West Coast Jade

Metamorphic Deposits from Canada to California.

- Bill Rozday

Jade has always been a personal affair with me, as it has been for many; it was considered a status symbol by the Chinese for thousands of years. On my first jade hunts in British Columbia, I followed the riverbank in the footsteps of early 20th-century Chinese gold prospectors, who shipped “black rocks” back to Asia in the coffins of deceased countrymen. They recognized the gem before the British Columbians did.

The jade that these prospectors discovered was nephrite jade. Nephrite is the jade that was originally coveted by Asians and fashioned into innumerable objects of art. In technical terms, nephrite is a magnesium-rich amphibole. It is a fibrous aggregate of tremolite-actinolite, which is a calcium magnesium iron silicate. The name comes from the Greek word for “kidney”, which refers to its alleged power to cure kidney disease. It is found worldwide, with notable sources being in Australia, Brazil, China, Canada, Russia, Taiwan, Zimbabwe, and the United States.

Jade occurs in areas that are subject to intense metamorphism; visually, this translates into rugged topography. The mountainous environment parallels the toughness of the stone itself. The interlocking nature of its crystalline structure makes it among the toughest materials on earth. For this reason, tools have been fashioned out of jade for many thousands of years, since the most primitive of times.

This tough stone cuts across cultures and geography. Many green stones exist, but no stone other than diamond carries such history and shared regard. every tourist in jade country who is looking for a free souvenir wants to find a piece of jade, but finding it is an enterprise requiring considerable knowledge and patience.

Fraser River Jade