This update features Canadian titanite crystals. One of the most highly-prized minerals from central Canada, truly excellent quality specimens are elusive, both locally and on the international market. These ones are remarkable for their quality and sharpness.

If you’ve ever wondered about mineral shows as they used to be, the smaller-town affairs meant for everyone, from serious collectors to beginners and families, the Bancroft Shows offer a glimpse. There is a lot to be said for this kinds of mineral show, in a beautiful setting among scenery and wildlife, with guided field trips, local collectors and dealers, and some great minerals.

The new Bancroft Gem and Mineral Club Mineral Museum is open, housed in the recently-restored historic Bancroft Train Station. When you come to Bancroft and want to learn about local minerals, this is where to start! I’ve added a post with a few photographs – we hope to see you in Bancroft soon!

The specimens in this Gmelinite Update are sharp, brilliantly lustrous crystals of gmelinite after chabazite from the classic locality Pinnacle Rock, Five Islands, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada. These are from some of the top finds at the locality and are super for the species, from any locality. The crystal growth patterns on these are exquisite.

I have a just posted a small group of wonderful Canadian native copper specimens, collected in 2013 from the Colonial Copper Mine, Cap D’Or, Cumberland Co., Nova Scotia, Canada. These are beautiful intricate branches of copper crystals, some on matrix and some free floating. Really nice!