Spinel

This specimen features many well-formed dark purple spinel crystals on calcite-forsterite matrix. The crystals shows good overall form and colour saturation, with clean faces that make it an attractive and concise representative example.

The specimen comes from the Des Cèdres Dam area in Québec, a classic Canadian locality known for producing spinel in high-grade metamorphic environments. Spinel from this area formed in magnesium-rich marbles and related calc-silicate rocks subjected to intense heat and pressure during Grenville-age metamorphism. While spinel is known from several Québec localities, well-crystallized, strongly coloured examples such as this are relatively uncommon, making this a desirable specimen from a well-established but selectively productive site.