Titanite

This Grenvillian titanite specimen features a sharp, dark brown blade of titanite with very good lustre. The crystal is cleanly formed and attached to its feldspar matrix by a small remnant of calcite. The titanite is nearly perfect, with only the slightest and barely noticeable bruising on the upper left edge. The specimen could easily be mounted upright on a base, making for a striking miniature display.

The specimen comes from the Bear Lake Diggings, historically one of Ontario’s most celebrated mineral collecting localities. This site is especially renowned for producing large fluorapatite crystals, some exceeding a foot in length, along with a suite of classic Grenville Province minerals. Formerly Ontario’s first publicly protected mineral collecting site, Bear Lake was sold in 2016 and access has since been restricted. As a result, specimens from this locality have become increasingly scarce and sought after by collectors world-wide.

Ex Peter Tarassoff collection. Ex George Loud collection