Hokutolite Nature Reserve

Information

Date of Proclamation	December 26, 2013
Size of Area (ha)	0.2
Primary Object for Protection	Hokutolite
Scope of Administration	The water areas and some nearby river banks between the 2nd and 4th dikes of the Beitou Creek. On either side are the Beitou Museum and a wood bridge by Atami Hotel Taipei Onsen.
Authority in-charge-of	Department of Economic Development, Taipei City Government

Hokutolite, the only rare ore named after a place in Taiwan, was found in 1905 on the riverbed of Beitou (“Hokuto” in Japanese) River, in the crevices of pebbles in the form of crystalized hot spring sediments from geothermal valley. It is a lead-rich baryte, or a compound of lead sulfate (PbSO4) and barium sulfate (BaSO4), that is mildly radioactive due to the presence of radioactive elements such as radium. So far Beitou and the Tamagawa Hot Spring of Akita County in Japan are the only two places with Hokutolite reserves, and it takes 130 years to form one-centimeter crystal on the rock, indicating how rare and precious this special mineral is. In 2013, the Hokutolite Nature Reserve was established to preserve, recover, and protect Hokutolite from being illegally collected