** NOTE: Mineral collecting field trips will begin again in the Spring. Click on Previous Events below to browse past field trips, meetings and other events. Come to our monthly meetings which are held every second Thursday each month. Bring your rocks and minerals to have experts identify or exchange for other minerals plus attend fascinating presentations. Presentations are in English but bilingual club members would be happy to translate questions.
Give us feedback or suggest speakers in the Comments section on the Home page.
The Beryl Pit is an open pit with a large field of mine dump material that has been bulldozed for easier discovery. 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,...
Join us and win door prizes! ZOOM For those who cannot make it to the Museum of Nature but would like to attend remotely, we will do a Zoom as well as record the meeting. To join the Zoom between 6:00 - 6:15 p.m use the following Zoom link: Topic: OVMC Meeting - Quintin Wight Award...
The Yates Mine was originally worked in 1906-07 for mica and fluorite and later in the 40’s and 50’s for fluorite and uranothorite. Possible minerals to be uncovered are: allanite, apatite, calcite, diopside, fluorite, microcline, molybdenite, phlogopite mica, pyroxene, scapolite thorianite, titanite, tremolite and zircon. Parking is at the gate to the property. Since the...
The Yates Mine was originally worked in 1906-07 for mica and fluorite and later in the 40’s and 50’s for fluorite and uranothorite. Possible minerals to be uncovered are: allanite, apatite, calcite, diopside, fluorite, microcline, molybdenite, phlogopite mica, pyroxene, scapolite thorianite, titanite, tremolite and zircon. Parking is at the gate to the property. Since the...
The Long Lake Zinc Mine (Sometimes called the Richardson Mine) started in 1897 with a number of mining operations in the early and mid 1900s focusing on zinc and lead ores. Minerals that can be found in the mine dumps (as shown above) are: aragonite, calcite, chondrodite, diopside, dolomite, hydrozincite, smithsonite, galena, chalcopyrite, molybdenite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, quartz, sphalerite and ‘garnet group’ (Italics: fluorescent...
The Burgess Mine and Logan Cuts is part of the same mountainous area as the Craigmont Corundum Mine. We can drive to the Burgess workings (close by parking area) and try to find corundum and other minerals. After an hour or two of local exploration, those up for a challenge will hike about 2.5 km...
The Miller Property includes the Smart Mine established around 1880. Apatite was the main target because of its phosphate used as fertilizer. The main minerals that can be found are apatite, fluorapatite, calcite, biotite, microcline felspar, amazonite, titanite and zircon. Parking is fairly close to the diggings although low cars may want to park a...
We hope to schedule a fossil field trip closer to Ottawa on this date. More details to come.
Members can choose to attend just one day or both days. Reserve a motel in Bancroft early if staying overnight. Please register at the bottom of this page for each day. Located about 25 minutes from Bancroft, Titanite Hill is part of the same local geology as the famous, now closed to the public: Bear...
The former Parker Mine in Quebec just north of Ottawa was mined in the early 1900s for mica in pyroxenite but is more famous for excellent crystals of olivine and spinel. Although a wide variety of mineral are possibly found, we are seeking spinel and forsterite (magnesium end member of olivine group). Hypersthene pyroxene, calcite, phlogopite mica,...
There is a road cut in Quebec is about an hour's drive from Ottawa where graphite is found as well as diopside and a few other minerals such as tourmaline. This trip is for a small group since the mineral area is not very large. More details will be provided to those registering.
The owners of the Beryl Pit have turned over the dumps/tailings so fresh minerals are more available. The Beryl Pit is an open pit with a large field of mine dump material that has been bulldozed for easier discovery. Originally, beryl was discovered in 1897 then the mine opened in the 1920s. There are a...
