Real Talk!

Mark your calendar: it's happening this week… July 30, 31, August 1, 2, 2009.... the annual Rockhound Gemboree at the Bancroft Arena.

Everyone should experience Canada's largest gem & mineral show that brings together over 110 dealers from across the globe, with a wealth of fine mineral specimens, gemstone jewelry, fossils, crafts and lapidary supplies. This annual event draws thousands of collectors, rock hounds and geologists.

Highlights of the show include gold panning booth, rock and mineral talks with geologists from Natural Resources Canada, a swapping area, a mineral display and expert mineral identification services offered by the Royal Ontario Museum, and geologist-led mineral collecting field trips. Visitors should also check out the 7th Annual Stone Carver's Show and the Bancroft Curling Club.

The Gemboree is sparked by a rich and unique geological history that is found in few places in the world. Bancroft is known as the "Mineral Capital of Canada" because of the variety and quality of mineral species that occur here.

The region lies on top of a portion of the Canadian Shield stretching 400 kilometers wide by 2,000 kilometers long from Lake Huron to Labrador on rock that has been estimated at between 1.1 and 1.8 billion years old.

Mineral deposits characteristic of the Bancroft region are of excellent quality, but the veins were small and often difficult to follow. Mining operations in the area were very small, unable to compete with the larger mines across Canada and into the United States.

After World War II, the search for uranium initiated another mining boom in the Bancroft area. This led to the opening of four major uranium mines - Bicroft, Faraday, Dyno, and Greyhawk - which operated from the mid 1950s to the early 1960s.

The increasing costs of mining such as small deposits resulted in their eventual closure. Faraday, the largest producer of uranium, reopened in 1976 under the title of Madawaska Mines and remained open until 1982. Old, abandoned mine sites still provide a wealth of mineral samples for collectors.

In addition to uranium, 1,600 species of minerals have been identified in this region.

One of Bancroft's most interesting mining operations was the quarrying of the deep blue mineral called sodalite.

Thomas Thomson

Sodalite is the main mineral of the Sodalite group that is composed of minerals with a similar isometric structure and related chemistry. Its members are also part of a larger group called the Feldspathoids (similar to Feldspars but with less silica content). Sodalite is named in reference to its sodium content and was named by Glasgow chemist, Professor Thomas Thomson, who had been hired by the British to identify the stone after they had captured a shipment of it being sent from Greenland to Demark during the Napoleonic Wars.

Sodalite did not become important as a gemstone until 1891 when it was unearthed at a deposit near Bancroft, Ontario by Frank D. Adams while he was investigating the geology of the Haliburton-Hastings area for the Geological Survey of Canada.

(starting at top: Cleophas Cisney O'Hara, Sir Archibald Geikie, Frederick Haynes Newell, Henry Barnard Kümmell, George Burbank Shattuck, Rollin Daniel Salisbury, Arthur Clifford Veatch, Louis Marcus Prindle, Harry Fielding Reid, Charles Richard Van Hise, Cleveland Abbe, Jr., George Willis Stose, Thomas Leonard Watson, Edward Vincent D'Invilliers, Clarence Wilbur Dorsey, Frederick James Hamilton Merrill, Louis Agricola Bauer, Arthur Coe Spencer, William John McGee, William Bullock Clark, Rufus Mather Bagg, Frank Hall Knowlton, Robert T. Hill, Heinrich Ries, FRANK D ADAMS, Arthur Philemon Coleman, Timothy William Stanton, Oliver Lanard Fassig, Samuel Franklin Emmons, George Ferdinand Becker, Albert Berthold Hoen, George Otis Smith, James Furman Kemp, Bailey Willis, Charles David White, Edward Bennett Mathews, Charles Doolittle Walcott, John Wesley Powell, Joseph Stanley-Brown, Joseph Austin Holmes, Charles Willard Hayes, Leonidas Chalmers Glenn, Hiram Smith Williams.)

During their 1901 visit World's Fair in Buffalo, New York, The Prince and Princess of Wales were so captivated by a gift of Bancroft sodalite that the Princess made arrangements to quarry enough of the mineral to decorate her London residence, Marlborough House. In 1906, 130 tonnes of the rock were shipped to England to be used as a decorative stone in the Princess' royal home. And that is from where the name "Princess Sodalite Mine" comes. Visitors can still visit the Princess Sodalite Mine & shop 4 km East of Bancroft on Highway 28.

Those who believe in the healing energy of rocks, minerals and crystals believe that sodalite can provide one with access to the sacred laws of the universe. It is connected with the astrological sign of Sagittarius and the element, water. Considered energy receptive, sodalite vibrates to the number 4 and relates to the throat chakra and the planet Venus.

Sodalite is also believed to resonate to Archangel Michael, the Archangel of protection, courage, truth and strength. It is considered an excellent stone for use in groups, providing for fellowship and solidarity, as well as achieving of common goals. It is said that one should carry this stone as a reminder that nothing changes until YOU change.

A stone of insight and intuition, the sodalite is used to clear mental confusion and establish inner peace. Strengthening the power of mind over body, the energy of sodalite bridges the gaps between thoughts and feelings. It fosters knowledge, learning, consciousness, communication and wisdom. This stone is useful for both the student and philosopher.

Particularly useful for people taking the 4th step: Inventory. Sodalite helps to alleviate fear and guilt- allowing one to honestly access both self and others. Sodalite draws one from their comfort zone and reminds them that what is in the past can no longer hurt.

Sodalite stimulates courage and endurance, soothes and heals the central nervous system, enhances communication and combats the negative effects of radioactivity.

Sodalite is considered to calm those who have a tendency to be reactive and overly sensitive. It is used for healing rifts in relationships, partnerships and helps to bring an end to disagreements. Uniting the logical with the spiritual, sodalite assists in freeing us from old behaviour patterns that no longer serve us.

Promoting a deep level of peace and a profound emotional balance, sodalite is super for people who experience anxiety or panic attacks. It also aids in weight loss, regulating the metabolism and helping with digestion. Useful in memory work, sodalite is thought to be a record-keeping mineral.

Said to prolong physical endurance, awaken the third eye and dispel insomnia, sodalite is favoured by atheletes, new-age healers and seekers. It is also credited with absorbing and neutralizing inner clouds of disharmony, balancing both sides of the mind and allowing the mind to express the emotional aspects of ideas in the physical form. As such, they say, sodalite unites the logical with the spiritual.

Sodalite is used to treat those searching for truth, wanting to enhance self-esteem, enhancing self-trust, fostering mutual dependence, improving the trust of others and soothing emotional turmoil.

Sodalite, apparently helps, also, in understanding the nature of self in relation to the universe. It is the most dense and grounded of the deep blue stones and it clears the mind and prepares it for greater perception: to receive the inner light and intuitive knowledge.

For those who have trouble getting in touch with their true feelings and often use their heads to make life decision- sodalite is recommended as it will bring harmony to all inner conflict.