Celestine

This is a hard-to-find celestine specimen from the lesser-known Amherstburg Quarry in Ontario. It features a sharp, lustrous, prismatic light blue crystal that had a nice blue colour at the base, transitioning to a white, feathered termination. The Amherstburg Quarry is an aggregate operation located in Malden Township, Essex County, extracting from Middle Devonian Detroit River Group limestones and dolostones. Although the quarry is currently inactive, it was known in the 1970s for producing attractive celestine and calcite specimen. The site is an immense open-pit quarry and has only been accessible to collectors through organized mineral club visits. This particular piece was collected during a 2023 field trip. Well-formed celestine is difficult to collect from this locality, as the crystals are highly prone to damage during extraction.