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Field CollectingCollecting Trip to Thunder Bay - Amethyst

10th Aug 2016 00:00 UTCKelly Zytaruk

I am travelling to Thunder Bay by car and would like to turn the trip into a collecting expedition. I have never been to Thunder Bay before so this is exciting for me. I will be leaving the Huntsville area on a Saturday morning and don't need to be in Thunder Bay until Sunday night. There is plenty of time to stop along the way and take my time. Once I am up there I will have 4 days of "free time" for collecting before I need to head back home. I will also be packing my camera for those scenic shots. I am driving a Nissan Altima so I can't go through the "4x4" territory.

I did a bunch of googling around and there are a lot of amethyst mines to choose from. Can anyone recommend which ones to definitely include in my trip and which ones to avoid. Which ones are open to the public for collecting and which ones are private. Are there any good road-side places/cuts to stop along the way and collect?

My main focus is coming home with some nice Amethyst (without breaking the pocket book), but I understand there is also Lake Superior Agate, purple Fluorite and Garnets up there that can be collected. I am open to collecting anything that looks cool and is easy to identify.

As I said, I have 2 days to get up there so I am anxious to collect along the way as well and am open to assorted different routes as long as it doesn't add too much extra mileage.

Are there any interesting sites that are a definite must to visit? I have heard that there is a mine somewhere up near Sudbury? possibly near Science North that has a good tour/show.

Thanks,

Kelly

10th Aug 2016 03:45 UTCPaul Brandes 🌟 Manager

Welcome to Mindat, Kelly! :)-D

It's been many years since I was in Thunder Bay, but I always had good luck at the Diamond Willow and Blue Point mines for amethyst. The Thunder Bay Agate Mine is a wonderful place for some different colours of agate, but I hear it is closed now, so you may want to research this further. Other than that, I don't have anything additional. I know there are folks from around the Sudbury area that will be able help you out.

Good luck!

10th Aug 2016 04:10 UTCKelly Zytaruk

Thanks Paul,

Blue Points and Diamond Willow as well as Old Bill's Mine are on my "for-sure" list. I read some good stuff about the Dorian Mine but I can't seem to find any contact information.

Boulder Creek also sounded interesting but it is by appointment only and they haven't responded to my email yet. They listed a phone number so I might try that tomorrow. Would be nice to hear from a collectors opinion however.

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