Beryl Pit Field Trip

The Beryl Pit is an open pit with a large field of mine dump material that has been bulldozed for easier finding. Originally, beryl was discovered in 1897 then the mine opened in the 1920s.

There are a variety of minerals that can be found here including beryl, pyrite, columbite, euxenite, tourmaline, fluorite, various quartz, aquamarine, mica, feldspar including albite peristerite (moonstone), allanite and many more. Most of these were formed in a granite pegmatite about 1.2 billion years ago up to 20 km deep under the Grenville mountains which have all eroded away.

We will meet at the Quadeville Grocery Store at 10:00 am and then proceed by car to the Beryl Pit parking area. There is a 0.75 km walk to the collecting area which is fairly open. Bring lunch, water and mosquito repellant. There are no washrooms at the Pit but Quadeville does have a public washrooms.

There are two collecting approaches:

1. Easy: Digging and raking through the mine dumps which is mainly loose soil mixed with minerals
2. Challenging: Using a sledge or chisels to break open big rocks to find fresh mineral specimens.

See our Blog Article for tools and what to bring: Gearing Up: Must-Have Tools for the Aspiring Rockhound

The owners of the Beryl Pit charge the following fees which we will collect in advance:

• Adult – $20.00
• Student – $15.00
• Children under 6 – Free

Please note, if paying by credit or debit card, there is a $1.00 fee for card processing.

There is a limit of 40 attendees.