Canadian Rockhound: Robert Carr, A Subarctic Mineral Collector

Surprisingly enough, genuine rockhounders are few and far between in the gold mining town of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Perhaps it is the sparse nature of collectable minerals in Shield country. While most Northerners pursue a myriad of outdoor recreational activities, Robert Carr has quietly gone about his hobby of rockhounding. Twenty-five years later, he has the quintessential collection of mineral specimens from this part of the world.

Bob has been collecting since he was a lad of twelve. He started his rockhounding career at a world-class mineral location, when he found himself living near the Jeffrey Mine in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. Bob landed in Yellowknife in 1972. During the late 1970s, he and his wife Mary started visiting the mineral sites listed by Ann Sabina of the Geological Survey of Canada. Raising a young family didn't deter them. Their fly-in trips combined fishing, rockhounding and backpacking their papoose. Bob is able to put more time into his collecting now that he has retired from his position as technical supervisor at CBC North.

To best present a crystal or group of crystalline minerals involves a lot of cleaning and trimming. Bob spends much time carefully mounting his minerals for display. His efforts really pay off when he is able to trade quality specimens with other collecters. Bob's collection, which is entirely made up of crystal specimens with the exception of gold and silver, is housed in several locations throughout his home. Outside are the "excess rocks" as Mary calls them. He has a sturdy wood cabinet for minerals he is presently working on and an upright metal toolchest brimming with display specimens. In the living room is a large, well-lit glass cabinet featuring many gorgeous and unique specimens. A significant, ongoing portion of Robert's collection are crystalline minerals from the Jeffrey Mine. Over the years, he has acquired many fine specimens of garnet, particularly the grossular variety, and vesuvianite.

When asked to name his three favorite minerals of the Northwest Territories, Bob replied with three locales, rather than naming individual minerals. His favorite are the elusive crystals found in pegmatites to the north and east of Yellowknife. He has captured garnets in sericite, flattened tourmalines in books of mica, terminated spodumenes and more. Another locale is the now-abandoned Pine Point mine. Pine Point is an area of Mississippi-type lead-zinc deposits south of Great Slave Lake. Bob has galena, sphalerite and different forms of calcite from Pine Point. Recently, his attention has turned to the stibnite and sulphosalt minerals found at the Giant gold mine just north of town.

– Robert Carr may be reached by e-mail at carrr@internorth.com. He is also a member of the Canadian Mineral Society.

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