Spinel

specimen number:
2262352

location:
Dewitts Corners, Bathurst, Lanark Co., Ontario, Canada

description:
Lustrous black large octahedral crystal of spinel on matrix. In good condition.

The Dewitts Corners locality, situated in Bathurst Township within Lanark County, Ontario, has a history dating back to the pre-1840s when shallow pits were developed to mine salmon-orange-pink calcite vein-dikes to feed a local lime kiln. Operations were short-lived because high temperatures caused accessory minerals to form clinkers, rendering the burnt lime of little value. Geologically, the site lies within the Grenville Province of the Canadian Shield, characterized by Precambrian metamorphic rocks, specifically bands of white crystalline limestone and marble cut by calcitic vein-dikes. The locality is famous among mineral collectors as a source of high-quality spinel crystals, black hornblende, and impressive corundum pseudomorphs after spinel.

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