The Bancroft Rockhound Gemboree is a four-day event in
Bancroft, Ontario
Bancroft () is a town located on the York River (Ontario), York River in Hastings County in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was first settled in the 1850s by descendants of the United Empire Loyalists and Irish immigrants. From the mid-1950s ...
where mineral collectors and vendors meet to trade rocks and minerals. It has been occurring annually since 1963.
Geology of Bancroft
The geology around Bancroft is rich in mineral
pegmatites
A pegmatite is an igneous rock showing a very coarse texture, with large interlocking crystals usually greater in size than and sometimes greater than . Most pegmatites are composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica, having a similar silicic com ...
, as a result of molten lava being trapped under the
Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield ( ), also called the Laurentian Shield or the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), th ...
one billion areas ago. The geology of Bancroft is noted for having bodies of quartz surrounded by rare earth minerals, including
zircon
Zircon () is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates and is a source of the metal zirconium. Its chemical name is zirconium(IV) silicate, and its corresponding chemical formula is Zr SiO4. An empirical formula showing some of th ...
and
uraninite
Uraninite, also known as pitchblende, is a radioactive, uranium-rich mineral and ore with a chemical composition that is largely UO2 but because of oxidation typically contains variable proportions of U3O8. Radioactive decay of the uranium c ...
.
[Joyce, G. ''Rockhound heaven''. ]Canadian Geographic
''Canadian Geographic'' is a magazine published by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, (RCGS) based in Ottawa, Ontario.
History and profile
After the Society was founded in 1929, the magazine was established the next year in May 1930 unde ...
, '' . l.', v. 124, n. 4, p. 66–76, 2004. Disponível em: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=13700838&site=eds-live&scope=site.Acesso em: 8 jul. 2022.
History
The Gemboree was started on 1963
["Rockhounds gather for Gemboree." ''Globe & Mail'' oronto, Canada 8 Aug. 1985, p. M12. ''Gale OneFile: News'', link.gale.com/apps/doc/A165593419/STND?u=wikipedia&sid=ebsco&xid=c47caf0c. Accessed 8 July 2022.] by two dozen people based out of a tent and a room at the local
Royal Canadian Legion
The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian veterans' organization founded in 1925. Members include people who served in the military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial or municipal police, Royal Canadian Air, Army and Sea Cade ...
.
The 22nd Gemboree occurred in 1985 and attracted 8,000 attendees.
By 1991, the event was being held at the Bancroft's North Hastings Community Centre and ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'' reported that it was described as "the largest show of its kind in Canada." The 1995 Gemboree attracted mineral vendors from across Canada, the US and South Africa.
["Travel Extra 'Rockhounds' sniff out the gems of semi-precious Bancroft." ''Globe & Mail'' oronto, Canada 26 May 1995, p. 24. ''Gale OneFile: News'', link.gale.com/apps/doc/A163527724/STND?u=wikipedia&sid=ebsco&xid=20d56081. Accessed 8 July 2022.] By 2004, the four-day event had moved into the local hockey arena.
See also
*
List of mines in the Bancroft area
References
{{Authority controlExternal links
Official website
Annual events in Ontario
Gemology
History of Hastings County