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(Formerly Bancroft Rocks until someone took our website name)



Product of Canada
 Last edited on 11/23/05




Bancroft Sodalite
Purple Sodalite, as far as we know, Bancroft is the worlds only source of this gem material. We believe that we are the only jewelry manufacterer currently offering it.



We recently found several old maps of various mineral deposits in the Bancroft area dating pre 1955. Click here for maps The maps are quite large (allow sufficient load time) so you can read the finer print, scales codes, etc.






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Now with over 400 original photographs !!


Rubies in Bancroft?¿?

On this page are just some of the rocks, minerals and gems found in the Bancroft area. I'll be trying to collect them all. I'm also learning to cut (grind and or sand) them as I identify, collect and upload.

A personal note to rockshounds, I would like to say that using books sold at the Chamber of Commerce, superior deductive reasoning and persistence, I went looking for ruby and purple sapphire, and found them. But the truth is, beginners luck is real. There are a lot of stones in this area. Perhaps if Canada had 12 sweltering months and about 8 times the population who were looking for gems, we would have more to offer than Brazil. It's just a matter of time until emeralds are found. I know for a fact that diamonds, ruby and sapphire found in Canada can be cut into world class stones. There are lots of known beryl deposits.



List rocks Chemical Composition
actinolite Ca2(Mg,Fe)5 Si8 O22(OH)2
allanite (Ca,R)2(Al,Fe,Mg)3Si3O12(OH)
apatite Ca5(PO4)3(F,C1,OH)
augite Ca, Na(Mg, Fe, Al)(Al, Si)2 06
barite BaSO4
beryl/emerald Be3 A12 Si6 O18;
betafite Variable
calcite CaCO3
cancrinite Na6Ca2Al6Si6O24(CO3)2
chabazite CaAl2 Si4 O12
corundum/sapphire/ruby AL2 O3 Polishing Method
diopside CaMgSi206
epidote Ca2Al2Fe0Si04Si207(OH)
feldspar plagioclase (Ca, Na)(Al, Si)AlSi2O8
fergusonite (Y,Er,Ce,Fe)(Nb,Ta,Ti)O4
fluorite CaF2
garnet Silicate of Al, Mg, Fe, Mn, Ca.
graphite C
ilmenite FeTiO3
marble Variable
mica Variable, KMg3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
molybdenite MoS2
magnetite Fe3O4
natrolite Na2Al2Si3O10.2H2O
nepheline (Na,K)AlSiO4
pyrite FeS2
quartz SiO2
selenite (gypsum) CaSO4 . 2H2O
serpentine (Mg,Fe)3 Si2 O5(OH)4
scapolite Na4(Al3Si9O24)Cl (marialite) Ca4(Al6Si6O24)CO3 (meionite)
spinel MgAl2O4
sodalite Na4Al3(SiO4)3Cl
thorite ThHiO4
titanite CaTiSiO5
tourmaline Highly Variable Na(Mg,Fe)3Al6(BO3)3(Si6O18)(OH,F)4
tremolite Na(Mg,Fe)3 Al6(BO3)3(Si6O18)(OH,F)4
zircon ZrSiO4








To judge scale, use the sodalite page, the rose quartz page or any page with a Canadian dollar coin in it. Note a euro coin and an american silver dollar are all about the same size. All the pics are directly proportional to the coin pages, if the pic is small that is only because the mineral sample is small. Simple right! Good. Well that's it.

One last thing, I got most of the pictures on the main pages from the kind folks at the Bancroft Chamber of Commerce Rocks and Minerals Museum, you cannot use them without their written consent.

All of my polished stone pictures you can use, borrow or steal. If you notice a difference in the newer pictures, it's due to help received from Adrian Karley, Aberdeen, Scotland and the fine folks from news://sci.geo.geology on Usenet*. Perhaps the most functional group on Usenet.