Quartz with Hematite

specimen number:
2062227

location:
Steeprock Mine, Ontario, Canada

description:
An attractive lustrous glassy translucent deep red crystal of quartz. In great condition. A second-generation of tiny quartz crystals is present. Nice locality example for the species. The red color is due to the presence of hematite. This is quite attractive.

The Steep Rock mine, situated near the town of Atikokan within the Rainy River District of northwestern Ontario, Canada, was a massive open-pit iron ore operation that required one of the largest engineering and dewatering feats in mining history. Geologically, the deposit consists of high-grade goethite and hematite ore bodies localized within a steeply dipping Precambrian sedimentary iron-formation, specifically occurring along an unconformity between older Archean granitic basement rocks and overlying carbonates of the Steep Rock Group. The exceptionally rich iron oxide ore was concentrated through complex, multi-stage hydrothermal and secondary supergene alteration processes that oxidized primary iron sulfides and carbonates into massive structural deposits beneath the waters of Steep Rock Lake. Historically, while the presence of iron ore was deduced in the late nineteenth century, active development did not begin until January 1943, following the establishment of Steep Rock Iron Mines Limited. To access the underwater ore body, the company completely diverted the Seine River and pumped over one hundred billion gallons of water out of the lake's northern arm between 1943 and 1944. Large-scale open-pit extraction commenced in late 1944 at the Errington Pit, followed by the Hogarth Pit and underground development, with Caland Ore Company later leasing and operating adjacent portions of the lake bed. The combined operations ran continuously for over three decades, providing crucial iron ore to North American steel mills, until the depletion of economically viable reserves led to the permanent cessation of all mining and pelletizing activities in 1979.

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