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The article provides an overview of the history of explorations for gemstones in Canada for the first half of the 20th century. It notes that the country had assumed its contemporary boundaries in 1905 when Saskatchewan and Alberta were given provincial status. It stresses the potential significance of general exploration, geological surveying and mapping for finding and developing of the county's new mineral resources. It indicates that gemologist Arthur Leonard Parsons' paper "The utilization of the semi-precious and ornamental stones of Canada," which was published in 1934, described the iolite and garnet as being brought from Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. by the Mackenzie expedition.