Many more years ago than I care to remember, one of my school chums dug for amethyst. This is a popular activity around the city of Thunder Bay in Northern Ontario where the largest amethyst mine in North America is located. She brought back a bag of it for me and I have kept it all of these years although I parted with some when a family member received a rock tumbler one Christmas.
Amethyst was once a popular and valuable gemstone before extensive deposits of it were found worldwide. It is a purple variety of quartz and the official mineral of Ontario.
It was once believed that amethyst protected its owner from intoxication!
References
Amethyst Mining in Thunder Bay
Images
Photos from the iPad of @kansuze. @kansuze
I know where I'm going when I want to get some nice amethyst for myself! Being in Duluth I'm not too far away so a trip there is actually possible! Thanks for sharing this!
#rockhound is the tag for #rockhounds! Manually curated by @rockhounds / @bitfiend! Share your rocks!
You're welcome! It's not just in the mines and the area above Lake Superior is quite scenic too.
The mines in Ontario are well worth a visit! You have a lovely collection!
Thank you!
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Thank you for sharing this and for including it in the #fridaysrock tag. I have always enjoyed amethyst. The beautiful purple color has always caught my eye! I would love to go to one of the mines some day. @melinda010100 mentioned the amethyst mines on the north side of Lake Superior. I would love to go there some day!!
Congratulations, beautiful stone!
I really like amethyst!
I have a collection of semi-precious stones.