Beryl Pit, Where the Beryls Hide in Ontario

By: Michal Adamowicz, Rockhound
Exploration Date(s): 2005 – 2008

Hail all. I hope you all are enjoying this summer. With the unstable worldwide weather we have been having I am sure this question is a bit humorous, but I just needed an opening sentence.

Anyway. I am writing this article about the Beryl Pit in Quadeville, Ontario. There are only two locations in southern Ontario where Beryl forms & these are the Beryl Pit & the Rose Quartz Pit, in Quadeville also. Since this article is on the Beryl Pit location, I will of course focus on it.

Most people that have done some research into mineral collecting in southern Ontario, would inevitably have stumbled upon the name Beryl Pit. Well the name says it all doesn’t it, it’s a mine that has Beryl crystals. This is one of the few fee for collecting sites near Bancroft & believe me it is well worth a visit. You find something new every time. So let’s begin with directions.

Alright, first you will be heading east on highway 28 from Bancroft. This is a bit of a long trip, so be fueled up & don’t forget breakfast. You will travel east on highway 28 for about 41.2 kilometers until you arrive at highway 517 (also referred to as Schutt road). You will turn left onto highway 517 ( it will be a T intersection) and follow it for 12.6 kilometers. You will be going down hill at some point with a nice view of the area. Along this road you will pass a white church on the right side. It might be a good idea to park here to rest or to get a picture of the view. Anyway, after going on highway 517 for 12.6 kilometers you will come to an intersection with highway 515, turn right onto highway 515. You will follow highway 515 for about 10.7 kilometers to Quadeville road (the road will be a T in case its named something else, you can’t miss it). Turn right onto Quadeville road and follow it for about 0.7-1 kilometer. You are looking for a corner store with 2 gas pumps in the front of it. It will be on the right side. Don’t miss it, its here you get directions to the pit & you buy your permit. Not to mention you can get gas. Even thought you have to get the permit here, the directions from here to the pit are very easy. From the store you would turn left and head back on Quadeville road, you would follow it straight past the highway 515 turnoff & keep heading straight. About 2-3 kilometers from the T will be the pit. Now the pit is in a wooded area so you won’t notice it, but there will be a wooded entrance on the right, & a small parking area on the left. Drive slow so you don’t miss it. In case you didn’t get the final directions, don’t worry, they will tell you at the store. Once you park near the pit entrance it’s a short walk through the gated road to the pit area, about 100-200 meters.

The actual pit area is roughly egg shaped, but due to the placement of dumps & the rock floor area it can be not easy to tell. The Beryl pit is made up mainly of dumps of pegmatite material from the pit, & an exposed section of rock floor surrounded by exposed walls of rock. The rock walls & floor is mineral rich.
The dumps make up the majority of the pit area. The dumps are hills made up of the pit material which is turned over once or twice each season with a bulldozer to allow collectors to find new material. It best to come to the pit after the dumps have been turned over and it has rained heavily. This is because if the dumps are just turned over the small dirt & debris mask the material making finding samples very difficult, you need some good rain. I can tell you that this year the dumps have already been turned over, so new material is present. Most of the material you can find will occur in the dumps in minor amounts. If you are very patient & shift thoroughly the dumps you will definitely be rewarded. If you want to find samples quicker but with a lot more work, try the rock floor area.

Here is the entrance to the pit on the right, you can see the road leading from it. Also part of the first dumps is visible on the left.


Here is more of the dumps seen from around the pit entrance.


Here is a video showing the beginning part of the pit.


Now the rock floor area. When I was younger I ignored this area because it was difficult to chip for samples from the pegmatite. But now about 75% of what I recover from the pit comes from the rock floor area. This is a great area, most of the large Beryl samples can be found here. Beryl occurs usually in the color brown & green/blue, but brown primarily. I have heard rumours of large Aquamarine being found here, I can’t say for certain about large samples but I have seen a small gemmy Aquamarine from this locality. Its owned by a fellow that lives near the pit. In the rock floor the Beryls usually occur in pink Feldspar, & whitish Cleavelandite. Some of the feldspar looks rotten & corrupted due to exposure from radioactive crystals in the rock, mainly Allanite & Euxenite. Beside Beryl, you can find Schorl, Cleavelandite, rock Quartz, Amazonite, pink Feldspar, & Peristerite in decent amounts around the floor. Most of the Schorl is in fractured form but you can find intact crystals if you shift through the material or attack the rock floor. Most have to be chipped out but some are loose. Also occurring in minor amounts in the floor are Pyrite cubes in the radioactive zones, purple Flourite & odd purple Hematite near the east wall area, Allanite & Euxenite in the radioactive zones.

Here is the western side of the rock floor area. You can see some of the trenches that make up the floor. It also rained so its all wet.


Here is a rock floor area with Schorl & white Cleavelandite. The image is about 1-0.5 feet.


Here is a rock floor area with blue/green Amazonite & a Quartz vein.




Here is a complete mineral list of samples that can be found at this pit. It is from Mindat.

• Aeschynite-(Ce)
• Aeschynite-(Nd)
• Aeschynite-(Y)
• Albite
var: Cleavelandite
var: Peristerite
• 'Allanite'
• 'Almandine-Spessartine Series'
• Anatase
• 'Apatite'
• Bertrandite
• Beryl
• Bismite
• Bismuthinite
• Bismutite
• 'Columbite'
• Columbite-(Fe)
• Euxenite-(Y)
• Fluorite
• Gadolinite-(Y)
• 'Garnet Group'
• Goethite
• Hafnon
• Hematite
• 'Heulandite'
• Ilmenite
• Magnetite
• 'Manganese Oxides'
• 'Mica Group'
• Microcline
var: Amazonite
• Molybdenite
• 'Monazite'
• Muscovite
• Opal
• Opal
var: Opal-AN
• Phenakite
• Pyrite
• Pyrochlore
• Quartz
var: Rose Quartz
var: Smoky Quartz
• Rutile
var: Ilmenorutile
var: Strüverite
• Samarskite-(Y)
• Schorl
• Thorite
• Titanite
• 'Tourmaline Group'
• Vigezzite
• Zircon
var: Cyrtolite

Generally there are only two methods of finding samples here, these are shifting through dump material, & chipping the rock floor or wall in the rock floor area. I honestly had the most success at the rock floor area when it comes to Beryl, Peristerite, Schorl, & Amazonite. I had the most success in the dumps for Quartz (both clear & smoky), matrix samples, & Aquamarine fragments. It really is a matter of preference, & time. If you have enough time exploring both methods of search will yield the best results, … every time.

So, here are a few images of samples that I found here.

Typical Beryl crystal fragment from this locality. (6.3 x 4.8 x 3.5 cm)


Here is a fragment of Peristerite. (6.1 x3 x 1.7 cm thick).


A very large Beryl crystal, rare to find these days one of such size. (13 x 8.1 x 6 cm & weighs over 2.5 pounds)


Here is a picture of white Cleavelandite. (6.8 x 3.1 x 1.2 cm thick)


A radioactive Euxenite-Y. (6.7 x 2.5 x 2.7 cm)


Here is a large Garnet crystal. (7.8 x 7 x 6.9 cm)


Here is Fluorite, Cleavelandite,& Muscovite. (5.1 x 5 x 2.7)


Here is Beryl & Schorl. (4.3 x 4.1 x 3.7 cm)


single terminated Schorl. (3.1 x 1.1 cm)


Here is Amazonite. (10.3 x by 11.5 x 5.1 cm).


Small Aquamarine. (1.4 x 1.1 cm)


Rare light sensitive pink Fluorite. Under normal & SW UV light (size range 2.5 - 3.8 cm)


Here is my summary of this locality.

Advantages:
1.) Decent size site.
2.) Located to other sites, Jewleville Corundum, Gutz Farm, Burgess Mine, & Craigmont Mine.
3.) Easy to get from road to mine area, no difficult & dangerous driving sections.
4.) Great potential to find rare & unique minerals. A large list of mineral to be found.
5.) Radioactive minerals present.
6.) Two searching options available, searching dumps or chipping at the rock floor.
7.) Acceptable insect levels. Bug spray still recommended. The pit area is relatively insect free.
8.) Potential to find large crystals.

Disadvantages:
1.) Bug can be a problem on the road from the parking area to the Pit. Make the trek from parking to pit quickly. The pit is an open area that bugs avoid.
2.) There is a fee for entry. It is currently $5.00 Canadian per adult.
3.) Distance from Bancroft is far but it is worth the drive.

Well that is it. This is a great site & one definitely worth exploring. Most of the samples I have come from this location & it is the place I go to again and again when I come to the Bancroft region. Hope you enjoyed reading.

Rockhound safe & with determination.


Sources: Mindat.org, Beryl Pit locality mineral list.

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