High above the Harrison Lake valley, where the wind cuts cold and the stone runs deep, lies the King Citrine Mine—a solitary deposit of naturally occurring yellow quartz unlike anything else in the province. Hidden at elevation and guarded by terrain, this site sits atop Mount Breakenridge, in a stretch of the Coast Mountains that rarely gives up its secrets easily.
But this one did—and what it gave was gold-hued stone born not from fire, but from pressure, fluids, and geologic patience.
Geological Origins: Yellow Quartz, Made the Hard Way
Citrine is a variety of quartz (SiO₂) colored by trace elements and subtle alterations to its crystal structure. While most of the "citrine" on the global market is actually heat-treated amethyst or smoky quartz, the material found at the King Mine is entirely natural—formed through hydrothermal alteration and long-term oxidation processes.
In the tectonically active crust beneath Mount Breakenridge, silica-rich fluids moved through fractures in the host rock. When conditions were just right—moderate heat, low pressure, and the presence of iron (Fe³⁺)—those fluids crystallized into golden quartz veins. The iron impurities subtly modified the crystal’s energy band gap, giving the quartz its rich honey-yellow to warm orange hues without the intense red flashes found in heat-treated material.
Over time, tectonic uplift exposed these veins to the surface, freezing them in time and stone. The result? A site producing true citrine, untouched by heat or human intervention.
What Makes Natural Citrine Different?
In a market flooded with baked amethyst and smoky quartz passed off as citrine, genuine material is rare. Most citrine on the market today is the product of artificial lab heating, resulting in over-saturated colors, brittle crystal integrity, and unnatural zoning.
The King Citrine Mine produces quartz that:
- Shows even color distribution, with hues ranging from soft lemon to deep whiskey gold
- Contains none of the burnout fractures typical of heat-treated stones
- Forms in natural terminations, veins, and plates, not cut-down clusters or regrown fragments
- Comes with geological legitimacy, backed by in situ collection and hard-earned access
This is the real thing—born of time, not torch.
Rare Formations and Inclusions
What sets the King Mine even further apart are its rare and scientifically compelling crystal habits.
Some of the most sought-after specimens from the site are scepter formations—secondary crystal growths that emerge from the tips of earlier generations, like crowns on wands. Even rarer are specimens that show distinct amethyst zoning at the tips of these scepters, producing true prismatic ametrine—a geological rarity. To our knowledge, this is the only locality in the world where natural, prismatic ametrine forms in sceptered growth and is available on the commercial market.
Adding to their uniqueness, several crystals display fine actinolite needle inclusions—delicate, hair-like structures that shimmer beneath the surface. Others contain "puffballs" of fibrous growth, clustered beneath later-stage quartz growths that traverse both the side faces and terminal tips of the crystals. Each inclusion tells a part of the mine’s complex formation story, preserving multiple generations of hydrothermal activity inside a single specimen.
No Heat. No Fakes. No Apologies.
Everything we bring out of the King Mine is the real deal. We do not heat, irradiate, stabilize, or treat this citrine in any way. What you see is what came out of the Earth—only cleaned, trimmed, and sometimes polished to reveal its best angles.
Each piece is a slice of mountain history: 100% natural, untreated, and unaltered.