JADE

H.D. Rolf The Jeweller

103B Dundas Street W. Trenton, Ontario

613-392-3383

The Polar Pride boulder (above)—called “the find of the millennium” by trade experts—was discovered in Canada. The 18-ton boulder was split in half for carving. Courtesy of Jade West Group.

Jade was first identified in Canada by Chinese settlers in 1886 in British Columbia. At this time jade was considered worthless as they were searching for gold. Jade was not commercialized in Canada until the 1970s. The mining business Loex James Ltd., which was started by two Californians, began commercial mining of Canadian jade in 1972.

Jade is a commercial term encompassing green, white, black or yellow-brown material that consists either of Na-rich pyroxene (jadeite) or prismatic to acicular amphiboles of the tremolite-actinolite series that form bundles that are randomly oriented and interlocked (nephrite).

There are over fifty known nephrite occurrences in British Columbia. These are located in the Cassiar, Cry and Dease Lake, and Mount Ogden areas, as well as in Southern British Columbia.