Nova Scotians can soon view the largest quartz crystal ever found in the province

The largest quartz crystal ever found in Nova Scotia will soon be on display at the Museum of Natural History in Halifax.

Tim Fedak, the curator of geology with the Nova Scotia Museum, has been cleaning the crystal recently to prepare it for display.

Tim Fedak is the curator of geology with the Nova Scotia Museum.

Fedak calls it a “historic specimen.”

“(It) was found in 1906 and brought to the museum in 1907, and it’s a large quartz crystal that was found in a pegmatite-type of granite around New Ross,” he says.

Pegmatite is a type of igneous rock formed from crystalized magma.

“You’ll find quartz crystals largely all through the Annapolis Valley as this pegmatite was very common all through here,” says Fedak.

The crystal has six sides, weighs 145 pounds and is 27 inches long.

“It is a massive, massive crystal of quartz,” Fedak says.

The Museum of Natural History is also home to similar, albeit smaller, crystals.

Some have a milky appearance while others look more smokey.

“(They’re) very popular for jewelry, and if you shine a light behind it you see that it is translucent, but it has that grey, smokey colour to it,” says Fedak.

A cut and polished piece of agate is pictured.

Another form of quartz – agate – can also be found in Nova Scotia. The minerals can be cut and polished to make jewelry as well.

“They can be very large and have decorative shapes that are very attractive for jewelry and decorative items,” Fedak says.

A new mineral display will be showcased at the Museum of Natural History within the next month or so.

“And we’ll feature (the) large crystal as well as some other minerals that people want to know about,” Fedak says.

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