I am a Chemical Engineer by schooling, but I have been interested in rocks and minerals (and fossils as well) from an early age. I knew that the area around the former family cottage (in Gooderham, near Tory Hill) was a great area for mineral collecting but I had no idea how great until I came across the Mindat site. I started to visit the sites in my immediate area (starting with Titanite Hill, of course) and immediately began finding interesting minerals and crystals (apatite, titanite, etc.) and now I am hooked.

I also live in the Renfrew area, so I plan to visit as many of the Mindat sites between Gooderham and Renfrew as possible (in Wilberforce, Bancroft, Eganville, etc.), and as far South as Kingston to see what I can find. I also plan to look for some sites in the Madoc and Marmora area (but no luck there so far). So far, some of my favourite sites include the Smart Mine, the Beryl Pit, Titanite Hill, Craigmont / Robillard Mtn (mainly for the hike / view, but also for the corundum), and some others.

Being so close to the Quebec border, I have great access to head to some of the old mine sites in Western Quebec. It is my goal to visit as many of the old abandoned mines as I can this summer ('23), first to see if I can even locate them and then to see if I can get permission to access them and look for minerals.