The CN Dump, A classic locality in Bancroft

By: Michal Adamowicz, rockhound

I suppose it is time an article was written about the CN dump in the heart of Bancroft, Ontario. This location has probably been visited as one of the first site that rockhounds explore when they enter Bancroft. I remember that it was the first site that I ever explored when I started becoming a rockhound. Most collectors stop here as it is very easy to access, night & day. It’s a great place for families to try to look for interesting rocks. Well for once I do not have to give you detailed instructions how to reach the CN dump. It quite easy to find as it is in the heart of town.

To get to the site, lts assume that you are coming to Bancroft from highway 28 south, going east. When you are almost in downtown Bancroft, turn left onto Chemaushgon Road. A few meters later will be a stop sign, turn right & go down the slight hill. Before you cross the York River bridge you will see Hastings Heritage Way road & an old red train station building (old mineral museum & tourist office) to the left, & a mill like structure to the right. Turn right into the road before the bridge. The road will be gravel & dirt, follow the road as it goes along the river. About 250 meters will be the dump, it will be on the right. You will see it with ease, even in the thick brush of summer. Just park to the side of the road, anywhere here as long as there is enough room for cars to pass. The dump will be a large white hill on the right, about 20x20 meters across & 35 feet high, give or take. I never measured it, it’s just a guess. The picture will give you an idea of its size.


The CN dump, despite been in the heart of the city is still a good site to collect because you most likely will have to drive a few kilometers from the site anyway, if you go through Bancroft. It is a very safe site to visit as you don’t have to worry about hidden adits or unstable rock slopes.

The material for the dump comes from the Goulding-Keene Quarry beside the York River. Since the Goulding-Keene Quarry is off limits as its a provincial park now, the only way the explore its material is from the CN dump.

Here are some photos:

Here is the CN Dump, notice the houses around. The dump is public access so collect with ease.


Here is a bit of a close-up.


Here is the view from the top of the dump looking toward Bancroft over the York River.



Now lets talk a bit about collecting here. Unlike most of my articles, this time I will mention two different methods to collecting here. These are day & night. You might wonder what I mean so let me explain.

The day collecting option most people will use when they come to this site. As most people collect during the day of course. This also makes it safe for all members of the family to collect also. When you collect here during the day you have basically three approaches that you can take:

(1) Scavenge the material by looking all over the hill. You pick up what looks promising. Simple, Right?

(2) Shift & Dig through material. Here you just dig in the rock pile until you find something you like. If you find something
bigger you break it up through a sledgehammer, mallet, rock pick, or good old fashioned human muscle & stubbornness.

(3) You look into hidden areas around the edge of the rock pile. In the woods, or the entrance into the pile. You try to find
something that was hidden by the brush. You also try to dig in the soil around the edge of the rock pile. The one problem with
this is that most of the material in the vegetation is weathered & covered by dirt & debris, making it easy to miss. But of
course that is why you are looking here isn’t it.

All methods of searching here are equally good, since the rock pile material has been constantly shifted through years of collectors moving the stuff around. It is true, finding material here is not easy so you usually will need to dig a bit. But good finds are still possible, if you just add a bit of work. When you collect here most of the material will be white/grey Nepheline, black Biotite, some blue Sodalite, & the occasional Apatite. The real fun begins when you collect here at night.

Now lets shed some light into the night collecting option. When I say looking in the night you probably guess that I mean using a nifty new weapon in the battle to find impressive samples: a UV light. That’s right, a UV light. I consider this tool to be used by professional collectors as on average they are quite expensive, & you would not buy it unless you plan to use it, right? Well so here you go, using an UV light, but what band: short, medium, or long? Well here is where it get interesting. If you come at night, or early in the morning & you use a short wave lamp, you will find an impressive sight. Here and there you will see the red glow of Calcite in the rock, the green glow (almost ethereal looking) of probably Opal, & an unidentified orange/yellow glow & white glow. This you will find in some of the rocks. The largest amount you will see glowing is the red Clacite, then second the green Opal. A few orange & white bits you will see also. The most impressive finds by far are the green Opal. They look almost like something from a Sci-Fi movie, its very beautiful.

Now if you use a long wave light you will see much less stuff glowing but what you will find is considerably more interesting: Hackmanite. There is not much of the material but considering that you do not have to hike 3 kilometers onto a half-forgotten muddy wagon trial in the middle of the night exposed to wolfs, bears, & what else moves with hungry precision, I think it’s a good deal. I for one have had no luck in finding the Davis Quarry anyway (yet), as I won’t risk my car on the road so I have to walk, so I was very surprised to find some Hackmanite in the middle of town. The pieces aren’t as full of Hackmanite as the Davis Quarry stuff but it is still a good tradeoff. The Hackmanite glows reddish & it looks as if the glow is from within the mineral not just on the surface, it really gives the mineral a magical & beautiful glow. Also if you are just starting to collect fluorescent minerals, this is definitely a good place to start. Once you expose the Hackmanite to long & short wave UV light for a bit you will see the Nepheline gain the pinkish spots, that is Hackmanite restored. It’s a very impressive thing that Hackmanite is tenebrescence & regains the pinkish color once exposed to UV light, & away from sunlight. Its truly a fascinating property. It definitely makes it more interesting to show others what an interesting mineral you have that changes color once it fades away from sunlight exposure & then is restored with a UV lamp. Truly fascinating isn’t it.

Overall you can collect at night easily & another plus is that you can park right beside the dump, making it easier to move samples. Much easier. Try not to make noise by breaking or chipping any rocks at night though, it is a residential area right in the middle of town after all.

I would recommend coming here to collect during the summer at night because in the spring & fall all the leaves are gone, & the surrounding glow (light pollution) of the nearby homes will make the night brighter & make it a bit more difficult to us your UV light, unless you have a very powerful model.

Here are some sample pictures from the dump.

Albite. (4.3 x 2.8 x 1.7 cm)


Peristerite with Nepheline & Biotite. (5.8 x 3.2cm)


Nepheline with Apatite & Sodalite. (5.1 x 2.2 x 1.9cm)


Hyalite with Biotite & Nepheline. Under SW UV & normal light.( 9.1 x 7.8 x 2.2 cm)


Hackmanite with Nepheline. Under normal & LW UV light.(4.9 x 2.8 x 2.1 cm)


Zircon on Nepheline. Under normal & SW UV light. (3.5 x 3 x 1.5 cm)


Complete Mineral List:

Albite-Anorthite Series
Apatite-(CaF)
Biotite
Cancrinite
Graphite
Meta-autunite
Natrolite
Nepheline
Opal
var: Opal-AN
Pyrite
Scapolite
Sodalite
var: Hackmanite
Zircon


Well here you have it. All the information you need to explore here successfully. As usual I will give a summary of my exploration here.

Advantages:
1.) In the heart of town. Safe to visit anytime at day & night & easy for beginners also.
2.) A few feet from car. Very convenient to move samples. Allows for very large sample collecting.
3.) Collecting options for day & night collectors.
4.) Fluorescent mineral present.
5.) Very easy to located site.

Disadvantages:

1.) Too easy to locate, limited amount of samples to be found as site has been thoroughly searched.
2.) Limited amount of fluorescent minerals present, with UV light they are easy to collect & remove quickly. The fluorescent
minerals here can disappear quickly if too many collectors visit the site.
3.) Its located in the heart of town so you must be as quiet as possible when collecting here. House are located a few meters away.

Well it might be well collected but it still has potential, especially for night collectors, at least for now. It always a good idea to give it a quick check to see what has changed as you probably will be near the site anyway, why not. Thanks for reading. Explore new sites with caution & at own risk.

Rockhound safe & with Determination.

Referance: Mindat mineral list, Goulden-Keene Quarry & CN rock dump.

In order to leave comments to this article, you must be registered