Silver

A substantial cabinet-sized slab of exceptionally high-grade dendritic native silver intergrown with safflorite in a carbonate–diabase matrix. Both faces have been cut smooth to reveal the intricate, branching networks of silver running through the rock. The richness of the silver veining makes this an especially striking and showy display piece.

This specimen comes from the historic Beaver Mine, once among the deepest and most productive mines in the Cobalt camp. The property was worked from 1907 to 1940 and was developed by two shafts, the deepest reaching approximately 1,600 feet, along with an extensive system of workings totaling 8.5 miles of drifts and crosscuts. Over the life of the mine, production amounted to roughly 7.1 million ounces of silver and 140,000 pounds of cobalt, securing its place as one of the district’s major operations.

Rich, large-format silver ore from the Beaver Mine is increasingly difficult to obtain, and this piece stands as a powerful example of the classic silver–cobalt mineralization that made the Cobalt area world-famous. A remarkable addition to any collection of native silver, Ontario mining history, or museum-grade display ore.