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Minerals of Nova Scotia Minerals of Nova Scotia

Minerals of Nova Scotia Minerals of Nova Scotia

Prospecting in Nova Scotia of Nova Scotia Minerals of Nova Scotia

The following slides present photographs and properties of Nova Scotia minerals of interest to prospectors.

The properties described here relate to those defined in the “Identifying Minerals” module and it is recommended that you view that module first. Nova Scotia Minerals • • • Barite • • and • • • • • • (Native) • • • Salt • Gold • • • • • • • Zeolites Arsenopyrite (FeAsS) • Hardness: (5) Can scratch with knife; brittle, forms powder when struck • Shape: Forms prisms, • Colour: Steel gray to silver white • : Metallic • Reaction with acid: No • Magnetic: No • : Black • Other: Garlic-like smell when struck, striations on surfaces are characteristic • Location: Common at gold occurrences Barite: (BaSO4)Barium sulfate • Hardness (3-3.5): Scratch with knife, brittle • Shape: Massive, Forms blades • Colour: White, Colorless, light blue, yellow, grey, brown • Lustre: Vitreous • Reaction with acid: No • Magnetic: No • Streak: White • Other: Heavy (SG 4.8), Used for drilling muds in oil exploration • Localities: Walton, Lake Ainslie Cassiterite: (SnO2) Tin • Hardness (6-7): Can not scratch with knife; brittle, powder brown to white • Shape: Forms prisms, needles • Colour: Black, brownish black, reddish brown, red, yellow, gray, white; rarely colorless • Lustre: Lustre like • Reaction with acid: No • Magnetic: No • Streak: brownish white • Other: Heavy (SG 7) • Localities: granites; East Kemptville Chalcopyrite (Chalk-o-pyrite) (CuFeS2) Copper Ore • Hardness: Scratch with knife; brittle, forms powder when struck • Shape: Forms triangular • Colour: Bronze-honey yellow, surface tarnishes to rainbow colours • Lustre: Metallic Chalcopyrite • Reaction with acid: No • Magnetic: Weakly magnetic, powder sticks to magnet Pyrite • Streak: Greenish black streak • Other: Common Copper ore • Location: Copper Lake Chalcopyrite tarnished Copper Lake

• ; (Cu) • Hardness:can be easily scratched by needle, penknife. Malleable: edges bend. • Shape: Hackly: rough jagged surface • Colour: Copper, tarnishes green or black • Lustre: Metallic • Reaction with acid: No • Magnetic: No • Streak: Copper • Location: Common in North Mountain and around Bay of Fundy – Minas Basin; in dark volcanic rocks; with zeolites and quartz Galena (PbS) Lead Ore • Hardness: Can be scratched by copper coin, Gays River, Hants County very brittle • Shape: Forms cubes, masses Galena • Colour: Lead gray, silvery • Lustre: Metallic • Reaction with acid: No • Magnetic: No • Streak: Greenish black streak • Other: Heavier than fools gold • Localities: Dunbrack Mine, Musquodoboit; Gays River, Hants County; Yava Mine, Cape Breton; Jubilee, Cape Breton Gold (Au) • Hardness: Soft, easily scratched with a knife, malleable. • Shape: Generally irregular, hackly • Colour: Bright gold yellow, • Lustre: Metallic • Reaction with acid: No • Magnetic: No • Streak: gold • Other: Very heavy;19 times heavier than water; 7 times heavier than ; 4 times heavier than fools gold • Location: Common on Eastern Shore Gypsum (CaSO4) Calcium Sulphate • Hardness (1): Very soft; can be scratched by fingernail • Shape: Massive, long and prismatic crystals • Colour: Colourless to white • Lustre: Dull to Vitreous • Reaction with acid: No • Magnetic: No • Streak: White • Other: Flexible; used in plaster & fertilizer • Localities: Windsor, Carrols Corner Hematite (Fe2O3) Ore of Iron • Hardness (6): Same as knife; brittle, powder red-brown • Shape: Forms flakes, kidney-shaped masses • Colour: Metallic gray to dark red • Lustre: Metallic • Reaction with acid: No • Magnetic: After heating • Streak: Reddish brown • Other: Heavy (SG 5) An ore of iron, used as red pigment • Localities: Found near Nictaux Falls, Torbrook, Bridgeville, Londonderry Limonite, (rust) FeO(OH)·nH2O • Hardness (1-5): Scratch with knife; brittle, • Shape: Massive • Colour: Yellowish brown • Lustre: Dull to earthy • Reaction with acid: No • Magnetic: No • Streak: Yellowish brown • Other: Heavy (SG 5) Used as pigment. Rusting of iron sulfides at surface (gossans) can be a guide to sulfide mineralization • Localities: Once mined at Londonderry Magnetite (Fe3O4) Ore of iron • Hardness (5.5-6.5): Same as knife knife; brittle, powder black • Shape: Blocky or massive • Colour: Grey - Black • Lustre: Metallic • Reaction with acid: No • Magnetic: Yes, strongly • Streak: Black • Other: Heavy (SG 5) • Localities: Found in Economy Mountain Molybdenite: (MoS2) Molybdenum Ore • Hardness: (1) Soft, scratch with fingernail, brittle • Shape: usually platy form • Colour: Lead grey • Lustre: metallic • Reaction with acid: No • Magnetic: No • Streak: Greenish grey • Other: Can write on paper (like ), black powder with greasy feel • Localities: In granites in southern Nova Scotia and at Coxheath in Cape Breton

Coxheath, NS Pyrite (FeS2) • Hardness: (6.6.5) Can’t scratch with knife; brittle, forms black powder when struck • Shape: Forms cubes • Colour: Brass yellow • Lustre: Metallic • Reaction with acid: No • Magnetic: No • Streak: Greenish Black • Other: Strike with hammer creates hot spark, smells like sulfur • Location: Very common in NS Pyrolusite (MnO2)Manganese Ore Hardness (6): Same as knife; brittle, Shape: grains, kidney-shaped radial masses Colour: Steel grey Lustre: Sub-Metallic Reaction with acid: No Magnetic: No Streak: Reddish brown Other: Heavy (SG 5) Localities: New Ross, Noel shore

Pyrolusite, Pyrrhotite (Pee-rho-tite) (FeS) • Hardness: Scratch with knife; brittle, forms powder when struck • Shape: Forms prisms, plates, also in masses • Colour: Bronze colour, surface tarnishes to brown • Lustre: Metallic • Reaction with acid: No • Magnetic: Magnetic, powder sticks to magnet • Streak: Grey Black • Other: Common in mainland NS in slates and gold districts Quartz (SiO2) • Hardness: (7) Very hard, scratches glass, brittle • Shape: 6-sided prism ending in 6-sided pyramid, fine-grained to massive • Colour: Transparent, white, yellow, tan, pink to purple () • Lustre: Glassy to greasy • Reaction with acid: No • Magnetic: No • Streak: White • Other: Quartz veins with gold common in NS gold deposits Quartz Vein, Dufferin Mine Salt () (NaCl) Sodium Chloride

• Hardness (2.5): Scratched by fingernail brittle, breaks in to small cubes • Shape: Massive, cubic crystals • Colour: Colourless, white, blue, pink • Lustre: Vitreous • Reaction with acid: No • Magnetic: No • Streak: White • Other: Road Salt, table salt; salty taste • Localities: Pugwash Scheelite Ca (WO4) Tungsten Ore • Hardness (4-5): Scratch with knife, brittle, powder white • Shape: Usually platy form • Colour: White-pale yellow-browish yellow • Lustre: Glassy • Reaction with acid: No • Magnetic: No • Streak: white • Other: Fluoresces (shines) under black light (UV lamp) • Localities: Common in quartz-gold veins Sphalerite: (ZnS) Zinc Ore • Hardness: Can be scratched by copper coin, very brittle • Shape: Colour: brown, yellow, green, reddish • Lustre: Resinous, greasy • Reaction with acid: No • Magnetic: No • Streak: Brownish white • Localities: Gays River, Hants County; Jubilee, Cape Breton Stibnite: (Sb2S3) Antimony Ore • Hardness (2): Very soft: scratch with by fingernail • Shape: Forms prisms, needles • Colour: Black-grey • Lustre: Metallic • Reaction with acid: Decomposed with acid • Magnetic: No • Streak: Blackish grey • Other: Toxic • Localities: West Gore Zeolites • Hardness (2): Very soft; can be scratched with fingernail • Shape: Form needles, radial groups • Colour: White to pink • Lustre: Vitreous to pearly • Reaction with acid: No • Magnetic: No • Streak: White • Other: Heated on flame with tweezers releases steamLocalities: North Mountain

• is Nova Scotia’s Mineral Prospecting in Nova Scotia Minerals of Nova Scotia

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