McGillite (RICH & VERY RARE Canadian species)

Item Description

(One of the last of a small lot we obtained recently) Mcgillite is a VERY rare manganous hydroxychlorosiliciate species named for the University in Canada which had a great mineralogy department. The deposit was discovered in 1892. Mining started in 1909 and stopped in 2001. Specimens such as this are almost unheard of on the open market! Mcgillite occurs as small pink microcrystals on this rich specimen with a large display surface. The piece was personally verified by Dr Mark Feinglos for me. A suggested value would be $300-500 for this specimen. NOTE ADDED FROM THE PREVIOUS OWNER: I am a retired mineral processing engineer and worked at many mines, mostly with Cominco (Teck), and over the years I had two stints at the Sullivan Mine in Kimberley. The first time I worked there, 1990-1992, I learned of McGillite and the mine geologist gave me a small piece. I left and returned to the Sullivan in 1996 and when I was in the personnel office Liz was preventing her amaryllis from tipping over with a large rock loaded with McGillite. I asked her if I could have the rock and wondered where she had found it. She did give me the rock which I still have in my collection. She said she got it from a box in the vault downstairs. In 1996 I met Marc Betournay (one of the people that worked on identifying the mineral at McGill) and he sent me an original copy of the article that appeared in the Canadian Mineralogist Vol. 18, pp 31-36 1980, on the identification of McGillite. Anyway, just before the mine shutdown in 2001 I asked if I could see this box in the vault and it turned out to be a powder box full of McGillite and a note with it saying it was not to be removed without contacting John Hamilton (former Chief Geologist and at the time a VP of Cominco). I asked the Property Manager if I could have a couple of pieces which he allowed me to do. Now John Hamilton was in Vancouver and he was contacted about this box and the next time I saw the rest of the specimens was at a special geological conference put on for the Mine Closure. Mr. Hamilton had gotten the rocks cut and mounted onto plaques that were then given out to special people at this meeting (I did not get one) and that was the end of any specimens from the mine site. I do know of one former employee that, the last I heard, still has a very impressive specimen of McGillite. The McGillite came from a very localized area below the former open pit and the area had not been accessible for a long time and most specimens date to around 1945 (see the article or I can provide a copy).