BANCROFT ONTARIO & AREA MINERAL COLLECTING
The Bancroft area is rich with minerals, gems and fossils, and brings thousands of people to the area each year to either attend the Rockhound Gemboree, visit some of the local shops that sell gems, minerals, and equipment, or to go on a treasure hunt themselves. We’ve compiled a list of rock collecting sites in Bancroft and surrounding areas, museums, mines, and rock shops. Know of something we’ve missed? Please let us know!
Some places to explore…
The Miner’s Loop
The Miner’s Loop is located approx an hour south of Bancroft. It is a self guided tour consisting of 4 sites that teaches it’s visitors about rocks and minerals in the area, and also area mining. It is put on by the Marmora Tourism Centre.
- Millside Park
- Hastings Trail
- Deloro Mine Site
- Marmoraton Mine Site
For more information please call 613-472-1515 or visit their website.
The Richardson Mine
The Richardson Mine is the site of Ontario’s first gold mine. Gold was first discovered here by Marcus Herbert Powell in 1866 on the farm of John Richardson. The mine went into production the next year, and the town of Eldorado was founded. Although the Richardson mine ceased operation in 1869, not long after it opened, it spurred a small gold rush to the area and a number of other small mines were established, including Deloro, Gilmour, Cordova, Feigle, Bannockburn and Golden Fleece. These mines, like the Richardson Mine, did not hold vast amounts of gold.
To commemorate the first gold mine in Ontario, the Archeological and Historical Sites Board of Ontario installed a historical plaque at the corner of Hwy 62 and John Street in the village of Eldorado. There are a few original buildings near by that serve as a reminder of a time long past.
The Marmoraton Mine
The Marmoraton Mine, possibly one of the most successful in the area of Marmora, was started when magnetite ore was discovered under 120 feet of limestone, in 1948. The first of the iron ore was shipped in 1955, by owners Bethlehem Steel Mills of New York. After blasting away the limestone, the open pit mine measured approx 1700 feet x 1200 feet, with a depth of 600 feet.
Deloro Mine
The Deloro Mine is part of the Madoc gold rush, which started with the discovery of gold at Ontario’s first gold mine, the Richardson Mine. Unfortunately the Deloro mine is heavily polluted from the materials it mined, refined and produced. The mine is contaminated with arsenic, cobalt, copper, nickel, and low-level radioactive waste and other materials. Work is currently under-way to contain these wastes and make the area safe for the people.
Bancroft Mineral Museum
Discover the history of the mining in the area, learn about mineral collecting, or explore over 400 local specimens, all on display in the 1200 square-foot showroom of the Bancroft Mineral Museum.
Princess Sodalite Mine Rock Shop
The Princess Sodalite Mine Rock Shop offers a unique shopping experience offering a wide selection of minerals and fossil specimens. The selection of minerals, which is always changing, ranges from beginner to museum quality of local and world-wide minerals. The stores also carries a nice selection of gifts including candle holders, carvings, wood chimes and more. And if you’re not there to shop, then you are surely there to visit the rock farm. Here you can hunt through the plant tailings from the Princess Sodalite Mine, along with materials from other local mines and quarries. Sodalite was first discovered in the Bancroft area in the late 1800s, and it quickly became a popular gemstone. The deposits in Bancroft are some of the largest and most well-known deposits of sodalite in the world, and the town has a long history of mining and producing the mineral. In the early 20th century, sodalite from Bancroft was used to produce a range of decorative objects, including figurines, vases, and other decorative items.
Madawaska Mine (Faraday Mine)
This is a former uranium mine. Underground development started in 1954 by Faraday Uranium Mines Ltd., and ended in 1964 when contracts to sell uranium expired. The mine was reopened in 1975 by Madawaska Mines Ltd., and ended in 1982.
Bonnechere Museum & Geoheritage Trail
Attention hikers, geologists and fossil hunters! The Bonnechere Museum offers a local trail for recreational geology and exploration. Bonnechere Museum’s Geoheritage Trail is located on John Street in Eganville down the street from the Eganville Leader. The trail offers a selection of rocks and fossils as well as showcases a historical limestone quarry, now a beautiful pond, and the connecting trench.
Bonnechere Caves
The Bonnechere Caves are located in Eganville Ontario. Welcoming people for over 55 years, the Bonnechere Caves provide a safe educational, fun, and informative tour for people of all ages.
Tyendinaga Cavern & Caves
The Tyendinaga Cavern and Caves are located 15 minutes North of Belleville at 2623 Harmony Road. The cavern and caves are known for their rich mineral deposits and contain a variety of minerals, including calcite, quartz, and pyrite, which make them a popular location for rockhounding, or the hobby of collecting rocks and minerals. Tours run every 30 minutes and take approximately 45 minutes from start to finish.
Greenmantle Tours
Located in Wilberforce, Ontario, Greenmantle is a 300-acre piece of land that has remained largely unchanged since the last ice age. It is home to the rare mineral fluororicherite, which can only be found in this location in Canada, as well as other minerals such as apatite, hornblende, orthoclase, quartz, and clinohumite. Mineral specimens from Greenmantle can be found in the Royal Ontario Museum, the Museum of Nature in Ottawa, the Smithsonian, and in private collections worldwide. The Bramham family offers guided eco-tours of their mineral occurrence, providing a unique opportunity for those interested in learning about the rock formations that make up our natural world. Please visit their website to learn more or book a tour. Please note, these are guided, paid tours.
**Check Hours of Operation before heading to any of these places.
ROCK AND MINERAL COLLECTING SITES
(Please note some sites now prohibit collecting. Make sure you have permission to be there, respect the area and do not trespass)
CN Rock Dump
This is that the site where the Golding-Keene Quarry material was brought to be kept and used in the construction of the rail road. Collecting is allowed here, and is managed through the Chamber of Commerce. From 1927 to 1939, this unique deposit was worked for nepheline which is used in making ceramic and glass. The deposit was too small to be commercially successful and it contained too many impurities, so some of the last shipments were left beside the railroad tracks and today is a popular collecting site. Minerals you could find include biotite, calcite, cancrinite, scapolite, sodalite, natrolite, apatite and zircons.
The dump is very easy to access and is a great place for families to hunt for interesting finds. You’ll find the CN Rock Pile directly across the road from the Town of Bancroft Municipal Office, on the Hastings Heritage Trail. It will be approximately 200 meters down the trail on your left.
Golding-Keene Quarry
Located in the Dungannon Township, this quarry was used by the New England Nepheline Company to mine nepheline from 1927 to 1939. The quarry was cut into the side of a hill on the bank of the York River, and is now a part of the Egan Chutes Provincial Park. Collecting is now prohibited at this site, but it is still allowed at the CN Dump in Bancroft, where material from this quarry was deposited.
Beryl Pit / Aqua Rose
Beryl Pit is located approx 2.1 km north of Quadeville. The site is made up of two mines, Quadeville East Mine (Beryl Pit) and the Quadeville West Mine (Rose Quartz Quarry). The Beryl Pit is currently owned by the company Aquarose, and there is a fee for collecting. You can purchase mineral collecting permits for the Beryl Pit at Kauffeldt’s Corner Store, where they will also give you directions to the mine. More…
Cole Hill Gold
Located on Lower Faraday road, Coe Hill Gold features a fee-for fishing trout farm, a large rock shop, & multiple mineral occurrences open as a fee for collecting sites. You’ll find 7 mineral collecting sites, including a magnetite & garnet site. Minerals occurring on the property have been identified by Minerals Associates Inc. and the property is open in the summer months.
Bear Lake Diggings
Prior to 2016 this was the first publicly protected collecting site in Ontario. However, the site closed in 2016 when it was sold to new owners.
Geocaching
When you start exploring the area, you’ll find that there are some great caches hidden in old mines. Ask at Agnew’s General Store in Wilberforce for all the details.
Graphite Roadcut
This is a road cut on the north side of Graphite Road in Hastings Highlands, Monteagle Township. The outcrop is west of Musclow Road, on the north side. Mineral Iist: Actinolite, Albite, Diopside, Phlogopite, Quartz, Smoky Quartz, Titanite, Tremolite. *Please do not fill the ditch with rubble and be careful of traffic.
Which type of collector are you?
In Ontario, the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines recognizes two types of mineral collectors. The hobby and the large scale / commercial collectors. These two types of collectors are distinguished by their threshold limit.
Hobby Mineral Collecting
- for personal pleasure or interest only
- the amount you collect is below the threshold limit
- minerals collected are for your personal collection
- you have no intention of selling the minerals you have collected (swapping/trading of minerals collected is acceptable)
Large Scale Mineral Collecting (Commercial Collecting)
- you are collecting / extracting minerals with the intention of selling them
- the amount you collect is above the threshold limit
- you collect your samples through the use of mechanical equipment
Comments (63)
Bear Lake Diggings is now privately owned and not open for digging.
Who can teach me how to pan my dirt? I watched the YouTube videos but I need confirmation of what I’m doing and seeing. Thanks
Hi Debbie my name is Kenny. I have been panning in Ontario couple years now. I’m not quick but I catch it. My email is payner2000@live.can. give a email I’ll get back to ya with my phone number.
Hello,
Would anyone know whether Beryl Pit is still open for digging as of 2019?
Thanks,
Would like to know myself…
Yes, of course. Pay the fee at Kauffeldt’s store in Quadeville, ($12 for adults, $10 for youth) and you will have to sign a waiver, and will get a map and a list of minerals you can find there, plus directions for parking.
Does this also apply for the Rose Quartz quarry?
Which mine is good for gems and do you need your own supplies to dig
Anyone interested in going as a group together in early September for some rockhounding adventures? Email me at saltyaulddawg@gmail.com and let me know which week. I dont want to go alone into the woods, lol.
Hi Jim, my name is Tracy, and I live in the village of Hastings on the Trent River. I would love to go rock collecting with you! I’m on Facebook under Hawkins Tracy (with no comma between), or email me at hawkins45_trekkie@yahoo.ca
Are you guys planning to go in September? If so let me know and I would love to join!
anyone know the name of mine at picture on the top? thanks
The mine shown is the MacDonald mine near Bancroft. The photo was taken some years ago, as the site has now been rehabilitated.
thanks, is the site accessible ? I like to take my daughters !
They filled in the cave and the enitie valley with rock and dirt, destroyed trees, plants,weeds, nests, dens,etc.Over some law suit. But they did put a barred vent in at the end of the cave for bats 🙂 for years
I discovered the mine in the 1990’s, My boy’s were young when we started going there, we went there a few times a year, every year (until they became to cool to hang with mom). I still go to Bancroft,but how I miss Mcdonald mine.
Hello my name is Elizabeth I’ve experienced picking up amethyst in Sudbury when we first went to Alberta and drop by for site seeing from one of the mining site. Since then I love to collect gemstone from buying gemstone show in Toronto. And I love to experience picking up gemstone in any self guided tour site. Watching on YouTube how wonderful feeling it might be picking up one or two kinds of gemstone in Bancroft area is what I’m looking forward to experience. My email lizbtalan@yahoo.ca asking for information on how to join the tour and experience collecting stones.Thank you.
Hello!
How would I go about collecting at the Rose Quartz Quarry? Would I also have to get a permit at the corner store? Or are there other arrangements?
Thanks!
What do you need to bring with you to collect?
Wondering if any mines open in Bancroft area for fun collecting. Used to be in exploration geology…now in different profession. Would like to visit the area if open next week. Today is Sunday August16th/20. We would be travelling from the Barrie area…stay over night somewhere then come home. Looking for something fun to do and see outside.
Princess Sodalite Mine is open for 2020 season. Come on and do some collecting
Hi there,
I would love to visit Barelpit but, i don’t have ride. Do you know of any bus that comes from Toronto or if you can connect me to someone who does come there Please? Thank you
adijasoda01@gmail.com
Hello! I was hoping to visit Dave, at the Rose Quartz mine… is he still the man to meet for that? Aquarose if I recall correctly, I’d love to visit the site but have lost his contact info. Can anyone help?
Otherwise, is anyone offering a site to find some stones on Saturday September 12, 2020? Thank you in advance…
Jen
you can find some on dinno road at bancroft i go there all the time it is so much fun and you get lots of rocks the rock you might find is the tiger eye me and my dad went it was so much fun and i got the best rocks i have ever gotten please type back to me.
Can you please send more information? My daughter and I love to hunt for treasures and I would like to take her on a trip up that way for rock hunting. Any help is greatly appreciated.
That sounds like fun. Can u possibly tell me where on Dinno Rd u find ur rocks? Especially the tiger eye? Thank u. Deborah
Yes could you share with me also? Looking to go August 6ths perhaps for my birthday. Trying to do a wild goose hunt for hubby and I and hoping to find stuff at no or very little cost. The adventure makes it more fun.
Maybe email me at highlandsa1@hotmail.ca
If u google aquarose mine or the beryl pit, u will find the contact information. I’m making plans to visit soon.
Is there anyone that still provides guided rock hounding tours. Looking to find a guide as a birthday gift for my grandsons.
Lakeside gems in bancoft
When would these mines be open? Thanks In advanced
Hello Jeff my grandson is a big rock collector and I’m living in labrador city comin in town in the middle of July can you tell me the best places to go to look for some great looking rocks amethysts and other great pcs … I don’t care if it cost me money like I said it’s for my grandson so if you could send me in the right direction would be so great full !!!! Thanks..
If u google the Princess Sodalite Mine, The Beryl Pit and The Miner’s Loop, u will find the times they open.
As a ‘former member’ of the Bancroft Mineral & Rock Club, Oshawa Mineral & Rock Club, and Sudbury Rock & Mineral Club, I have been involved in mineral collecting in South Eastern Ontario since the early 1950’s. I am looking for a responsible, mature individual, experienced in the natural world, to enjoy (share) brief periods of exploration of mineral sites in various locals with the purpose of studying and collecting. Practicality and ‘safety’ are paramount requisites, along with companionship and shared enjoyable experiences.
Contact: electronautsys@hotmai.com
Hello, Brian. I am going to the Bancroft area in Sept around the weekend of the 17th. Want to rock hound together?
Hello, Jim:
In reply to Your posting for ‘rock hound’ venture to Bancroft area in September (17th or about, 2021. Please email me directly (Not through Bancroftontario.com website) through address … Electronautsys@hotmail.com … So we might make some arrangements to our liking!?
Brian C.
Hello!
We are going to take our son tomorrow to hunt for rocks. Which location do you suggest to go to for our first hunt?
GOOD DAY MY NANE IS ROY LUMLEY LIKE TO COME TO SEE Rock Shop MINES IN &AN AROUND CAN YOU HELP ME THANK YOU ROY LUMLEY 49-424 BLEECKER AVE. BELLEVILLE ONT. K8N 5R5 LIKE MAPS INFOR.
Hi, I’m wondering if there’s anyone who could help me identify minerals I found at Beryl Pit & princess sodalite mine .
Email:mariahdon64@gmail.com
Thank you so much for this! Very helpful.
Mandi
Can anyone share their experiences at the Beryl Pit?
I have been there several times. The general store in Quadsville is where you sign a waiver and pay $10. You can find a number of minerals there … And the walk from parking at the road to the site is easy. Worth a stop buy bring safety glasses and a hammer and chisel.
I live in Peterborough and am interested in driving up to Bancroft for the day to do some rockhounding. Looking for a companion since it’s safer than a woman wandering around alone in the bush.
Hi Janet! I live roughly half an hour away and would be interested in joining you. I am a 28yo female from Australia. Look forward to hearing back from you.
ill go with you, 32 male from chatham-kent farming region, about 4-5hrs away, but I come from a family of gemologist and goldminers and feel a connection to rockhounding. Also want to go to BC for placer goldmining.
Can I join? I would like to go from Dominican Rep. I’m 24 years old and I’m really interested
I’m down for the same and looking for companion
Hi.. I am also looking a companion to visit Bancroft and some other Gemstones mining locations…. if interested write me: taillon4766@gmail.com
Janetlouden3@gmail.com if you’re interested in going together some time.
Did you go?? If not I’d be interested in the spring..I live in Bancroft
Hi , I live in Montreal, I’d like to visit some mining areas in Bancroft, I have never been there before, looking a companion to knows/familiar in those places to visit and buying some tough gemstones (Beryl….like Aquamarine, Emerald and other colors like red beryl, golden beryl, yellow beryl, orange beryl, pink Beryl), planning to spend a week or more… aarulvasam@yahoo.ca
No, I haven’t. Janetlouden3@gmail.com
I am in the same boat as you and would also like to go yet being alone doing this hobby is tough. Would gladly join you in the spring. I live in south western Ontario but wouldn’t mind the drive. Doing this has been on my bucket list for years.
Im headed up there july 16 yo the 23rd 2022 with my wife and 2 daughters. My good friend and his family are coming too. We do the beryl pit every year, its awesome. The kids love it too. I also go to some other pits and a mountain site that still jas open mine shafts!!
Look me up if you wanna join us.
Chrisjamespatenaude@gmail.com
Cheers
Hi I got super busy at work but still interested. Janetlouden3@gmail.com
Hello! I’d love to go if you still want to go there. I need someone to go with as well
Hi
I got crazy busy at work. I’m still interested. Janetlouden3@gmail.com
Iam wanting to go again. And am willing to take or go with ppl
Hi , I live in Montreal, I’d like to visit some mining areas in Bancroft, I have never been there before, looking a companion to knows/familiar in those places to visit and buying some tough gemstones (Beryl….like Aquamarine, Emerald and other colors like red beryl, golden beryl, yellow beryl, orange beryl, pink Beryl), planning to spend a week or more… aarulvasam@yahoo.ca
Hello , I’m not sure if you have already gone to bancroft..but we have a cottage for rent 7 minutes from town…thanks Donna 226 388 7584
Me i just wish i could go ,same thing i’m alone hate to drive all the way there
Love driving and used to live in Bancroft. Out in Welland ont currently. Can akways check with me and likley can corridinate going together. I have a Dodge Caravan minvan that can seat 7. I also used to do vollenteer driving for Haliburton. Completely clean driving record and also was a driving instructor for 28 years. You should be able to reach out to me on Facebook.Heather-Jean Vandenberg
Looking for a reasonable place to stay in the Bancroft area for August 27-31. Please contact me text to 613-360-2733 Thank You
Hello, which site would be the best to take little kids to? They like gems and rocks, and very curious how they’re acquired from the sites.