Rock Hunting Trip - Scadding Gold Mine

Greetings everyone!
We have a new adventure to tell you all about. Well actually, to tell the truth, we went on this adventure mid-summer but I've yet to sit down and write about it. The pictures in this Blog Posting are pieces of Pyrite and Chalco-Pyrite. (sorry folks no gold.. we only found a teeeny tiny spec of it and even then? We're not so sure that it's not Pyrite).

This summer we had the opportunity to visit an old Gold mine in the Sudbury Ontario region. The mine is called "Scadding Gold Mine" and is located East of Sudbury off Kukagami Lake Road. We had permission to visit as the property. The area itself no longer has any mineral workings - no equipment or buildings can be viewed. The only remnants I was able to see is the area on which one of the buildings used to sit. This is not an operational gold mine.

The area is difficult to find if you don't have someone with you who knows exactly where to turn off the road and it is suggestible that you drive a truck into the area (a few folks had cars in our convoy and I'm pretty sure there were some sceptical "um.. should we really be going here?" thoughts.... A short drive off the road (through pot holes, small trails and such) takes you to a clear opening that you can park.

During mosquito season, it's a good idea to bring bug repellent, extra water to drink, GOOD walking shoes (no sandals), a hat, gloves to pick up the stones with and your collecting tools. This location is pretty *in the bush!*. If you are going alone, a compass is a good suggestion as it is quite easy to get turned around in this area - there are few markings and it is easy to get lost.

Here's a bit of info I found on line about the mine:

Geologically, the most prominent feature in the
area of the Scadding West claim is an igneous
complex of rocks that are best known for their
content of gold, nickel, copper, platinum and
palladium.  Igneous rocks are formed from
molten lava which has hardened on or below
the surface of the earth.  Minerals contained
in these rocks are dyke-related, that is,
they are contained in a tabular body of igneous
rock that cuts across the structure of adjacent rocks, and are hosted by
quartz diorite, norite and gabbro rocks.
Quartz diorite is a medium-gray-colored, coarse-grained, igneous rock,
often with a salt-and-pepper appearance.Norite is a coarsely
crystalline igneous rock containing the mineral labradorite
as the main component.  Gabbro is a dark, coarse-textured, 
heavy rock composed of calcium feldspar and augite with a
small amount of quartz.

We had a great tour guide bring us thru
from the Sudbury Rock and Gem Show)
that included a lot of history on Scadding
Mine and where all the super picking spots
were.

We came home with bug bites, a pretty good
sun burn and some of the most fabulous
pieces of Pyrite!~ And some pretty cool
chalco-pyrite shiny blues).. some of these
were in really neat cubic shapes!  The
sparkling gold colours really fascinate
family members who come over for visits..

"You found this outside? Near here!?"
We only live about 3/4 an hour away).

I hope you enjoyed our adventure!