Table of Contents

• Long Lake Zinc Mine, Parham, Frontenac County, Ontario, Canada by Jon Amsterdam 1–5
• LLZM Photo Gallery by — 4–5
• Silver Crater Mine, Faraday Township, Ontario, Canada: A Historic Uranium Prospect and Source of Exquisite Betafite Crystals by Sean Stimac 6–8
• Editor’s Note—The Richardson (Fission) Mine, Wilberforce, Ontario by Howie Green 9–10
• The Calcite Vein-Dykes of Gibson Road East: Geological Marvels and Mineral Treasures by Nad Ram 11–18
• Photo Gallery by — 16–18
• Princess Sodalite Quarry, Town of Bancroft, Hastings County, Ontario, Canada by Travis Wolf 19–20
• The Davis Quarry, Bancroft, Dungannon Township, Hastings County, Ontario, Canada by Trevor Tremblay 21–24
• The CN Rock Pile: Bancroft’s Mountain of Minerals and Tourist Attraction by Nad Ram 25–26
• Hackmanite from the Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada by Jason Hefner 27–29
• From the Editor—The Heart of Darkness by Howie Green 30–45
• Hackmanite Gallery by — 34–45
• FTE—The Agony and the Ecstasy by Howie Green 46–50

Long Lake Zinc Mine, Parham, Frontenac County, Ontario, Canada

By Jon Amsterdam · pp. 1–5

Jon Amsterdam documents the history, geology, collecting conditions, and specimen characteristics of the Long Lake Zinc Mine near Parham, Ontario. The former zinc operation produced sphalerite ore and now exposes dump material consisting chiefly of Precambrian marble and sulfides. Calcite, diopside, chondrodite, hydrozincite, and aragonite produce vivid responses under ultraviolet illumination. The article also provides access information, collecting advice, mine-production history, and observations on layered “starry night” and banded marble specimens.

LLZM Photo Gallery

pp. 4–5

This illustrated gallery presents Long Lake Zinc Mine specimens from Parham, Ontario, photographed in daylight and under shortwave or midwave ultraviolet illumination. Featured assemblages include calcite, diopside, aragonite, chondrodite, and hydrozincite, with examples ranging from individual hand specimens to a large home display. Captions identify contributors and specimen dimensions, while an editor’s note explains how layered metamorphic limestone produces either uniform “starry night” patterns or more planar banding.

Silver Crater Mine, Faraday Township, Ontario, Canada: A Historic Uranium Prospect and Source of Exquisite Betafite Crystals

By Sean Stimac · pp. 6–8

Sean Stimac surveys the history, carbonatite geology, mineralogy, access, and safety considerations of the Silver Crater Mine near Bancroft, Ontario. Although the prospect was not a successful uranium mine, it briefly produced mica and became renowned for betafite, zircon, and fluorapatite. The article explains betafite’s status as a pyrochlore-supergroup varietal group, its uranium content and metamict condition, and practical methods for locating specimens while managing radiation, terrain, insects, and unsafe workings.

Editor’s Note—The Richardson (Fission) Mine, Wilberforce, Ontario

By Howie Green · pp. 9–10

Howie Green revisits the Richardson, or Fission, Mine near Wilberforce, Ontario, a locality noted for large uraninite crystals and radioactive mineral assemblages. The account summarizes the 1922 discovery by W. H. Richardson and describes the host gneisses, marble, calcite-cored vein-dykes, fluorapatite, calcite, fluorite, uraninite, thorium oxides, and lead oxides. It also discusses color changes and odors associated with fluorite near uraninite and illustrates specimens from the mine and nearby Dwyer fluorite mine.

The Calcite Vein-Dykes of Gibson Road East: Geological Marvels and Mineral Treasures

By Nad Ram · pp. 11–18

Nad Ram describes the history, geology, collecting conditions, and mineral assemblages of Gibson Road East, also called Titanite Hill, near Tory Hill, Ontario. The locality’s calcite vein-dykes formed through interactions between carbonate-rich material and surrounding Grenville rocks. The article discusses calcite, fluorapatite, scapolite, microcline, titanite, amphiboles, mica, augite, and smoky quartz, along with regional phosphate and mica industries, access restrictions, private claims, and related Bancroft-area occurrences.

Photo Gallery

pp. 16–18

This gallery extends the Gibson Road East discussion with photographic examples from Bear Lake Diggings, Tory Hill, the Paxton magnetite mine, the Diamond Lake area, and the Smart Mine or Miller property. Captions show fluorapatite, calcite, scapolite, and edenite in daylight and under ultraviolet illumination. The images emphasize brittle apatite crystals, varied local assemblages, uncertain locality labels, former iron workings, and the continuing availability or restriction of collecting at several Bancroft-area sites.

Princess Sodalite Quarry, Town of Bancroft, Hastings County, Ontario, Canada

By Travis Wolf · pp. 19–20

Travis Wolf recounts the history and present-day collecting opportunities of the Princess Sodalite Mine near Bancroft, Ontario. The deposit gained international attention after sodalite was exhibited at the 1893 Chicago exposition and later supplied decorative stone for the Marlborough House. Geological descriptions cover nepheline-albite pegmatite and associated minerals including feldspar, biotite, calcite, cancrinite, apatite, zircon, and sulfides. The article explains current rock-shop access, reseeded collecting areas, fees, tools, and specimen characteristics.

The Davis Quarry, Bancroft, Dungannon Township, Hastings County, Ontario, Canada

By Trevor Tremblay · pp. 21–24

Trevor Tremblay examines the abandoned Davis Quarry near Bancroft, Ontario, including its nepheline-albite pegmatite, brief industrial history, and notable sodalite and hackmanite specimens. The quarry supplied nepheline for glass, porcelain, and clay products during the early 1940s but was limited by iron and accessory minerals. The article explains hackmanite’s orange ultraviolet response and reversible color change, identifies associated minerals, and stresses that collecting is prohibited without permission because of provincial-reserve boundaries and an active claim.

The CN Rock Pile: Bancroft’s Mountain of Minerals and Tourist Attraction

By Nad Ram · pp. 25–26

Nad Ram traces the CN Rock Pile in central Bancroft from railway and quarry construction to its development as a public collecting landmark. Nepheline-syenite pegmatite from the Golding-Keene Quarry was transported for industrial use, but a final unshipped load became the large mound beside the railway. The pile contains albite, sodalite, hackmanite, zircon, cancrinite, biotite, and a still-unidentified green-emitting uranyl-activated material. Its history, tourism role, diminishing resources, and collecting appeal are discussed.

Hackmanite from the Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada

By Jason Hefner · pp. 27–29

Jason Hefner reports on tenebrescent sodalite discovered during exploration of the Spanish River Carbonatite Complex near Sudbury, Ontario. The article introduces the carbonatite’s agricultural context and explains sodalite’s feldspathoid chemistry, orange ultraviolet response, and reversible pink, purple, or gray color change. A field account describes obtaining permission, locating trenches, coping with unstable overburden and caliche coatings, and finding hackmanite seams and veinlets. Photographs document cleaning, ultraviolet activation, and the resulting tenebrescence.

From the Editor—The Heart of Darkness

By Howie Green · pp. 30–45

Howie Green presents a historical and scientific discussion of sodalite, hackmanite, and tugtupite, beginning with Karl Ludwig Giesecke’s discovery of sodalite in Greenland. The article explains F-centers, disulfide activators, electron trapping, fluorescence, phosphorescence, and reversible photochromism as causes of hackmanite’s ultraviolet-induced color change. It distinguishes field-induced color effects from sustained tenebrescence, addresses bleaching, heat, and common misconceptions, and connects the mineral phenomenon to photochromic sunglass technology.

Hackmanite Gallery

pp. 34–45

This extensive illustrated gallery compares hackmanite specimens from Greenland, Ontario, Russia, Afghanistan, and Québec. Captions document daylight colors, shortwave and longwave ultraviolet responses, afterglow, exposure times, and post-illumination color changes. Examples include material from the Ilímaussaq alkaline complex, the Spanish River Carbonatite area, the Golding-Keene Quarry, the Poudrette quarry, the Lovozero massif, and Kokacha Tal. Several Greenland specimens contain steenstrupine, whose radioactivity is discussed as a source of crystal defects.

FTE—The Agony and the Ecstasy

By Howie Green · pp. 46–50

Howie Green reflects humorously on disappointment, specimen preparation, collecting expectations, and the persistent problem of lost labels. He recounts the decades-long effort to identify and geographically place an unlabeled specimen, eventually recognizing its corundum, scapolite, albite, calcite, and mica assemblage as originating from the Egan Chute occurrence near Bancroft, Ontario. The article describes blue corundum crystals, local “dungannonite,” associated minerals, regional geology, historical prospecting, collecting restrictions, and the ultraviolet responses of albite, calcite, and scapolite.