Treasures of the Arctic

Treasures of the Arctic

A REGION ABUNDANT IN SEMIPRECIOUS STONES

Words by Stewart Burnett

Forgive me, for my entire goal as editor-in-chief of Tusaayaksat Magazine was not to make the magazine about myself. That’s why I kept my name off the pages and photos during my time here. I’ve had an incredible experience chronicling the people, land and culture of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.

But there’s one thing that stood out and still calls to me, and for that I do have to make a brief article about my own interests.

You’ve got some great rocks up here.

I’ve been a rockhound for several years, which means I enjoy looking for special rocks, collecting them and getting them polished. I have many pendants, cabochons, slabs and other pieces of jewelry from rocks I’ve found. Most of my time has been spent hounding Dallasite on Vancouver Island, but I’m always on the lookout wherever I go.

Polished agates and chert from Paulatuk.

I had a trip to Paulatuk last fall, when snow did not quite cover the beach yet. I took a stroll down to the water for pictures and was immediately enthralled. The whole community is full of agate and chert material. In fact, the roads are essentially paved with it.

Agate is the name for translucent or semi-translucent microcrystalline quartz. It is usually best identified in the translucent banding shown in the photo on the opposite page, which is known as fortifications. This is a semiprecious stone, meaning it’s not quite up there like emerald or topaz, but it’s more special than your average rock. You know, ‘semi’-precious.

Paulatuk agates appear to be a mix of blues, purples and greys. They are absolutely beautiful. I couldn’t fit enough in my bag. I was bashing the permafrost beach until my hands were frozen trying to get my favourite ones out. And I only had access to a small strip of bare land. Clearly, the region is stuffed with geological treasures. I’ve seen amber and petrified wood from the area before.

Did you know?

A Roadmap to Mineral Exploration & Development in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region is now being printed, soon to be presented to ISR communities.

‘Rough’ agates, meaning these stones have not been polished. Note the banding or ‘fortifications’ that signify the agate look.

You've got some great rocks up here.

Pendants made from petrified wood, left, and chert from Paulatuk. Though the chert looks similar to the agates, and most stones have both materials in them, this chert is not translucent and therefore is not technically agate.

An agate in Ulukhaktok, with visible banding and translucency. This is a sign of agate material in the area.

There's gold, diamonds and treasure under your feet – literally!

Like with the Ulukhaktok example, this is an agate from Tuktoyaktuk, which also shows there is agate material in the region.

A stunning orange-red translucent agate from Sachs Harbour.

I’ve made several contacts in the rockhounding world in my time in the hobby, and I sent a box of these Paulatuk stones to a friend in Michigan, Chuck Martin. He is an expert-level rock tumbler and polisher. In exchange for keeping his favourite one, he tumbled the stones for me.

In his own words, they were a pain to polish. The agates of Paulatuk were not as ocean-worn as beach agates down south would be, likely because there is much less wave action in the Arctic (because the water’s frozen). My friend had to clean the stones regularly to get all the grit out of the crevices, and some agates broke down in the tumbler, never to be seen again.

But he did get a handful finished close to his standards, and some of them are jawdroppers. And along with the agates, I had sent him a piece of petrified wood from Paulatuk, and he turned that into a necklace pendant.

More polished agates and chert from Paulatuk.

In other trips around the region, I’ve spotted agate material in Ulukhaktok and Tuktoyaktuk. Inuvik has pyrite, which many people find around the Children First Centre. And Sachs Harbour has both red jasper and agates – and some of the most beautiful, translucent agates I’ve seen. One is shown above.

I hoped to spend more time hounding the communities in summer, but it was not meant to be. Instead, I encourage you to get out there and find rocks and crystals. This is a rich region, and these stones are valuable. I believe a cottage industry of polishing and selling agates, petrified wood, crystals and jasper could be developed here. I think they’d be a hit with tourists. And I know there is way more than I was able to find on my short trips.

Once you get into rockhounding, you never look back, and you also never look up at the people you’re beach walking with either. It’s a fantastic hobby and the Arctic offers incredible opportunities to find rocks and crystals no one else on the planet can find. Hopefully this article inspires you to take a look down next time you’re at the beach, at a river or out on the land. There’s gold, diamonds and treasure under your feet – literally!

Agates from Paulatuk.