Jade City, British Columbia, is a tiny, fascinating highway settlement located in northwestern Canada near the Yukon border. With a population fluctuating between just 20 to 30 people, this remote outpost along the Stewart-Cassiar Highway (Highway 37) sits on top of what is considered the nephrite jade capital of the world.
Jade mining is not an exact science—it is a massive financial gamble. Claudia Bunce once famously described the business to investors as “like walking into a casino and throwing a million dollars down.” Miners hunt for hidden pockets of “Grade A” jewelry jade inside massive boulders, which they can only identify by striking the stone with a hammer to listen for a specific metallic ring. A single right guess can net a boulder worth over $100,000.
The Ghost Town Neighbor: Just 10 kilometers west of Jade City lies the eerie ghost town of Cassiar.
Global Monopoly: British Columbia and Alaska hold over 90% of the entire world’s nephrite jade deposits, with Jade City sitting right at the heart of the richest concentration.
Tougher than Steel: Nephrite jade is famous for its extreme toughness—it is physically tougher than steel and diamond, making the extraction process incredibly grueling. Miners must use specialized water-cooled diamond saws just to slice through the boulders.
The Olympic Connection: B.C. jade gained immense global prestige when China utilized Canadian nephrite jade for the medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, forever cementing the province’s stone in sports history.
