Grossular

specimen number:
1605111

location:
Orford mine, St-Denis-de-Brompton, Le Val-Saint-Francois RCM, Estrie, Quebec, Canada

description:
Brilliant green crystals of grossular covering both sides of matrix. In good condition.

The Orford Nickel Mine, located in Saint-Denis-de-Brompton within the Estrie region of Quebec, Canada, has a history rooted in the mid-19th-century search for copper and nickel. Mining exploration and development began around the 1850s to 1860s, driven largely by increased metal demand during the American Civil War, though operations ultimately proved uneconomic as a metal producer and ceased by 1879, with minor subsequent exploration in the mid-20th century. Geologically, the deposit sits within a faulted belt of serpentinized ultramafic and ophiolitic rocks of the Brompton-Lake formation, sharing a similar regional setting with major Canadian asbestos and base metal deposits. Mineralogically, while commercial metal extraction failed, the site became world-renowned among mineral collectors and museums for producing exceptional specimens, most notably large and well-formed crystals of diopside, alongside notable occurrences of grossular and andradite garnets, millerite, and calcite.

Questions about this specimen?
Send an email or call us: 314-341-1811.