Minerals
The mineral collection contains over 20 000 specimens from around the world. They include the early collections of Sir William Dawson, A.F. Holmes (1797-1850), a founder of McGill’s Faculty of Medicine, and B.J. Harrington (1848-1907), McGill’s first lecturer in mining, and later, Professor of Chemistry and Metallurgy. In 1913 the Museum acquired an extraordinary collection of minerals from the geologist and mining engineer Walter F. Ferrier (1865-1950). Over the years, the mineral collection has been enriched by many donations. Minerals from world-wide localities are displayed in the Hodgson Gallery. The Dawson Gallery features Quebec’s mineral diversity, including such world-famous localities as Mont Saint-Hilaire, the Francon quarry in Montreal, and the Jeffrey mine in Asbestos. At both of the first two sites rare minerals have been found, including Weloganite, Dresserite, Donnayite and Hilairite, which are known from only a very few localities.
Gold in quartz, from the Redpath Museum Mineral Collection
