Gold, Tellurides

A quartz specimen hosting specks of native gold from the historic Ashley Mine, Canada. The gold occurs as small but distinct metallic flecks within the quartz matrix, accompanied by stepped metallic cleavage surfaces that may represent silver tellurides or galena, minerals known to occur in this vein system. Under magnification, the specimen reveals a complex interplay of quartz, gold, and metallic phases.

The Ashley Mine was a gold–silver property located approximately 20 km WNW of Matachewan and was active primarily during the 1930s. From 143,007 tons of ore, the mine produced an impressive 1,558,996 grams of gold and 237,754 grams of silver. A mineralogical study was one in 1932 documenting ten metallic minerals in the Ashley vein, including native gold, pyrite, galena, altaite, and the gold telluride krennerite, marking the first reported occurrence of telluride minerals in the Matachewan area. Today, little physical evidence of the mine remains beyond concrete foundations, with the site largely reclaimed by forest, making surviving specimens from this locality increasingly uncommon.