SLAVE CRATON, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, CANADA

Details

A SLICE OF ACASTA GNEISS — ONE OF THE OLDEST ROCKS ON EARTH
Slave Craton, Northwest Territories, Canada
The elongated slab cut and polished. The matrix of this sample is pink-hued with bands of ebony-hued mineralization coursing its length. This is a sample from one of the oldest surviving rocks that originate on Earth.
7¼ x 3 x 1/3in. (183 x 79 x 9mm.)

Special Notice

This lot is offered without reserve. These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

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James Hyslop

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Lot Essay

This is a slice of one of the oldest rocks in the world. This gneiss (a metamorphic rock subjected to high temperature and pressure) is approximately 4.0 billion years old. Its age can be determined as a result of zircon crystals having trapped a uranium isotope that acts as a timekeeper. Acasta Gneiss originates from an old and stable part the Earth's two topmost layers — the crust and the uppermost mantle — in a geologically inactive portion of Earth’s continental crust. Acasta Gneiss is seen as an outcrop on an island that is middle of Canada’s Northwest Territories and is the oldest rock exposed on Earth’s surface.

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