Join fellow rockhounders on a half-day or full-day guided tour with a local collector in Haliburton County, just west of Bancroft.įun Fact: marble was also mined in this area at the Tatlock Quarry among others, the high-quality marble was used in the parliament buildings in both Ottawa and Toronto.įrom Sudbury to Timmins to Cobalt, Northeastern Ontario has a wealth of rockhounding experiences. You’ll also enjoy field trips, demonstrations and workshops. July 28-31, 2022 is the Bancroft Rockhound Gemboree, an event attended by over 100 dealers from across the globe to showcase their gem and mineral specimens and other treasures at the North Hastings Community Centre and the Bancroft Curling Club. Sign up for a geologist-led collecting field trip or book a private group experience.Ī local must-see, this lookout atop a 60-metre rock wall provides an amazing view of Bancroft nestled in the landscape below. Stock up on all the rockhounding tools you’ll need and admire an impressive collection of local and international minerals and semi-precious gemstones. Uncover treasures at this ‘rock farm’, chat with rockhounding expert, Andy Christie, and browse minerals and sodalite, which he mines on site. Located along the Hastings Heritage Trail and across from the Bancroft Municipal Office, this site contains materials from the Golden-Keene Quarry used during the construction of the railway. Known as the Ordovician Fossil Capital of Canada, this live museum explores the natural and cultural history along the Bonnechere River and provides guided tours and fossil hunts. Rockhounding Highlights Around BancroftĪ great start is along this driving tour, which includes Millside Park, Hastings Trail, Deloro Mine Site and Marmoraton Mine site.Īnother popular rockhounding spot, this was Ontario’s very first gold mine and initiated a gold rush, which resulted in the opening of Deloro, Gilmour, Cordova, Feigle, Bannockburn and Golden Fleece mines. In fact, Bancroft has been coined the Mineral Capital of Canada. But the area has grown into a rockhounding mecca for the fools’ gold, mica, apatite, rose quartz and white quartz found. However once again the finds were small, and with mining costs high, industrial mining ended. Unlike other areas in the province, the mines temporarily closed, until the uranium boom in the late 1950s, when three mines reopened. Mining activities began in the late 1800s, but the veins that were found were small. Part of the Canadian Shield, this area is 1.1 to 1.8 billion years old. Located in Hastings County, the area around the town of Bancroft is renowned for rockhounding. There are several rockhounding hotspots in Ontario, with the potential to undercover a new rock or mineral specimen on your wish list and the opportunity to learn about Ontario’s past.
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