon Rush” in the Klondike area (depicted in
movies of Charlie Chaplin)
• Latest production comes from the shallow
“black smokers” of the Pacific ocean
 Platinum (Pt)
• Pt and palladium are generally found within
ultramafic rocks
• Source of the metals is rocks that have enough
sulfur to form a sulfide mineral while the
magma is still liquid
• The sulfide mineral (pyrite, etc) gains platinum
by mixing with the bulk of the magma because
Pt is chalcophile (it likes Cu) and is
concentrated in sulfides
• Sulfide phases only form in ultramafic
magmas when the magma reaches sulfur
saturation.
• To achieve sulfur saturation magma must get
contaminated with sulfur-rich wallrock or
mixed with other magma
• Often, Pt is associated with Ni, Cu, Cr and Co
deposits
 Most of world’s production
• Comes from the Merensky Reef in South
Africa, a continuous layer that formed by
fractional crystallization within one magma
chamber
• Minor production comes from Thompson,
Man. and Norilsk, Siberia
• Pt used in seat belts – excellent conductor
 Nickel (Ni)
• Two types, as sulfide or laterite
• Sulfide form the same way as Pt deposits
• Ni is a chalcophile element which prefers
sulfides, so an ultramafic or mafic rock which
has a sulfide phase in the magma may form
nickel sulfides.
• Best Ni deposits accumulate at the base of
komatiite lavas (Mg-rich)
 Thompson / Voisey Bay deposits
• Subvolcanic sills host Ni sulfide deposits
formed by deposition of sulfides near the
feeder vent. Sulfide was accumulated near the
vent due to the less of magma velocity at the
vent interface
 Sudbury deposits
• The Sudbury Basin or the Sudbury Nickel
Irruptive is a major geologic structure in
Ontario
• It is the second largest impact crater on Earth
as well as one of the oldest (1.8 b.y. old)
• The large impact crater filled with magma rich
in Ni, Cu, Pt, Pd, Au & other metals
 Norilsk deposits, Siberia
• Largest Ni-Cu-Pd deposits in the world
• Deposit formed 250 m.y. ago during the eruption
of the Siberian Trap Igneous Province (STIP). The
STIP erupted over I million cubic km of lava, a
large portion of it through a series of flat-lying
conduits
• The ore formed when the erupting magma
became saturated in sulfur, forming globules of
sulfides. These sulfides were then “washed” by
the continuing torrent of erupting magma &
upgraded their tenor with Ni, Cu, Pt & Pd
Rich Pt-Cu ore
 Ni laterite deposits
• Similar to formation of gold laterites except
that ultramafic or mafic rocks are required
• Very large olivine-bearing ultramafic
intrusions
New Caledonia
 Uses of Ni
• The Loonie: bronze plated on pure Ni (7 g wt)
• In CDs, cell phones, batteries, electric shavers,
golf clubs, credit cards, etc
 Copper (Cu)
• Either formed within sedimentary rocks or in
igneous rocks
• Most major copper deposits within the
granitic porphyry copper style
• Sedimentary Cu forms in ocean basins. Cu is
precipitated by brine from deeply buried
sediment (similar to SEDEX zinc)
 Uranium (U)
• Source is radioactive granites when certain
minerals like monazite are leached during
hydrothermal activity or by circulation of
groundwater
• U is brought into solution by acidic conditions
& is deposited when this acidity is neutralized
• Generally this occurs in carbon-bearing
sediments within an unconformity
• U also found in coal and in all granites
• Radon gas creates a problem in U mining
• 40% of world U in the Olympic Dam deposit in
Australia. U in granite & porphyry
 Uranium City area, Sask.
• Production from 1960’s until 1982
• Newer high grade deposits discovered under
the Athabasca sandstone Basin in N. Sask.
have huge reserves & tremendous potential
• Unconformity with underlying basement is the
target wherever graphite sediments are
present
Canadian Shield
North American craton
Uranium properties/mines
Geology of the Basin
Unconformity U deposits
Rocks with uranium
 Top: “comb quartz crystals
bottom: fractured rock with many veins
 Titanium & Zirconium (Ti, Zr)
• Mostly found as mineral sands
• By accumulation of heavy minerals in beaches
(like placer)
• Titanium as ilmenite, rutile & leucoxene
• Zirconium as zircon
• Thorium in monazite
• All found in granite. After erosion &
transportation by rivers into beaches
 Zircon
• Yellow grains in granite
• Contains U, Th
• Used as a opacifier (make things opaque) in
ceramics
 Tin, tungsten & Molybdenum
• Form in certain type of granites
• Skarn deposits form by reaction of mineralized
fluids with the rocks – such as limestone -
surrounding the granite
 Tin
• To make tin cans
• Making bronze
• Now only produced in Malaysia from alluvial
deposits
Tin veins in granite, Cornwall, UK:
details later on
 Tungsten
• Heavy metal, rare in nature
• Used in steel, carbide, lamp filaments
 Molybdenum
• Found with Cu in porphyry deposits
• Used in making steel
 Rare Earths, Niobium, Tantalum,
Lithium
• The majority of REEs +tantalum & lithium-
found within pegmatite
• Probable origin by metamorphism & igneous
activity
• Lithium as spodumene & lepidolite
• Carbonatite intrusions an important source of
these elements
Bernic Lake, Manitoba: Tanco mine
• Lithium
• Cesium (80% of world’s production)
• Tantalum
• Columbium
• Beryllium
 Hoidas Lake, N. Sask.
• 50 km north of Uranium City
• Most advanced REEs property in Canada
(ready for mining)
• Named after a WWII pilot who died in action
• Contains a significant amount of heavy REEs,
such as dysprosium- used in hybrid car
components
• Unfortunately, there is some U in the ore
 Phosphate
• Used as fertilizers
• Immense quantities in sedimentary rocks from
the Proterozoic age to now
• The source of P is the skeletons of marine
animals
• Another source is intrusions like nepheline
syenite & carbonatites
• The P is in apatite & monazite
 Vanadium (V)
• Found in blood cells of vanabins in the sea
• Biological processes responsible for the
deposits
• Also found in crude oil & oil sands
• Added to iron to make steel
 Tellurium (means from the earth) has accomplished:
• Cheaper photovoltaics
• More robust CDs
• Spectacular pictures from the Hubble
telescope
• However, when you work with the metal it
enters body and for many months your sweat,
urine has a garlic smell!
Classification of deposit types
 ORE DEPOSIT MODELS
• 14 types
 1.Layered mafic-ultramafic intrusions
• Intrusions with Ni-Cu sulfides at the base
• Fractional crystallization with density
stratification
• Chromite-rich layers (Cr) – Bird River, Man.
• Other metals: Pt group elements
• Cross Lake: magnetite with Ti
2.Carbonatite Alkaline intrusions: REEs
• Igneous intrusions made up of calcite-
dolomite-ankerite with apatite & magnetite
• Alkaline (Na and K rich) volcanic rocks
• Related to continental rifting & alkaline
volcanism
• REEs: Ce, Y, La, Sm, Eu
Example from Montreal area
“mounts” with various rock types
 Mont St. Hilaire, Que.
• One of the Monteregian hills
• Has 3 distinct intrusions: gabbro, nepheline
syenite with pegmatites
• Famous mineral locality- rare & exotic
• 366 minerals, 50 of which are “endemic” (type
location)
• Most Fe-rich biotite in the world
Hill with spa
Carletonite : type locality
Rare Earth minerals
Purple syenite complex
“Mounts” around Montreal
Lac St. Jean area: Niobec mine
Syenite pegmatite
 3. Porphyry Copper intrusions
• Porphyritic granitic rocks with a network of
chalcopyrite veins
• At collision of plate boundaries of Andean
type or island arcs – mountains today
• Alteration zones with inner potassic, outer
sericite & peripheral chlorite-epidote
• Fluids from the pluton followed by later lower
temp. fluids leaching Cu & S from the magma
& surrounding rocks
Porphyry copper deposits
Cross section
Alteration zones
Example: Cerro Colorado, Panama
The deposit is the whole mountain
Paths are for exploring & moving drill
Platforms are for drilling
Steep terrain
Paths 100 m apart vertically
Camp in the valley
Old volcano in the distance
Geologist
House of natives, this guy had 9 daughters
Armed forces paid a visit
Office and core shack
My map: red is porphyry, green is granite
3D of deposit
 Cerro Colorado Cu-Mo deposit
• Cu –Mo not visible on surface, they have been
oxidized and removed from near surface
• The “country rock” is basalt that deposited on
the ocean floor
• Two main intrusions: a porphyry (red on map)
and granite (green). Both are mineralized with
a network of veins carrying chalcopyrite
(yellow) and molybdenite (bluish) and minor
pyrite
 Alteration zones
• The distribution of the Cu-Mo follows the
alteration pattern
• Higher grades are in the potassic & sericite zones
and lower grades in the chlorite/calcite/epidote
zone
• There seem to be two separate deposits that
formed by the two different intrusions of the area
(porphyry & granite)
• One of the biggest in the world with reserves
over 3 b.tons (reserves calculated down to sea
level). Highest elevation is 1,600 m
Made headlines in Northern Miner
2 of the geologists & the boss in NFLD
The deposit does not reach surface
Protests are numerous
 4. Complex Pegmatites
• Late stage of granitic intrusions that have
undergone fractional crystallization
• The last fraction of the magma would be rich
in water & incompatible elements that could
not fit into the earlier formed minerals
• Li, Be,B,F, Rb, Cs, REE, Th, U, Ti, Zr, Hf, Sn,Nb
 5. Massive sulfides – Cyprus type
• Massive pyrite with Cu & Zn sulfides in pillow
basalt (ophiolite)
• The ophiolite represent portions of the ocean
crust formed at mid-ocean ridges. Seawater
circulates through fractured basalt & heated
to 400’ C, while metals are leached from
basalt and deposited on ocean floor
• Part of ocean floor is preserved by thrusting
onto adjacent continent
Cyprus: origin of the word “copper”
 6. Cu-Zn felsic volcanic deposits
• Cu & Zn in marine volcanic rocks
• In island arcs related to subduction zones
• Examples in Japan, Ontario, Quebec
 7. Uranium clastic sedimentary
deposits
• In permeable sandstone that cemented later
• U from volcanoes
 8. Mississippi Valley carbonate Pb-Zn
• Galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite in porous
rocks related to reefs
• In dolomite & breccias
• Epigenetic ore (after the rock formed)
• Cambrian to Carboniferous
• Metals from basement. Low-temperature
fluids & highly saline with sulfur
Example: Pine Point, NWT
Open pit operation
Pine Point deposits
Galena
 Samples showing
• Galena – sphalerite with calcite/dolomite
• Pockets of sulfur
• Pockets of bitumen
• The host rock -limestone/dolomite- has been
altered by the mineralizing fluids
• When you hit the rock with the hammer it
smells gasoline (it contains petroleum/oil from
remains of marine animals like corals)
 9. Banded Iron Formations
• Layered with chert
• Great lateral extent
• Deposited in shallow water (shelf)
• Mostly Proterozoic in age
• High dissolved content of SiO2 and Fe+2 in
seawater from leaching sea volcanoes
 10. Aluminum Ore- bauxite
• Weathering over any aluminum-rich rock
(granite)
• Mainly Cenozoic
• Clay minerals associated with hematite, limonite
• Tropical climate promotes breakdown of
feldspars into clays rich in Al. Silica, Iron & other
solubles leached out
• ALCAN: Canadian co. has smelter in Kitimat, BC
bauxite
bauxite
 11. Placer deposits: Au, Diamonds &
heavy minerals
• Pt, Au, diamonds, magnetite, chromite,
ilmenite, cassiterite, zircon
• Concentration in low-energy areas of stream
flow (inner curves of meanders)
World’s largest nugget
 12. Tin vein –Cornwall type
• Quartz-cassiterite (+/- Tungsten, base metals)
veins associated with granite
• Intrusions in fold belts or collision of
continents
• Similarities with porphyry coppers with
alteration patterns
• Oxides within granite and outer sulfides of Cu,
Zn, Pb, antimony
 Cornwall, U.K.
• Southwest corner of England
• People are Celts that have worked the tin
mines for ~ 2,500 years
• Production from here responsible for Bronze
Age
• Ancient Greek mariners called the British Isles
“the Cassiterides” which means the Tin Islands
• In the 1800’s more than 300 mines, declined
slowly, none left today
• The miners moved to California, S.Africa &
Australia. Some into Ireland where they call them
“Tinkers” prob. because they worked with tin.
The Irish don’t like them, treat them like the
gypsies. Their graves are spectacular & spend a
fortune on them – see pictures
• The Cornish recently became semi-independent
and have their own language (Kernow)
• Local products: Cornish pasties, clotted cream
Tinkers’ graves
Granite (red), killas (brown), veins
(yellow)
 Cornish words
• Killas is their word for “country rocks” or local
rocks
• Elvans is how they call the dikes or small
intrusions like walls
• Mine names usually start with “Wheal”, like
Wheal Jane is one of them
Tin ore
Tin veins
 13. Mercury – Almaden type (Spain)
• Stratabound disseminated cinnabar (HgS) &
native mercury in volcaniclastic sedimentary rock
• Permeable sedimentary rocks near volcanic
center with faulting
• No metamorphism or granite intrusion
• Modern hot springs are associated with Hg
deposits suggesting ancient deposits formed by
circulating hot fluids along faults, with the
volcanic rocks acting as the source of the Hg
• Low solubility of Hg compounds requires very
large amounts of fluid. Hot springs may
provide such an environment
• Hg has a low boiling point, it may be
transported as a vapor & deposited as pure
(native) Hg
Mercury (quicksilver) ore
 14. Nickel laterite deposits
• Deep weathering of ultramafic rocks in warm
humid climate
• Enriched in Ni, Co, Cr
• Alteration from top down, red & yellow soil
(limonite), saprolite, altered ultramafic rocks
Another classification
 Abundant Metals
• Al
• Fe
• Mg
• Ti
 Scarce Metals
• Base metals: Zn, Cu, Pb, Sn, Cd, Hg
• Ferroalloys : V, Cr, Ni, Co, Mo, W, Mn
• Precious metals: Au, Ag
• Platinum group metals: Pt, Pd
• Rare Earth metals
 Lightest & Heaviest
• Lithium v. Uranium
 Non-metals & Industrial minerals
• Limestone, clays, sand, gravel, diatomite,
silica, barite, gypsum, talc, perlite, zeolites, etc
• Used in construction, ceramics, paints,
electronics, filtration, plastics, glass,
detergents, paper, agriculture, etc
 Fertilizers
• Nitrogen
• Phosphorus
• Potassium
• Sulfur
 Evaporites
• Potash
• Salt (halite)
• Gypsum & Anhydrite
• Borates
• Sodium sulfate
 Potash
• ~ 30 % of world’s supply from Sask.
• Reserves for centuries
• One danger: flooding by water
• 1 km deep layers within sedimentary rocks
• Devonian age deposited in a cut-off portion of
the ocean
 Salt (halite)
• Groundwater down to about a 200 m depth is
fresh
• Below that it is saline (brine)
• An anomaly (man-made or not) can bring
saline water higher up – like south of
Winnipeg
Salt in Manitoba
Salts in the Prairies
 Gypsum
• Making gyprock (drywall, plasterboard)
• Raw gypsum is heated and water driven off,
then partially re-hydrated, wet product then
sandwiched between two heavy sheets of
paper and dried
 Barite (means “heavy”) & usage
• Has a SG of 4.5 (~ double of ordinary rock)
• In drilling muds
• In pigments, paper industry
• In playing cards (denser) – easier to “deal”
• Blocks X rays & gamma rays
 Silica sand (mostly quartz)
• Many, many uses
• Found in deposits of sand in non-tropical
areas
• Making glass, concrete, sandblasting,
industrial casting, etc
• Fine quartz, however, is dangerous if inhaled
(silicosis)
 Silicon Valley, California
• South part of San Fransisco
• Silicon chip semiconductor used in high
technology operations (computers)
• 1/3 of venture capital in the USA raised here
• Best place for high tech jobs in the USA
• Many universities
• Specialists recruited/come from around the
world
 The many uses of Fluorite
• Making glasses, enamel & ceramics
• Non-stick Teflon cookware
• In production of steel as flux –removes sulfur
• Has exceptional optical clarity & used as
lenses that show extremely sharp image- for
cameras, microscopes & telescopes
 Sulfur
• Bright yellow crystals at room temperature
• Can react as either an oxidant or reducing
• Common as sulfide of metals or sulphate
• Brimstone (burn stone) used as fumigant
• Rotten egg smell (hydrogen sulfide & SO2)
• Responsible for smell in cabbage, broccoli, garlic,
onion & skunk
• In proteins, aminoacids
• In Canada, byproduct of natural gas, petroleum &
Tar Sands
 Carbon
• All Life is carbon based (organic chemistry)
• Element known since ancient times
• Diamond & graphite (good conductor)
• Found in limestone, CO2 gas & methane CH3
• Forms more compounds than any other element,
more than 10 million
• Has no melting point, it sublimes
• Forms carbides (extremely hard) with tungsten
• In order to form Life, carbon needs to get
scattered in space as dust from supernova
explosions and then later incorporated into a
2nd or 3rd generation star (our Solar System is
3rd)
 Graphite
• Both USA & EU declared graphite as a strategic
mineral
• Important in high technology & green energy
• 80% produced in China, however, reserves are
declining
 Many uses
• Refractories
• Batteries
• Brake linings
• Steel making
• Laptop computers
 Manganese
• World’s healthiest foods rich in Mn (cloves,
oats, rye, spinach, etc)
• We need small amounts in diet
• Primary use in making steel
• Not found in native (pure) state, usually
associated with iron
• Name from Magnesia, Greece, confused with
magnetite, but Mn NOT magnetic
• Found on the ocean floor as nodules, but too
difficult to mine, est. 500 billion tons
• Can have neurological problems if too much in
the body from drinking water, etc
• Used as additive to gasoline (instead of lead)
 Selenium (=moon)
• Found with sulfur
• Used in electronics, glassmaking & pigments
• Used in medical pills (thyroid problems) &
infant formula
• Many thyroid problems in Europe after the
Yugoslavia war of 2001 when U bombs were
used for first time
 Neon
• One of the noble gases
• Inert, not reactive gas
• 5th most abundant element in the Universe
after H, He, C, O
• Has a notably bright red light
• Used in advertizing signs
 Aggregates
• Sand & gravel
• Crushed stone
• Cement
 Dimension stone
• Limestone – common in Manitoba
• Granite – expensive, mostly as counter top
• Gneiss – expensive, mostly as counter top
• Peridotite – green with marble-like finish,
Winnipeg Convention Center
• Granite porphyry – Regina Government
buildings
Limestone / dolomite/cement
 Quicklime or calcium oxide (CaO)
• Calcium oxide is obtained by heating limestone at
more than 825 degrees C to liberate carbon
dioxide gas
• If left alone it can grab CO2 from the air to form
limestone again
• If quicklime is heated to 2,400’C it emits an
intense glow, called limelight; was used in old
theatres before the advent of electricity
• Quicklime is the main ingredient to make cement
 (Portland) cement
• Bricklayer Joseph Aspdin of Leeds, England
first made cement early in 19th cent. by
burning powdered limestone and clay in his
kitchen stove
• To make cement today we use limestone, clay,
silica sand and iron ore. They are heated at
high temp. and form a rock-like substance that
is ground into the extremely fine powder we
call cement
 cement
• Cement is mixed with water to make mortar
• Or mixed with sand, gravel and water to make
concrete
 Other uses of CaO
some info from visit to Limestone Quarry

• To neutralize acidity in base metal mines, like

in Flin Flon who are treating sulfide-rich ore
(acidic)
• With water it gives out a lot of energy, so it
can be used for on-the-spot food warming
• Farming to neutralize acidity in soil
• In pulp mills
• In petroleum industry
 Bricks
• Made with soil, clay, chalk and sand
• Fibers are added to add strength and reduce
shrinkage as the clay dries up
• They are set to dry in a mold
Rock/Mineral collecting in Canada
• 130 clubs
• Bancroft, Ontario: 1 of only 3 in the world,
where ancient conditions created nearly every
known volcanic & metamorphic rock &
mineral
• Mont-St-Hilaire, E of Montreal – among the
top 10 in the world sporting 366 minerals
• Bay of Fundy: endless varieties of agate also
zeolite & amethyst
• Thunder Bay: abundant amethyst, even the
highways are purple in color. Also agate
• Souris pit: agates & petrified wood
 Bancroft, Ont.
• Major attraction is the mineral-rich
pegmatites. They are like magma that could
not come to the surface as lava, instead it
cooled at depth slowly
• Rose quartz (color due to Al?) is prominent
• Apatite, sodalite, rare earths, uraninite, zircon
• Marble was used across the country
 Feldspars, a major product
• Part of ceramics, enamel, pottery
• To make paints, soaps, roofing, tiles
• Its highest grade to make false teeth
• Its lowest grade in whipping up stucco
• With hot water, it turns into kaolin
 The elements in FIREWORKS
• Ancient Chinese used a mixture of sulfur,
saltpeter and charcoal that was very
flammable and would explode if put in a
miniature amount of space. That was 7 th cent.
• However, at the same time the “Greek Fire”
was invented in 672 AD. Although its
composition was a state secret and remained
so, it must have been a mixture of things like
pine resin, naphtha, quicklime, sulfur & niter
 Matches
• Red phosphorus is used and obtained from
apatite
• It is less inflammable that real phosphorus
The “Greek Fire” – in Greek, “liquid fire”
Clay grenades filled with Greek Fire
 Anatomy of fireworks: many parts
• A launching tube, 3 X the length of the
fireworks shells, but exactly the same
diameter
• When the gunpowder ( 75% saltpeter, 15%
charcoal, 10 % sulfur) burns, the heat and gas
are trapped & force their way to the surface
until an explosion happens & they become
airborne
• A fuse
 Ingredients
• An oxidizer, a reducing agent, a coloring agent,
binders and regulators
• Oxidizers (chlorate) produce the oxygen to
burn the mixture
• Reducing agents burn the oxygen to make hot
gases
• Binders hold the mixture in a lump
 Incandescence & luminescence
• The light produced from heat is incandescence
• Ti & Al used to increase the temp. & cause the
firework to burn brighter
• Light produced by energy sources other than
heat is luminescence
• Energy absorbed by an electron will cause it to
be excited. When the electron’s energy is
lowered it is released as light
 Colors
• Fe, Ti, Cu creates blue
• Co green, Ni yellow
• Cr pink, red
• Al to give silver & white colors & sparks
• Zn makes smoke clouds
• Ba for green, Sr, Li for red, Mg for white &
yellow, Na for gold & yellow
• Cl brightens the colors
 Fluorescent Minerals
• UV radiation generated by a uv lamp
• About 15% of minerals respond well to longwave
uv energy
• Named after fluorite, the 1st mineral to show it
• Longwave LED (Light-emitting Diode) lights are
popular, they generate less heat than ordinary
ones
• You can’t look directly into uv light, it’s like
looking at the sun
• Also uv light burns the skin
Fluorescent minerals
 GEMS & gemstones
• Have intrigued people for the last 7,000 years
• The first known were amethyst, rock crystal,
amber, garnet, jade, jasper, coral, lapis lazuli,
pearl, serpentine, emerald and turquoise
• Were reserved for the wealthy as status symbols.
Sealed documents had jewel-encrusted seals
• Had a mystery, spiritual & were worn as amulets.
They could repulse evil, preserve health
 Warning!
• Imitations of gems with synthetic varieties are
widespread today
• You can easily be fooled by merchants
• Up to the beginning of 19th cent. used as
medicine against illnesses
• Even today calcium tablets made out of
powdered pearls are sold for medicinal
purposes in Japan
• Linked to astrology and allocated to zodiac as
birthstones
• Priests, bishops and kings wear them
Austrian crown recovered in Winnipeg
in 2007!
• A strange bank robbery on Empress St. in 1998
surprised police who conducted a world-wide
search that ended in a St. James home where
the Austrian jewel-encrusted broach – the
Koechert Pearl Diamond of the Empress of
Austria- was found. It had been stolen 9 years
before
• A very sophisticated robbery
 Precious & semi-precious stones
• In the past were only a few, now many
• Most are minerals
• No official list
• Semi-precious are softer stones
• Profusion of names, some created to boost
sales, examples are tanzanite (blue zoisite)
and tsavorite (green garnet)
 Physical properties
• Crystal structure
• Crystals grow in the available open spaces in the
rocks, so they take up various shapes
• Hardness: most gems are hard
• Specific gravity
• Color (can be modified or changed)
• Refractive index & double refraction
• Inclusions (old “flaws”)- may boost price
• Mining still primitive (except for diamonds)
 Gem deposits
• Rare, because the conditions that promote
their formations are unusual and thus worthy
of scientific study
• Basically, if you want to prospect for gems go
to the mountains or eroded mountains, like in
Manitoba
 GEM deposits
• Can be classified according to environment of
formation or present location
• 1. Magmatic
• 2. Hydrothermal
• 3. Metamorphic
• 4. Sedimentary
• 5. Placer
Some can be found in more than one class
 1. Magmatic
• Diamonds found within volcanic kimberlite –
names from Kimberley, S. Africa- and
lamproite – Argyle mine in W. Australia
• Vertical pipe-like bodies called diatremes
• Kimberlite forms from a very explosive
volatile-rich (high pressure) magma that forms
~ 150 km below the surface. As it travels
upwards it fractures surrounding rocks, so
kimberlite has many xenoliths (foreign rocks)
Canada’s 1st mine at Ekati, NWT opened 1998
Currently, world’s 3rd biggest producer: Canada
Arkansas has a “diamond park” open to the
public (finders-keepers). The eroded surface of
an ancient volcanic pipe, 95 m.y. old
• Biggest ever found: Cullinan at 3106 carats,
the “Star of Africa” – polished 530 carats
• 2nd biggest from same mine, Cullinan II, at 545
carats- polished 317 carats
• Largest diamond in Canada came from the
Attawapiskat mine at 35 carats
• Canadian diamonds are also called “conflict-
free”, but don’t tell that to the
Attawapiskatees
Attawapiskat
The rough Cullinan
 Sapphires
(name means “blue stone” originally used for lapis)

• Yellow/green/pink/blue varieties of corundum

• Formed deep inside the crust & were brought
in basaltic magma. However, they are rare
• Economic deposits only found when basalt is
weathered & eroded away, leaving behind the
heavier minerals such as sapphires & zircons
which become concentrated in placer deposits
 Corundum Al2O3
• Sapphire and Ruby
• Second hardest mineral / substance
• Synthetic corundum used in optical scanning
devises like grocery store checkout counters
• Originate in marble / gem gravel deposits
• Source thought to be basalt
• Ruby can have unique asterism aspect
 Madagascar
• One of the poorest countries in the world
• > 50 % of population below poverty line of
$1/day (World Bank)
• Has one of the largest gem deposits on the
planet
• The sapphire trade links some of the poorest
people to some of the world’s richest people
• Temporary communities hunt along rivers &
keep moving
 Canada’s 1st sapphire
• On Baffin Island, Nunavut
• Sampled in 2004 yielded 142 grams
• One stone (picture) produced a 1.17 carat
sapphire gem – the first in Canada
 Ruby
• Can also be classified under metamorphic or
placer
Ruby
 Other magmatic
• Peridot: olivine found in mantle xenoliths
• Labradorite: in basalt
• Zircon: in granite/basalt/carbonatite
• Apatite: in carbonatites
• Garnets: in basalt /granite/gneiss
Peridot (olivine)
• Found in lavas and rocks from the mantle
• Can be mistaken for an emerald
• Can also be found in meteorites (pallasites)
• Largest gem is 310 carats
• A 3 to 4 carat stone sells for $ 40 – 80
Labradorite
From Madagascar
• Type location is in Paul’s island, Labrador, but
also found in other places
• Found in basalt and gabbro
• Iridescence produced within crystals of
feldspar by light diffraction between “layers”
• A pendant, 26 X 40 mm sells for $35
Zircon
Apatite
 2. Hydrothermal deposits
• Most gemstones formed from volatile-rich
fluids in pegmatites
• Opal, turquoise
• Li & B –rich form tourmaline
• F-rich form topaz
• Be-rich form beryl or aquamarine
• Emerald, also from Be-rich fluids
• Volcanic opal also from fluids. It contains
many inclusions of water & cracks easily
• Ancient mines in Slovakia worked for 2,500
years. Found in Nevada, Mexico & Australia
• Amethyst, agates, petrified wood &
chalcedony are all varieties of quartz or silica
& form from hydrothermal fluids in volcanic
environments
Turquoise (means “brought through Turkey”)
• Derived from low temp. fluids by the
weathering of pre-existing sedimentary
phosphate deposits
• Mined for 4,000 years
• Found in Persia (Iran, country of the
“pure”race), Arizona, Mexico
• Beware of imitations!
• $ 2 to $40 per carat
Turquoise
Aztec God of Fire
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem
 PEGMATITES
• The source of the world’s finest tourmaline,
beryl & topaz and the main source of more
than 70 gemstones
• Host to an extreme diverse mixture of exotic
minerals & the sole source of very rare
minerals
• Combination of gigantic crystals & extreme
enrichment of rare elements
Baffin Island, Nunavut: white lines are
pegmatites
Aquamarine
• Important source of Be, Nb, Ta, Sn, Li, Rb, Cs & Ga
• Most of the world’s renowned pegmatites are
now mined mainly for gems
• Pegmatites come in many sizes & shapes
• Their internal structure can be simple (all crystals
same size), zoned (layers of many sizes of
crystals), while the complex have superimposed
areas of later alteration with other minerals
• Complex pegmatites have pockets or vugs
lined with beautiful gem crystals
• The main ingredients of most pegmatites are
quartz, feldspar and mica
• Gems may form layers in between the above
or as pockets
 Fluids rich in
• H2O, B, Li, F, P, CO2
• Rare elements such as Cs, Ta, Nb, REE, Zr, U,
Sn
“Gem pockets”
Colorado
 Tourmaline
• Great variety of colors and compositions
• A boron silicate with many other metals
• Found worldwide
• A large cut gem of 191 carats, flawless oval
from Brazil was presented in Montreal in 2009
for selling purposes
• Another from Mozambique sells for $ 5,000
per carat
This picture can’t be copied!
Topaz
 Topaz
• A silicate with aluminum and fluorine
• Name from name of a small island in the Red
Sea (Topazos) where a yellow stone was
mined
• It may not be the mineral we call topaz today
• Price per carat: from $10 to $700
Colorless variety
Yellow variety
 Beryl
• Price per carat: $30 to $200
• A beryllium silicate
• Name means “precious blue –green color –of-
sea-water stone”
 Aquamarine: blue variety of beryl
• Means “water of the sea”
• Color can change or be improved by
irradiation
 Emerald: green variety of beryl
• Symbol of immortality for 4000 years
• Cleopatra’s mine was thought to be the only
source
• Now, it is possible to track gem to its source,
country and individual mine!
• They have very specific oxygen isotope levels,
reflecting composition & temp. of the fluids
that deposited them as well as the rocks that
its elements flowed through
 “The Secret Life of Emeralds”
• To measure the isotopes, bombard gem with a
beam of charged caesium atoms
• Those from the Holy Crown in France came
from the Swat-Mingora distruct in Pakistan, a
big surprise to the investigators
• Another surprise was emeralds in India came
from Columbia!
• Columbia emeralds are unique, rich in color,
clarity and bigger crystals
• Green color due to trace amounts of
chromium and some vanadium
• Relatively rare stone, hence it is very pricy
• Price per carat: from $20 to $500 or much
higher
• Hardness 7.5 to 8 (one of the hardest
substances)
 Canada’s emeralds
• Yukon: found in pegmatites, are Vanadium-
rich, discovered in 1998
Yukon’s emeralds
Dryden, Ont. emeralds
 3. Metamorphic deposits
• Garnet, lapis, zoisite, ruby & emerald
• Most rubies in high-grade meta. rocks like
gneiss & marble –Burma the largest producer
• Most of world’s emeralds mined in
carbonaceous schists in Colombia
• Lilac/purple variety of cordierite (iolite) in
gneiss (in Manitoba)
 Jade (green due to Fe)
• World’s toughest stone
• Mixture of two minerals: jadeite & nephrite
• Lillooet area has the world’s biggest reserves
• Prized for its toughness & its almost mirror
finish when polished
• When hit with a hammer, it produces tiny,
feathery cracks, unique for jade
• Jade is an aggregate of two minerals, jadeite
(pyroxene) & nephrite (amphibole)
• Very tough, the two minerals are strongly
interlocking
• Jadeite is glassy, bright & crystalline. Found
mostly in Burma
• Nephrite is what the Chinese have venerated
for millenia. BC has reserves to meet world
demand for several hundred years
Unworked
Display at Jade City, BC
Bringing more pieces
In China jade worth more than
gold
Prospecting for jade in Jade River,
China
 Garnet
• Six varieties with different names
• Differences in chemical composition and color
• Used as gemstones and abrasives (sandpaper)
since the Bronze Age
• Also, sand blasting and wood finishing
• Abundant supply in mineral sands in India &
Australia
Deep red color
 Lapis Lazuli “heaven stone”
• Means “stone of the blue”
• In ancient times known as “sapphirus”, which
today we use for the blue corundum (sapphire)
• One mine in Afghanistan, 7,000 years old (Sar-e-
Sang) in the region called Badhakshan (name
from ancient Greek Balaskia, which means the
Vault). Treacherous terrain of precipitous
mountains
• Flourishing trade due to its unusual color
• Color due to sulfur-rich mineral, also contains
grains of pyrite & white marble
 4. Sedimentary deposits
• The most valuable is precious opal
• Some deposits are complete replacement of
fossil shells, dinosaurs, belemnites, etc
• Others are as replacement layers within
sedimentary rocks, but discontinuous & as
small pods a few cm thick
Opal, Australia
Coober Pedy, Australia
Opalized bivalve (seashell)
250,000 mine shafts!
“Opal capital of the world”
“dugout”
 Coober Pedy
• In the middle of the desert
• To avoid extreme heat of the summer people
dug underground houses. They remain at
constant temperature. Cost as much to build
as house on surface. You can do mining at the
same time
• Prospectors given 15.3 m2 parcels of land to
explore. No large-scale mining allowed
 5. Placer deposits
• Because of their toughness and resistance to
erosion, gemstones are relatively abundant as
placer deposits along rivers
• Diamonds, sapphires, zircons, topaz, rubies,
garnets, agates & petrified wood
 Mineral sands: everyone, every day
are using them
• Paint on the wall, color in clothing, printing
inks, ceramics on the wall, TVs, computers,
make-up, medicines, etc
• Ilmenite
• Zircon
• Rutile
• monazite
 Where?
• India, Australia, Brazil
• All these minerals are heavier than normal
rocks, so they tend to separate
• Important source of REEs, Ti, Th, Zr and gems
like diamond, sapphire & garnet
• Low-grade operations. Only in some countries,
there is rehabilitation after mining (Australia,
Namibia, Chile)
 Ilmenite (TiO2)
• Weakly magnetic (contains some Fe)
• Difficult to distinguish from magnetite, but it
has a white rim of leucoxene
• Main source of Ti metal
• Main Ti mineral in the Cross Lake deposit
• The Vanadium content of the Cross Lake is not
good for processing
• Its powder is white
Black ilmenite with leucoxene rim
 Ilmenite (titanium)
• Refined as TiO2 pigment, one of the whitest
substances on Earth. The unique reflective
and opaque characteristics of Ti dioxide form
the basis for most high quality coloring agents,
giving paints and dyes a brilliance rarely seen
before the 20th century
• Titanium is highly resistant to corrosion in sea
water and has the highest strength-to-density
ratio of all metals
 Zircon
• Used in ceramics, refractories, chemical
processing and insulation, zircon is one of the
toughest materials in existence. Improved
technology is creating a demand for zircon as
a valuable component of futuristic engines,
bearings, computer disc drives and cutting
equipment
• Zircon silicate in composition, but it may
contain REEs, U, Th
• To produce zirconium dioxide, one of the most
refractory materials known
• Zircon’s main use as a opacifier, in ceramics
• Due to inertness, durability & hardness, it
persists weathering and remains in sands
• Valuable mineral for radiometric dating due to
small amount of U & Th that it contains
Can’t copy!
 Rutile
• Rich in titanium dioxide, rutile is the feedstock for
the new generation of pollution-free pigment
plants. Raw material for light durable titanium
metal, rutile is essential to the aerospace
industries. Non-reactive Ti is the most successful
“human space parts” material for modern surgery
• Has special optical properties (very high refractive
index), so used in optics
• Used as sunscreens to protect against UV
• Composed of TiO2
• Most common natural form of TiO2
• May also contain iron, niobium & tantalum
 Monazite (= to be solitary)
• Separated into rare earths, monazite provides
elements vital to some of the most exciting
developments in modern technology.
Computers, medical technology and electronic
industries are all dependent on rare earths
• A source of Thorium
• May also contain He- extracted by heating it
• Can be radioactive – used for dating rocks
Ce, La, Th, Nd, Y phosphate
Old monazite mine in North Carolina
 Videos on gems
• 1. “Stones of Seduction”: rubies & sapphires
• Color of rubies due to chromium
• Color of sapphires due to iron & titanium
• “Crown Jewels” in the Tower of London,
over 350 years old preserved in very clean air
• Found in Sri Lanka in alluvial deposits (rivers)
 2. (video) Topaz
• Place for irradiation in Vancouver
• turns them into blue color
• yellow “Imperial Topaz” from Brazil is very rare
• A Gemologist needs to do tests to prove it is:
take a picture, weigh & measure it, look under
the microscope, use a refractimeter to test its
refractive index & its specific gravity
• Value at $ 7,700
3.(video)Colombian Emeralds: “value is
in the color”

• Formed with pyrite, so they contain no iron.

That makes them glow more & fluoresce in
the sun
• 1,000 year old Muzo mine still using old
mining methods with many poor people
sifting mud in the river below hoping to get
rich
• Emerald Trading Centre in Bogota
• People buy there & bring to sell in the
USA/Canada Up to $ 9,000 per carat
 4.(video) Amber
• Poland & Kaliningrad, Russia
• Amber floats because it is lighter than a rock
• For jewelry & fossil inclusions
• Russians also make “pressed amber” by
melting small pieces
• Many imitations
 EXPERIMENT
• With samples of sand
• Remember: it is the rivers that break down
rock to form sand. So, rivers act like the
“crushers” of the Limestone plant
Small collection of “sands”: 7 samples
• 2 from shores of lakes
• 1 from wind-blown shore of lake
• 1 from an esker
• 1 from Michelle’s sand deposit – river/esker?
• 1 from volcanic island with black sand
• 1 unknown purple sand (Manitoba)
 All tested with a magnet
• Magnet will pick magnetite/pyrrhotite, but
may also pick ilmenite
• The amount of magnetic material will be an
indication of how much “mineral sands” we
may have in the samples
 Results
• 2 shores of lake: NONE
• 1 wind-blown from shore: NONE
• 1 esker : some
• 1 Michelle’s : some
• 1 volcanic island: a great deal
• 1 unknown: lots
 Conclusion
• Lake shore sand may have been separated,
with “heavies” underneath the “lights”
• Esker and river sand may be sources of
“mineral sands”
• Anyone dredging a river bed – to avoid/reduce
risk from flooding – can pick up some credits
 Other gems in Canada
• Sapphire
• Ruby
• Beryl: emerald & aquamarine
• Topaz
• Tourmaline
• Spinel
• Cordierite
• Zircon
• Peridot
• Garnet – almandine
• Garnet – pyrope
• Garnet – spessartine
• Quartz – amethyst
• Quartz - citrine
 Corundum
• Nunavut
• Ontario
• BC
• Newfoundland
 Beryl (emerald)
• Ontario: Dryden area
• NWT
• Yukon
• Nunavut
 Beryl (Aquamarine)
• BC
• Yukon
• Ontario
• Quebec
• Nova Scotia
 Topaz
• BC
• Yukon
 Tourmaline
• NWT
• Quebec
• Nunavut
• Ontario
 Spinel
• Ontario
• Nunavut
 Cordierite (Iolite)
• BC
• Ontario
• Manitoba
• NWT
• Nunavut
 Cordierite
• Northern Manitoba: blue-violet with strong
pleochroism
• Many applications as insulator, resistor, etc
 Zircon
• Ontario
 Peridot
• BC
• Yukon
• NWT
• Ontario
 Garnet: many kinds
• Ontario
• Quebec
• NWT
• Yukon
• Nunavut
• BC
 Manitoba minerals
• Staurolite (cross-shaped)
• Cordierite
• Gypsum rosettes in the soil, esp. in the
Floodway
• Lepidolite (Li)
• Pollucite (Cs)
A trip to the Lapis mines
Balaskia, Afghanistan
Follow the Korcha river
Man wearing “kausia”, ancient Greek hat
Florida restaurant
At the end of the Korcha river
Remains of ancient Greek city,
Afghanistan/Tajikistan border, Korcha/ Amur rivers