Mineralogy

Monthly Archive: December Mine

Earth's Archives: Every Rock Tells a Story Part 1

Posted: April 13, 2015 - 12:52 , by ROM
Hematite

Hermatite

By: Ian Nicklin

Hematite is a common ore of iron that was extensively mined in northern England in the 19th century. The miners referrred to globular aggregates of hematite, such as this, as "kidney-ore" since it reminded them of the organ. We call this shape "reniform," which means the same thing: kidney-shaped.

Adventures at Big Fish River

Posted: December 10, 2012 - 15:38 , by Mia Ijacic
Categories: 
| Comments () | Comment

This blog post was written by Dr. Kim Tait, Curator of Mineralogy at the ROM. As the new recipient of the YPC Research Fund, Kim has travelled to the northeastern corner of the Yukon—a remote region rich with minerals called Rapid Creek. Her work builds on the legacy of ROM research on phosphate minerals, which are one of the largest and most complex in the mineral kingdom and act as the atomic building blocks of our natural world.

Gem of the Month: Canadian Diamonds

Posted: September 20, 2012 - 13:00 , by royal
Categories: 
| Comments () | Comment

Posting by Brendt Hyde, Mineralogy Technician

The discovery of diamonds in the 1990’s marked a beginning for Canada’s first diamond mine, the Ekati Diamond Mine, located in the Northwest Territories.  It also marked the beginning of the, still relatively young, diamond mining industry in Canada.

Digging Through the Vaults: Rediscovery and Rehabilitation

Posted: August 30, 2012 - 08:55 , by royal
Categories: 
| Comments () | Comment

Front face of ring displaying engraving in purple stone.

Collector's ring with a large convex amethyst gem engraved with an image of Nike. Height: 2.2 cm Accession number: 925.83.6

Diamonds, Design and Science… something for everyone.

Posted: July 17, 2012 - 08:54 , by royal
Categories: 
| Comments () | Comment

While to the casual observer, this is an example of fine made jewellery that sits in the Gem and Gold Gallery, Teck Suite of Galleries: Earth Treasures with other fine made jewellery pieces. As is reflected in the layered design of the brooch, this piece has layers of information and history as well.

Jade-Foolery: How to Recognize Minerals Disguised as Jade

Posted: March 16, 2012 - 11:57 , by royal

A girl looks at a mineral through a magnifying glass.

March Break visitors inspect the minerals before deciding if they are jade.

Bobdownsite; an honour to honour

Posted: March 12, 2012 - 16:41 , by royal
Categories: 
| Comments () | Comment

A close up of the mineral on a black background.

Bobdownsite.

Tales from the Synchrotron

Posted: March 6, 2012 - 09:41 , by royal
Categories: 
| Comments () | Comment

I’m currently at the Argonne National Laboratory just outside of Chicago, Illinois at the Advanced Photon Source (APS). This is a research facility funded by the U.S. Department of Energy that over 3,500 scientists from all over the world comes to use the instruments here for their research each year.

Meteorite of the month: Springwater pallasite

Posted: January 25, 2012 - 10:52 , by ROM
Categories: 
| Comments () | Comment

specimen image of Springwater pallasite meteorite

The world's largest specimen of the Springwater pallasite meteorite.

Taking care of meteorites

Posted: January 17, 2012 - 17:16 , by royal

Brendt C. Hyde, Mineralogy Technician will be presenting at the upcoming  ROM Research Colloquium – join us on February 3 at 4:30pm in the Signy & Cléophée Eaton Theatre to hear more about The Study of Meteorites – Science versus Conservation.

What are you going to talk about at the colloquium this year?