The huge giant sleeping in the middle of Thunder Bay harbour is known to be the Indian Chief Nanibijou, turned into stone as punishment for revealing to man the secret location of valuable silver and gemstones.

Millions of years earlier the great wine god Bacchus was angered by the insults of man.  He vowed to let his man eating tigers destroy the first humans they could catch.
A beautiful princess named Amethyst was travelling from Thunder Bay's shores to worship at the shrine of the goddess Diana on the highest hilltop.  Hearing the beasts roar, she climbed up to Elbow Lake hoping to escape by canoe.  No canoe could be found and alas, Amethyst believed she would be killed.

Amethyst quickly climbed into a nearby crystal cave praying for help.  The goddess Diana, hearing the maidens prayer, sealed the princess safely into the cave.  Bacchus, now remorseful and ashamed, poured red wine on the cave.  The wine stained all the crystals in the cave, creating the beautiful gemstone Amethyst and freeing the princess.

These brilliant purple coloured gems are still mined today in the caves at Amethyst mine Panorama.  So strong is the legend that people all over the world believed that the gods guarantee the wearer of Amethyst will always be healthy and protected from the results of over-indulgence.

The north shore of Lake Superior counts among its many natural resources Ontario's official gemstone, AMETHYST, a coloured crystalline variety of the silica mineral quartz.   Our amethyst brings the beauty of colour shades of Precious Purple, Thunder Bay Lavender, Fanthom Rove and Black Gem to the transparency of quartz.

Amethyst is a variety of the common mineral quartz.  Its crystal form (hexagonal pyramidal), its purple colour that symbolises royalty, its hardness and lustre, and its common occurrence in northwestern Ontario but scarcity elsewhere in Canada ideally has qualified it as the Provincial Legislature's choice as a mineral emblem for Ontario.

Amethyst Mine Panorama is the largest deposit in North America.  It was discovered in 1955 as a result of a road being built to the forest fire lookout tower visible from the mine sight.  Amethyst production started in 1960 and the mine has produced continuously since then.

The mine produces 40% useable amethyst by volume.  A large digging area, open to the public, contains 20% useable amethyst and is the main source of pick your own Thunder Bay amethysts.