Chrysotile

This specimen consists of a petri dish filled with soft, white, fibrous asbestos from the Cassiar Asbestos Mine in northern British Columbia. The mine was known for producing high-quality asbestos, free from tremolite inclusions, and operated until the 1990s, when the price and demand for asbestos dropped significantly.

Following the mine's closure, the entire town of Cassiar was sold off, with its buildings either hauled away or demolished. Today, this once-prolific deposit lies dormant in the remote northern region of British Columbia. Specimens from this historic site serve as a reminder of the mine’s notable contribution to the asbestos industry during its operational years.