Canada (Ontario, Cobalt) Wire Silver

Native silver wire from the Keeley Mine, one of the famous Cobalt silver camps of Ontario, Canada. Wire silver from the Cobalt area is well known, but miniature-sized specimens of quality and aesthetic form are seldom encountered. Most examples you'll encounter on the market are either under 1cm or consist of many tiny wires on matrix. These are all dramatic and highly displayable specimens.

The Keeley Mine, discovered in 1907, was one of the important producers in the Cobalt silver camp and operated until 1965. It later became connected underground with the neighbouring Frontier Mine, developed in 1921, along the same vein system. Together the Keeley–Frontier operations produced over 19 million ounces of silver along with cobalt, nickel, and copper. The Woods Vein, associated with these workings, was particularly famous for its deep oxidation zone and abundant secondary silver mineralization, which produced many fine wire silver specimens. Antique Cobalt specimens rarely carry a precise mine attribution, making these examples from the Keeley Mine especially desirable.