BRITISH COLUMBIA DEPARTMENT OF MINES
Hon. W. I. ASSELSTINE, Minister
JOHN F. WALKER, Deputg Minister
. .
BULLETIN No. 5
__
Mercury Deposits of
British Columbia
bY
JOHN S. STEVENSON
1940
VICTORIA, B.C.:
PhotwEset by CEmLW F. BANWLD.Printer to the Kine's M a t Exeellent Majesty.
1940.
.
PREFACE.
01:
The p r e s e n t r e p o r t i n c l u d e s g e o l o g i c a l d e s c r i p t i o n s
a l l t h e known occurrences of mercury i n B r i t i s h Columbia.
With t h e e x c e p t i o n of t h e r e p o r t e d o c c u r r e n c e on t h e Homathko
River,allthedepositswere
examinedby t h e w r i t e r d u r i n g
t h ef i e l ds e a s o n s
of 1938 and 1939. For t h es a k e of completen e s s an. i n t r o d u c t o r y c h a p t e r i s i n c l u d e d t h a t d e s c r i b e s t h e
mineralogy, metallurcy and
modes of occurrenceandeconomics
of mercury.
The w r i t e r w i s h e s t o acknowledge t h e k i n d a s s i s t a n c e
given by t h e v a r i o u s mine o f f i c i a l s a n d p r o s p e c t o r s a s s o c i Acknowledgement i s made of
a t e d w i t h t h ep r o p e r t i e sv i s i t e d .
the hearty cooperation given
by Messrs.Bronlundand
Porter
of t h e C o n s o l i d a t e d MiningandSmelting
Corrpany, and by Messrs.
Fraserand Williams of t h e EmpireMercuryMine.Alan
R. Snith,
1938 and 1939, g r e a t i y
thewriter'sfieldassistantduring
f a c i l i t a t e d t h e f i e l d work by h i s c a p a b l e a n d h e a r t y c o o p e r ation.
'
CONTENTS.
Page.
PREFACE,
1
1
2
2
3
4
4
4.
5
5
5
5
Condensers
............................................................................................................................................................................................
Coxbentration of Mercury Ores ............................................................................................................
Economics of Mercury ................................................................................................................................................................
Production and Consumption ..........................................................................................................................
T a r i f f s and C a r t e l s .....................................................................................................................................................
P r i c e of Mercury
.................................................................................................................................................................
8
9
9
9
:t 2
:L 3
:14
115
ILLUSTRATIONS.
-
Frontispiece
Keymap
of c i n n a b a r o c c u r r e n c e s i n
B r i t i s h Columbia.
Facing
Page
-
Fig. 1
3
property
I,
.
"
' -
c i n n a b aorc' c u r r e n c eti h
ns e
v i c i n i t y of. KamloopS Lake.........................................................................
35
P l a n of n o r t h showings,
Copper
Creek
cinnabar
31
- P l a n of c e n t r a l and south
showings
4
Copper Creek c i n n apbr oa rp e r t y
"
"
"
20
- Key
map,
2
'!
Tiorkings on t hPei n c h i
Lake cinnabar
p r o p e r t y o f the Consolidated Mining
andSmelting Company of Canada, L t d ............
-
5
-
6
-
7
.
38
Geology of t h e Yalakom River
area
a f t e r M. S. Hedley
60
D e t a i l egde o l o gvi nyi c i n i t y
of Golden
showings,
Eagle
Yalakom River
67
P l a n of workings, Empire Mercury Mines
Limited
:
..............................................
74
.............................................................................
I,
Plate
f
I!
,I
8
.
-
? l a x of workings aSt e c h a rct i n n a b a r
property
..........................................................................................................
-.
89
I k
-
Camp of t h eC o n s o l i d a t e d Mining and
Smelting Company of Canada, L t d . , on
P i n c h i Lake ......................................... :.................................................................................................... 28
I B
-
P o r t a l of N o r t h A d i t , ' P i n c h i Lake merc u r y p r o p e r t y of t h e Consolidated
Mining and Smelting Company o f Canada,
Ltd.
28
I1 .P
-
CopperCreek
cinnabarproperty,
dumps
or' n o r t h showings on r i g h t of p i c t u r e ................ 31
I1 B
-
Small D
r e t o r t a t CopperCreek
cinnabar properky ............................................................................................................................. 31
111 A
-
Old S c o t ft u r n a c ea t
Copper Creek c i n nabar property ..........................................................................................................................
-
70
ILLUSTRATIONS ( C o n t ' d )
Facing
Page
P l a t e I11 B
1V.A
,f
IV.B
- EmpireNercury
Mines L t d . , showing
m i l l b u i l d i n g ,g r o u n d - s l u i c e d
t r e n c h e s Nos. 3 and 3A ( m i d d l ef o r e ground) and p o r t a l s of a d i t Nos. 7
and 2 ( l e f tc e n t r e ) .............................................................................................
-
70
-
Small D
r e t o r t a t Tunkwa Lake c i n nabarproperty,
showing f l u e s from
c o n d e n s e r s( o u t e rs t a c k s )
and flues
fsi(rtfiaernc-onbkm
eosr)x.
73
M i l l b u i l d i n g of Empire
Mercury
Mines,
Ltd.,housing10-ton
Gould r o t a r y
k i l n ..............................................................................................................................................
73
i
INTRODUCTION.
In the following report the term mercury rather than the
t e r m q u i c k s i l v e r , will beused f o r t h e name of t h e m e t a l .
Where t h e t e r m q u i c k s i l v e r a p p e a r s i n t i t l e s
of bibliography
o r i n q u o t a t i o n s it will be ucderstood t o mean mercury.
Uercury Minerals
Although there are approximately twenty-five mercury mine r a i s ,o n l y
one,cinnabar,
i s of commercialimportance.Eleven
of t h e t w e l v e m i n e r a l s d e s c r i b e d
belowoccuron.lysparingly
and t h er e m a i n i n gm e r c u r ym i n e r a l sa r ee x t r e m e l yr a r e .
The
p r o p e r t i e s of t h e s e t w e l v e m i n e r a l s a r e l i s t e d
below:
-
-
Cinnabar
Composition
mercuricsulphide, HgS = mercury,
86.2percent:,sulphur,13.8percent.Lustreadamantine.
Colourscarlet-red
t o b r o w n i s h - r e d .S t r e a k ,s c a r l e tt or e d dish-browl.
iiardness,
2 t o 2.5.
Fracture
uneven.
Tenacity,
b r i t t l et os e c t i l e .S p e c i f i cg r a v i t y ,
8 t o 8.2.
Colourtin-white.
NativeMercury - L u s t r em e t a l l i c ,b r i l l i a n t .
S p e c i f i cg r a v i t y ,1 3 . 6 .
Commonly occurs a s small, l i q u i dg l o b ulesscatteredthrough
gangue o r shearedwall-rock; probab1:y
reduced f r o m cinnabar by hydrocarbons.
-
Amalgam - Composition
an a l l o y o f . s i l v e r andmercury of varyi n gc o m p o s i t i o n ;a r q u e r i t e ,a n
amalgam containingapproximately
8 5p e rc e n t .s i l v e r ,f o u n di n
Vital Creek, Omineca D i s t r i c t ,
B r i t i s h Columbia. Color and s t r e a ks, i l v e r - w h i t e .
Opaque.
Hardness 3 t o3 . 5 .F r a c t u r e
uneven. B r i t t l e t o m a l l e a b l e .
S p e c i f i cg r a v i t y1 3 . 7 5
t o 14.1.
-
M e t a c i n n a b a r i t e - Composition
m e r c u r i cs u l p h i d e , HgS. Colour, black.Occurrence,blackcrystals
o r more f r e q u e n t l y
massive, it i s a s e c o n d a r y s u l p h i d e d e p o s i t e d by d e s c e n d i n g
waters.
-
Calomel (Horn q u i c k s i l v e r ) - Composition
mercurouschloride,
HgCl. Lustre,
wax-like.
Colour,
white,
yellowish-grey,
grey,
brown, t r a n s l u c e n t t o sub-translucent.Streak,pale-yellow:ishwhite.Hardness,
1 t o 2.
S p e c i f i cg r a v i t y ,6 . 5 .
An o x i d a t i o n
p r o d u c t . o f cinnabar.Rare.
'
-
Montroydite
Mercuricoxide,
product of cinnabar.Rare,
HgO.
Colour,red.
An oxidatfion
E g l e s t o n i t e and T e r l i n g u a i t e - Oxychlorides of mercury.
- 1 -
Co:L-
our, y e l l o w i s h ,t u r n i n gt o
brown or g r e e n on exposure. Oxid a t i o np r o d u c t of c i n n a b a r . Uncommon, b u tf a i r l ya b u n d a n ta t
Terlingua,Texas.
Coloradoite,Tiemmaniteand
Onofrite - P r i m a r y ; r a r e t e l l u r i d e ,
s e l e n i d e , andsulpho-selenide
of m e r c u r y ,r e s p e c t i v e l y .
M e r c u r i a l T e t r a h e d r i t e - A n o t uncommon form of t e t r a h e d r i t e
c o n t a i n i n g up t o 1 7 percent.mercury.
GeologicalOccurrence
of Cinnabar
C i n n a b a ro c c u r s . i n a g r e a t v a r i e t y of rock-types.
Howe v e r , it i s never of s e d i m e n t a r yo r i g i n ,b u t
i s alwaysassoc i a t e d w i t h some m a n i f e s t a t i o n of i g n e o u s a c t i v i t y , a l t h o u g h
t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p may n o t b e a s e v i d e n t a s w i t h o t h e r t y p e s
of
o r ed e p o s i t s .C i n n a b a rh a sb e e nd e p o s i t e du n d e rc o n d i t i o n s
of
low t e m p e r a t u r e and p r e s s u r e , t h e r e f o r e , m e r c u r y o r e s o c c u r
close to the surface that existed
a t t h e t i m e of d e p o s i t i o n .
Selativelyfewore-minerals
accompany cinnabar;themost
common ones a r ep y r i t e ,s t i b n i t e
and r e a l g a r . The most common
gangue-mineralsincludeopal,chalcedony,quartz,calcite
and
p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e Kamloops Lake a r e a of B r i t i s h Columbia,
. v e i n - d o l o m i t eC
. arbonate-alteration,
or c a r b o n a t i z a t i o n of
t h e w a l l - r o c k s , i s common; t h i s t y p e of a l t e r a t i o n i s wides p r e a d i n t h e Kamloops Lakeand Yalakom R i v e r a r e a s of Briti s h Columbia.
Habit ofOre
In most mercury mines the ore occurs
i n irregularly fract u r e d or brecciatedzones,
or o t h e r w i s ep o r o u sr o c k s .
In
theserelativelyopen-texturedrocksthecinnabaroccurs
as
t h i n ;d i s c o n t i n u o u ss t r i n g e r s ,
or as s c a t t e r e d b l e b s and small
or
g r a i n s .I nt h el a r g e rd e p o s i t st h e s eb r e c c i a t e dz o n e s ,
porousmasses of r o c k , a r e capped or bounded on o n e s i d e by
a r e l a t i v e l yi m p e r v i o u sl a y e rw h i c h
may c o n s i s t of e i t h e r c l a y
gouge or otherwiseimpervious stratum of rock,suchas
a lava
flow.
Such s t r u c t u r a l c o n d i t i o n s p e r m i t t e d t h e
ready passage
of c i n n a b a r - b e a r i n g solutionsunder no g r e a t pressure,and,
subsequentlycaused,thetrapping
and d e p o s i t i o n o f t h e s u l phi.de f r o mt h e s e- s o l u t i o n s .
The o r e - b o d i e sa r ei r r e g u l a r
and
f r e q u e n t l y o f i n d e f i n i t e l i m i t s ; a l t h o u g h t h e f o r m may i n
.somedegree be c o n t r o l l e d by t h e a t t i t u d e of t h e e n c l o s i n g
rocks or faults.
- 2 -
The d e p o s i t s a r e comnonly a s s o c i a t e d w i t h v o l c a n i c r o c k s
and f r e q u e n t l y with h o t s p r i n g s i n . r e g i o n s
of v o l c a n i c a c t i v i t y . However, t h em e r c u r y - b e a r i n gs o l u t i o n s
do notnecess a r i l y o r i g i n a t e i n t h ev o l c a n i cr o c kt h e m s e l v e s ,
but rathe:r
i n t h e same deep-seated magma-basins i n which t h e v o l c a n i c
t h a t r e a s o n , cinnabar deposi-.:s
r o o k s w e r ed i f f e r e n t i a t e d ;f o r
may befound f a r from volcanic or i n t r u s i v e igneous r o c k s .
.
The m o s ft a v o u r a b l es t r u c t u r ef o r
a c i n n a b a rd e p o s i t
is
one t h a t w i l l not only give easy access
t o the mineralizing
s o l u t i o n s , b u t w i l l a l s o t r a p and dam them s o a s t o l o c a l i z s
and c o n c e n t r a t et h ec i n n a b a r .
Such op'en s t r u c t u r e s a r e afforded by sandstone, or sandy-limestone,and
by b r e c c i a t e d Imd
f r a c t u r e d zones i no t h e rr o c k s .
The damming s t r u c t u r e i s
u s u a l l y s u p p l i e d by o v e r l y i n g l a v a o r a r g i l l a c e o u s s e d i m e n t s
a f a u l tp l a n e .
The comsuch as s h a l e , or by clay-gougealong
p l e t e s t r u c t u r e may not e x i s t a t t h e p r e s e n t e r o s i o n - l e v e l ,
but i t s p r e v i o u se x i s t e n c e i s c e r t a i n l y d e s i r a b l e as a n i n d i c a t i o n o f l a r g eb o d i e s of o r e . I t may bementioned t h a t
no l a r g e b o d i e s of o r e haveformed a s a r e s u l t of enrichment
of smaller bodies by p r e c i p i t a t i o n f r o m o x i d i z i n g s o l u t i o n s
such as has occurred i n some c h a l c o c i t e c o p p e r d e p o s i t s .
The producingmercurymines
i n America a r e a l l l o w t o n - n a g eo p e r a t i o n s ;t h el a r g e s tm i n e ,t h e
New Almaden, t r e a t e d
n o t more t h a n 400 t o n s p e r d a y when a t t h e t i m e of i t s maximum production; mostof t h e mines i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s mine
2 0 t o 100 tons per day.
Because of t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c e r r a t i c d i s t r i b u t i o n
of
c i n n a b a r d e p o s i t s , it i s b o t h d i f f i c u l t a n d c o s t l y t o
deve1o.p
o r e - r e s e r v e s : as a r e s u l t mostminesneverhave
much o r e
blockedout,the
amount ranging f r o m enough f o r one day t o
s u f f i c i e n t , a-t themost, for o n e y e a r ' s o p e r a t i o n .
The m i n i n g o f c i n n a b a r d e p o s i t s d i f f e r s l i t t l e
f r o m tha.t
.of otherlode-mining,andonlysuchfeatures
of t h e o r e t h a t .
tendto'mcdifyusualmining-practicearementioned.
As a r e s u l t ,of t h e common occurrence of c i n n a b a r c l o s e t o
t h ep r e s e n ts u r f a c eo f, e r o s i o n ,o p e n - p i t
and o t h e rs u r f a c e exCaYatiOn t y p e s ofmin,ing a r e common. Owing t o t h e b r i t t l e ness O f cinnabar,abundantfinesare
made duringminingoperat i o n s and s p e c i a l p r o v i s i o n s s h o u l d b e
made t o s a v e t h e f i n e s ,
p a r t i c u l a r l y in t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n of c h u t e s .
, ,
,. .
,, :
Ventilation
A t ordinV e n t i l a t i o n in a mercurymineshouldbegood.
ary mine-temperatures there
may be a v o l a t i l i z a t i o n of mercury
- 3 -
from d r o p l e t s of n a t i v e m e r c u r y t h a t o c c u r i n
some d e p o s i t s ,
b u t good v e n t i l a t i o n w i l l e l i m i n a t e anypoisonousmercury
fumes. I t i s t o be n o t e dt h a tt h em i n e r a lc i n n a b a r ; w h i c h
is
thechiefore
of mercury,doesnotgive
o f f mercuryfumes a t
ordinary mine temperature.
Sampling
Owing t o t h e b r i t t l e n e s s of cinnabarand i t s occurrence a sd i s c o n t i n u o u sv e i n l e t s
and i s o l a t e d b l e b s , which a r eb o t h
lar'ge and small, a c c u r a t es a m p l i n g of c i n n a b a r d e p o s i t s i s exi s r e l i a b l eo n l y
t r e m e l yd i f f i c u l t .O r d i n a r yc h a n n e l - s a m p l i n g
i n low-gradedeposits,
or i n t h e u n u s u a l d e p o s i t s i n
which t h e
c i n n a b a ro c c u r se v e n l yd i s s e m i n a t e dt h r o u g h o u tt h er o c k .P a n ning of numerous samplesfromrockfaces
i s common i n o p e r a t ing mines, and
when do'ne by an experienced panner
w i l l give
a limit of e r r o r of 0 . 1 p e r
excellentresults;checkswithin
cent. mercury have been reported.
The m e t a l l u r g y of mercury ore involves the breaking
down
o ft h eo r e - m i n e r a lc i n n a b a ri n t oe l e m e n t a lm e r c u r ye i t h e r
by
roasting in the presence
of oxygen o r r e t o r t i n g i n t h e a b s e n c e
of oxygen. In t h er o a s t i n gp r o c e s st h em e r c u r y
i s d r i v e n off
asmercuryvapourand
thesulphur i s oxidized to sulphur dio x i d e g a s , S02; t h e m e r c u r y vapour i s subsequently condensed t o
liquidmercuryincoolingcondensers,andthe,sulphurdioxide
gas e s c a p e si n t o. t h ea t m o s p h e r e .I nt h er e t o r t i n gp r o c e s s ,
lime i s cormonlyadded t o t h e o r e t o combine w i t h t h e s u l p h u r
o f t h e sublimed mercuric sulphide to
f o r m c a l c i u m s u l p h i d e and
s u l p h a t e and t h e mercuryvapour of t h e d i s s o c i a t . e d s u l p h i d e
i s condensed i n c o o l i n g c o n d e n s e r s i n t h e
same way a s i n t h e
r0ast'in.g process.
Chemistry
To a i d i n u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e m e t a l l u r g y of mercury, some
p e r t i n e n t c h e m i c a l d a t a w i l l begiven.Mercuryboils
a t 357.3
degrees C. (675.1degrees F . j undernormalatmosphericpress u r e .C i n n a b a r( m e r c u r i cs u l p h i d e )s u b l i m e sd i r e c t l y
t o mercuric'sulphidevapourreadilyat
580 degrees C . , (1076degrees
F.) a t normalatmosphericpressure;themeltingpoint
of c i n nabar i s n o t knolrin, b u t it l i e s abovethesublimingpoint.
WXen c i n n a b a r i s r o a s t e d i n c o n t a c t w i t h a n e x c e s s
of oxygen,
it u e g i n s t o o x i d i z e a t a b o u t
230 degrees C . (428degrees P.)
and a t 450degrees C . (842degrees F.), o x i d a t i o n i s r a p i d ;
t h eo x i d a t i o nt a k e sp l a c el a r g e l yi nt h ev a p o u rp h a s e .
Re-.
t o r t i n g i s c a r r i e d o u t i n t h e r e l a t i v e a b s e n c e of oxygen and
- 4 -
mercury i s not r e l e a s e d r e a d i l y f r o m c i n n a b a r u n t i l n e a r
the
sublimationtemperature of 530 degrees C . (1076 degrees F.;.
Arsenic andantimony
compounds a r e t h e o n l y i m p u r i t i e s
which may befound i n t h e o r e t h a t a r e s u f f i c i e n t l y v o l a t i 1 . e
tointerferewiththeextraction
of t h e mercury.Arsenic
c.ompounds a r e t h e m o s t s e r i o u s i m p u r i t i e s i n r o a s t i n g p r o c e s s e s
becausetheboilingpoint
of a r s e n i c t r i o x i d e , w h i c h
i s 355 deg r e e s C. (671degrees P,), i s v e r y c l o s e t o t h a t
ofmercury,
F . ) . However, a . s l i g k . t
which i s 357 degrees C . (675degrees
m o d i f i c a t i o n of t h e t r e a t m e n t p r o c e s s . i s u s u a l l y s u f f i c i e n t , t o
overcome t h e c o n t a m i n a t i o n o f t h e m e r c u r y
by t h e a r s e n i c t r i oxidevapcur.
Antimony oxideshaveboilingpoints
much lower
t h a n t h o s e of mercuryand a r e l a t i v e l y s i m p l e m o d i f i c a t i o n of
the condehser system will e f f e c t a c o n d e n s a t i o n o f t h e a n t i mony oxides from t h e f u r n a c e g a s e s a t temperatures well above
t h e c o n d e n s a t i o n t e m p e r a t u r e of the mercury.
Types of Furnaces
Of t h e two main m e t a l l u r g i c a l p r o c e s s e s , r o a s t i n g
and r e t o r t i n g , r o a s t i n g i s by f a r t h e more s a t i s f a c t o r y andusual
pract.ice.
S e v e r a l t y p e s of f u r n a c e s and k i l n s a r e used i n t h e r o a s t i n gp r o c e s s e s ;t h e s ei n c l u d et h ec o a r s e - o r e ,S c o t t
and ArmakS p i r c ks h a f t - f u r n a c e s ,
and two t y p e s of m e c h a n i c a l r o a s t e r s ,
namely H e r r e s c h o f ff u r n a c e sa n dr o t a r y - k i l n s .
Of t h e s et y p e s
o f f u r n a c e s only two a r e i n common u s e in America, t h e S c o t t
f u r n a c e and t h er o t a r y - k i l n .
The Armak-Spirck furnace, a
similar t y p e t o t h e Scott, i s u s e d l a r g e l y in Europe.
The main f e a t u r e s of t h e s e f u r n a c e s
cribed.
w i l l be briefly des-
-
Coarse-OreFurnace
The t y p i c a l c o a r s e - o r e f u r n a c e
is a sinple,
i n t e r n a l l y - f i r e ds h a f t - f u r n a c et h a tu s e sc h a r c o a l
or coke mixed
wiYn c o a r s e o r e ; t h e p i e c e s
of o r e a r e p r e f e r a b l y ' o v e r
2 112
inches i n s i z e , f i n eo r ec a n n o t
be t r e a t e d .T h i st y p e
of fllrnace i s r a r e l y used i n ' h e r i c a .
S c o t t 'urnace - The S c o t t f u r n a c e ha's b e e n , u n t i l a fewyears
ago,usedalmostexclusively
i n America. The r o t a r y - k i l nh a s
been gradually superseding
it.
walls
The S c o t t f u r n a c e i s a l a r g e b r i c k s t r u c t u r e , t h e o u t e l Of which a r e made o f o r d i n a r y b r i c k and t h e i n n e r w a l l s
l i n e dw i t hf i r e - b r i c k .
The f u r n a c e c o n s i s t s ofone
o r more
p a i r s of n a r r o w s h a f t s w h i c h c o n t a i n f i r e - c l a y s h e l v e s
or
of
t i e r s e a c hs e t a t 45 d e g r e e s . The o r e i s f e d i n t o t h e t o p
the i'urnace and it moves do-m by g r a v i t y i n a zig-zagfrom
t i e r t o tier against the hot gases issuing
from t h e f u r n a c e box t h r o u g hp o r t s o n t h e s i d e .
The mercuryvapour
and S U I p h u rd i o x i d eg a sp a s so f ff r o m t h er o a s t e do r et h r o u g hp o r t s
towardsthetop
of t h e s i d e o f t h e f u r n a c e .
Scott furnaces are favoured
a t many mines because they
havehigh-feedefficiency,and,because
of t h ea b s e n c eo f
movi n gp a r t s ,
a low maintenancecost.
However, withoresconi s formed
t a i n i n g much p y r i t e , a n e x c e s s o f m e r c u r i a l s o o t
which when absorbed by t h e f u r n a c e b r i c k s c r e a t e s
a l o s s of
mercury.Scottfurnacescanbeusedfor
small a sw e l l as
l a r g eo p e r a t i o n s ,a sf u r n a c e s
of as low a s1 0 - t o nc a p a c i t y
have been s.atisfactorily operated.
Cermak-SpirckFurnace
1 The Cermak-Spirckfurnace,usedext e n s i v e l y i n E u r o p e , is 6 m o d i f i c a t i o n of t h e S c o t t . I t i s
not used in America.
MechanicalFurnace - O f t h e m e c h a n i c a l f u r n a c e s , t h e H e r r e s choff hearth-furnace and the rotary-kiln are the
two important types.
HerreschoffFurnace - I n a H e r r e s c h o f f f u r n a c e t h e o r e
is
fedintothetop
of t h e f u r n a c e and f a l l s on t o a s e r i e s o f
superimposedhorizontalhearths.
The m a t e r i a i i s s t i r r e d by
r a k e s or r a b b l e s s e t on r a d i a l arms t h a t a r e r e v o l v e d by a
s t i r t h e o r e t o t h e e d g e s of each
centralshaft;theserakes
h e a r t h and it d r o p s t o n e c e s s a r i l y
lower h e a r t h s . I n t h i s
mannerfreshsurfaces
o fo r e - f r a g m e n t sa r ec o n t i n u a l l ye x p o s e dt o
the rising hot gases that pass through the ore
from a f i r e The e s c a p i n gg a s e s ,
box on t h ep e r i p h e r y o f t h e f u r n a c e s h a f t .
off through a p o r t
mercuryvapourandsulphurdioxide,pass
a t t h e t o p of t h e f u r n a c e and i n t o d u s t p r e c i p i t a t o r s a n d
condenser s .
Herreschoff furnaces are not widely used because the fuelconsumption i s highand a c o n s i d e r a b l e amount of d u s t i s c r e a t e d
by r a k e s .T h i s
d u s t must be p r e c i p i t a t e df r o mt h eg a s - s t r e a m
beforethegasentersthecondensers,
add:.ng a g a i n t o t h e o p e r a t i n gc o s t .
-
Rotary-Kiln
The f i r s t r e c o r d e d u s e of a r o t a r y - k i l n was i n
i t was not. u n t i l
1903 a t t h e S o c r a t e s Mine i n C a l i f o r n i a , b u t
1918 w i t h . t h e i n s t a l l a t i o n a n d c o n t i n u e d o p e r a t i o n of a r o t a r y k i l n a t t h e New I d r i a Mine i n C a l i f o r n i a , t h a t t h e i r u s e b e came e s t a b l i s h e d . A t t h ep r e s e n tt i m e
a rotary-kiln is the
- 6 -
more cormon t y p e of furnaceused
on t h i s c o n t i n e n t .
A r o t a r y - k i l n c o n s i s t s of a r e v o l v i n g p l a t e - s t e e l t u b e
s e t on a s l o p e t h a t . may range from 1 1 2 a n i n c h t o 1 1/2 inches
tothefoot.
The t u b e sr a n g e i n diameter f r o m 18inches t o
5 f e e t and i n l e x t h From 1 6 f e e t t o 75 f e e t ; c o r r e s p o n d i n g
c a p a c i t i e s of s i n g l e t u b e s r a n g e
f r o m 8 tons t o 150 tons per
twenty-fourhours.
The d a i l yc a p a c i t y ofanyonefurnace
is
a l s od e p e n d e n to nt h en a t u r e
of t h e o r e , c o a r s e o r e o v e r r o a s t i n g more q u i c k l y t h a n s o f t f i n e o r e .
The c a p a c i t y of a
p l a n t may, of course,beincreased
by i n c r e a s i n g t h e number
o f ki1.m.
as
The o r e i s f e d i n t o t h e upper end of t h e t u b e , a n d
the tube revolves the ore
workstowardsthelower
end a g a i n s t
the hot gases rising f r o m a. high-pressure oil-burner at the
one r e v o l u t i o n
lowerend;
t h e s p e e d of t h e t u b e r a n g e s f r o m
1 l / Z minutes t o 82 1/2 revolutionsperminute.
The pnercury vapour and s u l p h u r ' g a s e s a r e drawnfrom t h e upper end of
the tube through dust-precipitators
and condensers.
in
A marked d i f f e r e n c e i n o p e r a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e S c o t t furnace and t h e r o t a r y - k i l n i s , t h a t whereas a r o a s t r e q u i r e s a p proximately 24 h o u r s i n a S c o t t f u r n a c e , it t a k e s b u t 30 t o 50
minutesin a r o t a r y - k i l n .
-
Retorts
Retorting differs from r o a s t i n g i n t h a t v e r y l i t t l e
o x i d a t i o n of t h e c i n n a b a r o c c u r s ; t h e f l a m e s a r e a r o u n d t h e
o r e - c o n t a i n e r and a r e n e v e r i n d i r e c t c o n t a c t w i t h t h e o r e
ILS
in roasting furnaces.
Retortsarecast-ironcontainers
of e i t h e r c i r c u l a r o r
D-shaped c r o s s - s e c t i o n .
They a r e commonly a b o u t one f o o t i n
diameter, 15 f e e t l o n g , and a r eh o r i z o n t a l l y - m o u n t e de i t h e r
singly or i n b a t t e r i e s i n a singlefurnace.
The r e t o r t - c h a r g e may c o n s i s t of o r e , or if t h e m a t e r i a l
c o n t a i n s much p y r i t e , l i m e i s added t o combine w i t h t h e e x c e s s
will be
s u l p h u r ;o t h e r w i s em e r c u r i cs u l p h i d e ,
and notmercury,
deposited i n the condenser.
of f u r n a c e u s e d , and it Ls
Retorts a r e theearliesttype
r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e Chinese operated them e x c l u s i v e l y , but th<$y
arenotin
common u s e a t p r e s e n t . They a r e l a r g e l y u s e d i n
theveryearlystages
of developmentof
a property,forthe
or as an a c c e s s o r y t o a
t r e a t m e n t of s p e c i a l h i g h - g r a d e o r e ,
l a r g e r ' l u r n a c e - p l a n t for t h e t r e a t m e n t of m e r c u r i a l s o o t .
T h e i rd i s a d v a n t a g e sa r e ,h i g hc o n s t r u c t i o n - c o s t sp e ru n i t c a p s c i t y and h i g h l a b o u r - and f u e l - c o s t s .
Condensers
The m e r c u r y v a p o u r t h a t comes f r o m t h e f u r n a c e s , k i l n s
o r r e t o r t s i s f i r s t p a s s e dt h r o u g hd u s t - c o l l e c t o r st oc l e a n
it from d u s t and t h e n t h r o u g h c o n d e n s e r s ,
f i r s t t o C O O 1 the.
gas-stream and t h e n t o condense t h e m e r c u r y .
The d u s t - c o l l e c t o r s a r e of t w o t y p e s , t h e Cyclone t y p e
i n which t h e v e l o c i t y of t h e g a s - s t r e a m i s g r e a t l y r e d u c e d and
thedust-particlessettle
by g r a v i t y , a n d , t h e C o t t r e l t y p e ,
whereby t h e d u s t p a r t i c l e s a r e e l e c t r o s t a t i c a l l y p r e c i p i t a t e d .
The g a s - s t r e a m i s s u e s f r o m t h e f u r n a c e s
a t about 300 deg r e e s C. (572 d e g r e e s P . ) and i s cooled by c o n t a c t w i t h t h e
coolwals of thecondenser;
it i s , of c c w s e , d e s i r a b l e t h a t
as high as p o s s i t h e c o n d u c t i v i t y of the condenser-walls be
of t h e mercury-vapour
b l e .P r a c t i c a l l yc o m p l e t ec o n d e n s a t i o n
can be accomplished if t h e final t e m p e r a t u r e of t h e g a s - s t r e a m
i s a b o u t 30 d e g r e e s C . (86 degrees P.). Afterpassingthrough
a cyclone-chamber t h e v e l o c i t y of t h e gas-strehn i s g r e a t l y
reduced f r o m t h a t p o s s e s s e d by it a t t h e t i m e of i s s u a n c e from
. t h e f u r n a c e , s o t h a t a t t h e c o o l e r t e m p e r a t u r e s . a t t h e end of
thecondensingsystem,themercury,cooled,
t o a mist of dropl e t s , w i l l r e a d i l y condense a s l i q u i d . i n t h e c o n i c a l - s h a p e d
bottoms of t h ec o n d e n s e r s .
Condensers a r e made f r o m e i t h e r b r i c k ,
or acid-resistantmetalalloys;glazedtile
common u s e a t p r e s e n t .
wood, g l a z e d t i l e
and a l l o y s a r e i n
The mercury i s t a p p e d f r o m t h e c o n d e n s e r s i n t o c a s t - i r o n
p o t s and Prom t h e s e i n t o 76-pound wrought-iron o r p r e s s e d - s t e e l
f l a s k s for shipment:
Mercurialsoot commonly c o l i e c t si nt h ec o n d e n s e r - s y s t e m s ,
and i s u s u a l l y c o l l e c t e d from the condensers once
a month.
T h i ss o o tc o n s i s t s
of s m a l la g g r e g a t e s o f mercurydropletsand
The m e r c u r yd r o p l e t s
d u s t , or of mercury compounds anddust.
and dust can be cleaned
by r a k i n g o r t r o w e l l i n g on a smooth
will c o a l e s c e a n d c a n t h e n b e
'surface;thesemercuryglobules
c o l l e c t e di n t o a pot.Dustcontainingmercury
compounds must
be r e t o r t e d ; t h i s i s u s u a l l y done i n small D - r e t o r t sa c c e s s o r y
t o the main plant.
Comonly,themercuryascollected
from t h e c o n d e n s e r s ,
Thiscan
b e c o l l e c t e d by s l i g h t l y a e r a t i n g t h e m e r c u r y ,
whereby t h e
skimned
amalgam w i l l c o l l e c t on t h e s u r f a c e and can then be
off. This i s s i m p l e rt h a ns t r a i n i n gt h e
full pot of mercury-
wiil c o n t a i n a smail amount of base-metal amalgam.
- E -
through a chamois c l o t h
Concentration o f Mercury Ores
Numerous attempts have been made t o c o n c e n t r a t e m e r c u r y
oresbythe
same methods a s a r e u s e d i n t h e
COnOentration Cf
t h e o r e s of gold and the base metals; but results have not
beencommensurate w i t h t h e t i m e
and money spent.Reasonably
good r e s u l t s c a n b e o b t a i n e d b y f l o t a t i o n
or by a combination
of g r a v i t y - c o n c e n t r a t i o n and f l o t a t i o n , b u t t h e marked t e n denoy of cinnabar t o f o r m abundantslimes makes high recoverI t mustberemembered
t h a tt h ec o n c e n t r a t e
i e sd i f f i c u . l t .
. when obtained,mustberoasted
o r r e t o r t e d t o recovertheEer' c u r y f r o m t h ec i n n a b a rc o n c e n t r a t e .
A t t h ep r e s e n tt i m e ,
proc e s s e s of c o n c e n t r a t i o n of mercuryoreshavenotbeen
so perfectedas t o replacethedirectfurnace-treatment
of t h e o r e .
Economics of Mercury
Production and Consumption
The c h i e f m e r c u r y - p r o d u c i n g c o u n t r i e s a r e S p a i n , I t a l y
and theUnitedStates;smallerproducersinclude
Mexico,China
and R u s s i a .S p a i n ,I t a l y ,a n dR u s s i aa r er e p o r t e dt oc o n t r o l
t h r e e - q u a r t e r s o f t h e worldproduction(MiningandMetallurgy,
May, i 9 3 9 ) . The majorconsumers
a r et h eU n i t e d
Kingdom, United
S t a t e s , Germany, FranceandJapan;the
most n o t i c e a b l e r e c e n t
development being the increase in rate
of consumption i n t h e
United KingdomandGermany
i n 1 9 3 8 ,o v e rt h eh i g hr a t e s
of
1937.
The increasedconsumption
of mercury i n 1937over
that
of 1936 was accompanied by renewed a c t i v i t y i n mercury mining.
The mines i n I t a l y a n d S p a i n a r e r e p o r t e d ( a s
of February,1940)
t o b eo p e r a t i n ga tc a p a c i t y .I t a l yr e s p o n d e db yi n c r e a s i n g
its
p r o d u c t i o n i n 1937 and m a i n t a i n e d t h e i n c r e a s e i n
1938and1939
t o more t h a n h o and a h a l f t i m e s t h e a v e r a g e f o r t h e p r e c e d i n g
f i . v ey e a r s .
Even w i t h t h e c e s s a t i o n
of t h eS p a n i s h war, I t , a l y
will probablycontinue t o supply a i a r g e r p a r t of t h e w o r l d ' s
past., Spanishproductionha,$
p r o d u c t i o nt h a ns h eh a si nt h e
continued t o i n c r e a s e s i n c e t h e C i v i l
Xar, reaching a record
monthlyproduction
of 22,000 f l a s k s i n December,1939.
I t may
be noted that the
Aimaden d i s t r i c t i n S p a i n w-a s never t h e
scene of f i g h t i n g and t h e mineequipment i s r e p o r t e d t o have
been handed over
t o GeneralFranco i n p e r f e c t ' o r d e r .
The mfines
in the United States were very active
in t h e f i r s t h a l f of :1937,
a drop
but a d e c l i n e i n demand and d e c r e a s e i n t h e p r i c e c a u s e d
i n t h e r a t e of production f r o m t h e s e m i n e s d u r i n g t h e l a t t e r
f r o m 16,508 f l a s k s
h a l f of 1937.Hmever,productionincreased
- 9 -
in 1937 to
17,991 flasks in 1938 and, an
toestimated production of 18,343 flasks
in 1939.
Germany has recently attempted to develop domestic
resources, but has been unable to curtail the amount of her imports .
Normal international 'trade
was some-what hampered by the
civil war.in Spain, but smple supplies have always been available.
-
10
-
World Production of Mercury 1935-38, by Countries
"
(Compiled by R. B. M i l l e r of t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s
Country
Algeria
Austria ' .
Bolivia(2)
China(2)
Chosen
Czechoslovakia
Germany
Italy
Japan
Mexico
?Jew Zealand
Clueensland
Roumania
Spain
Tunisia
Turkey
U.S.S.R.
United. States
Canada
1: >
Metric
Flasks
tons
.
I
.
12
422
1313
4
2004
116
28191
148
6277
7
17
1
35559
25
25
8700
17518
..~
100339
.~.
.4
14.5
45.3
.1
69.1
4.0
971.8
5.1
216.4
.3
0.6
1.
1225.8
1: s
Flasks
116
3
224
2460
2
1076
1093
42732
436
5307
...
Metric
tons
.I
160
134.0
7.7
84.8
.1
64.7
37.7
1473.1
15.0
183.0
1736
2.0
( 3 )2750
1741
86719
580
4936
...
122874.7
4236.48
...
...
Flasks-
4.0
2.7
(31.1
(3)1461
2.5
20.8
300.0
517.2
.
-r
19:
78
(3)2.3
13142368.4
72
.8
.9
836
8700
;3)300.0
603.9
16559
3459.1
Bureau o f Mines)
...
5.5
4.5
1.8
18
12
(1)
(3)42342
26
484
8700
17991
...
(1)
Note:
(1) Data n o t y e t a v a i l a b l e .
___
(.2)
Exports.
( 3 ) I m p e r i a lI n s t i t u t e ,
London, and M e t a l l g e s e l l s c h a f t .
1938
Metric
tons
.6
59. 0
.l
(3195
60
2300.0
20.0
170.2
.6
.4
(1)
(2)1460
.9
16.9
300
620
...
~ . . ...
65
(1)
3)2890
(3199.6
2.2
(1)
(1)
(1)
6671.9
2300.0.
(3)580
(3)20
8519
293.7
(3)lO
(3).3
(1)
(11
(1)
(1)
40000
1378.9
201
6.9
(3)596
(3)20.5
(1)
(1)
17991
620.2
(1)
1 m e t r i ct o n
76 pounds.
=
29.008 f l a s k s of
I n Canada t h e o n l y p r o d u c t i o n i n
1938 came from the prope r t y of t h e EmpireMining Company i n t h e B r i d g e R i v e r a r e a :
p r o d u c t i o n for t h e y e a r amounted t o 10 f l a s k s of mercury.
In 1937onehundredandonemines,and
i n 1938,ninetyonemines i n v a r i o u s p a r t s
of the United States produced
merc u r y :t h ep r o d u c t i o n
by s t a t e s( M i n e r a l s Yearbook,1938;p.
602:and1939,p.662),
i s givenbelow f o r both 1937and1938:
Prod-ucing
Mines
State
Oregon
Arkansas,
Texasand
Washington
Nevada
Arizona
Flasks of
76 l b s .
1937
Value
1937
9743
42 64
$878,624.00
384,527.00
2266
1.98
37
204,348.00
17,855.00
3,337.00
4,610
336
...
17,991
The Canadianconsumption o f mercury i s i n d i c a t e d d i r 1938 imports amounted t o 49,584lbs.
e c t l y by h e ri m p o r t s .I n
e q u i v a l e n t t o 652 f l a s k s , and i n 1939 t o 109,232 l b s .e q u i v a The UnitedStatesconsumption
of merl e n t t o 1 , 4 3 7f l a s k s .
c u r y i n 1938amounted t o 19,600;and
i n 1939 t o anestimated
19,280 f i a s k s
~
T a r i f f s and C a r t e l s
A t p r e s e n t( A p r i l ,1 9 4 0 )t h eU n i t e dS t a t e sm a i n t a i n sa n
import t a r i f f of 25 c e n t sp e r pound on mercury. This was imposed l a t e i n i922 t o p r o t e c t domestic producers, b u t d e s p i t e
t h i s t a r i f f , Europeanproducerswereable
to get a largepart
of t h eU n i t e dS t a t e sm a r k e t .I n1 9 2 8a , E u r o p e a nC a r t e l ,t h e
Mercurio Europio with Spain and Italy the
m o s t important memb e r s , was formed t o c o n t r o l t h e p r i c e of mercuryand t o keep
thisatashigh
a l e v e la sp o s s i b l e .D u r i n gt h eS p a n i s hC i v i l
was i n q p e r a t i v e ,
War and f o r some t i m ep r e v i o u s ,t h eC a r t e l
b u t it began t o f u n c t i o n a g a i n i n . M a y ,
1939,and t o h a n d l e t h e
i t s s,alesoffice
productfrombothcountries,chiefLythrough
i n London. I t i s u n d e r s t o o d t h a t r e p o r t s c o n c e r n i n g t h e
movi n g of t h e s a l e s offi.ce t o B r u s s e l s , Belgium,havenot
as yet
m a t e r i a l i z e d( A p r i l ,1 9 4 0 ) .
Both t h eS p a n i s ha n dI t a l i a np r o ducingminesareunderthedirectcontrol
of t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e
governments
.
-
12
-
The p r i c e o f m e r c u r y h a s f l u c t u a t e d c o n s i d e r a b l y d u r i n g
t h ep a s tf e wy e a r s .
Because of t h e t a r i f f of 25 c e n t sp e r
is a
pound on m e r c u r y i m p o r t e d i n t o t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , t h e r e
d i f f e r e n t i a l between t h e Mew York and London p r i c e s ; t h i s d i f f e r e n t i a l v a r i e s from t h e t a r i f f of $19 a f l a s k , a n d i s dependent on t h e r e l a t i v e p r i c e s i n
New York andLordon.Between
September,1936
and October,1937,there
was a p r i c e d i f f e r e n t i a l i n favour of s e l l i n g mercury i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s m a r k e t ,
i n November and December o f t h a t
exceeding $ 1 9 ' p e r f l a s k , b u t
y e a r t h e p r i c e . d i f f e r e n t i a 1 f e l l below t h e t a r i f f r a t e .
wide1,y.
During1939 t h e p r i c e of mercury has fluctuated
With t h e i n c e p t i o n ofwar
i n September,1939,
the price rose
considerablyforseveral
weeksand reached a climaxtoward
t h e endofJanuary,1940,withtheannouncementthat
London
hadpurchased10,000flasks
a t a p r i c e of $200 per flask f.0.b.
Italy,althoughtheCartelposted
a p r i c e of $205 perfla.sk
c .i f . New York, duty unpaid.
.
DealersintheUnitedStatesfearthatthevariousincreasesareduewhollytomanipulakion,
and a s a r e s u l t most
i s beingdoneon
a
business i n mercury i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s
short-term basis.
( 7 6 pounds) of rnercuriy
Average y e a r l y p r i c e s p e r f l a s k
a t Xew York and London, andexcess of New York p r i c e s o v e r
1922
February,1940(MineralsYearLondon p r i c e s f o r p e r i o d
book,1935
- 1939, E; & M. J . , February,1940,
and E. & M.J.
MetalandMineralMarkets,February,1940)follow:
-
-
13
-
Year
Ne-N York
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
1940
$ 58.95
-
-
Jan.
Feb.
T
London
Sxcess of New York
over London
$ 51.57
$ 7.68
46.83
19.67
66.50
52.93
69.76
16.83
66.90
83.13
16.23
76.15
91.90
15.75
104.01
118.16
14.15
108.54
123.51
14.97
108.11
14.04
122.15
105.9:t
115.01
9.10
89:76
(Kinus)2.41(bndon exces:
87.35
48.24
57.93
9.69
41.64
17:59
59.23
56.15
73.87
17.72
60.74
71.99
11.25
64.33
79.92
15.59
69.65
90.18
20.53
75.47
66.92 I
8.55
103:94 (E. and M.J., Feb. 1940)
175.00 (E. and M.J., Feb. 1940)
175.00-183 (E. and M.J. MetalandMineral
MarketsforFebruary,.
1940)
Grades :of Mined Ore and Production
Costs
F o r purposes of comparison between the t h r e e main producingcountriestheaveragegrades
of o r e as mined over a p e r i o d
of y e a r sa r eg i v e n
below:(Schuette,
1937, p. 6 8 ) .
I
%
Grade
Mercury
P e r i ot od
'Nhich Grade
Figure
Applies
Almaden mine(main
producer i n S p a i n )
5.00
1931 t o 1934
It.aly
0.79
i 9 3 0 t o 1934
United 'States
1930 t o 1936
0.35
Concerningcosts of productionperflask,Ransome
(1939)
says of C a l i f o r n i ac o s t s :" T h i sc o s t
f o r present-dayquick$30 t o as much a s
silver mining'in California varies from
$100 andmore; t h e a v e r a g e c o s t of p r o d u c t i o n i s approximately
$65 p e r f l a s k . "
-
14 -
Uses
"
Formerly mercury was much used f o r amalgamation i n t h e
treatment of goldores,butwiththeincreaseduse
of cyani,d a t i o n andimprovements made i n t h e r e c o v e r y of mercury froln
amalgamationprocesses,the
amount o f new mercuryused i n
amalgamation has d e c r e a s e d c o n s i d e r a b l y w i t h i n t h e p a s t
few
y e a r s . By f a r t h e g r e a t e s t
amount of mercury i s now used i:n
e l e c t r i c a l i n s t r u m e n t s and apparatus and i n t h e m a n u f a c t u r e
of v a r i o u sd r u g s and chemicals. A few of i t s v a r i e du s e s ino f m e r c u r i cf u l m i n a t e , a compound used
e l u d e :t h em a n u f a c t u r e
i n p e r c u s s i o n c a p s and d e t o n a t o r s ; a s a processingsubstance
i n ' t h e m a n u f a c t u r e of f e l t ; a s a c o n s t i t u e n t i n mercury-vapour
l a m p s ,a r cr e c t i f i e r s
and o s c i l l a t o r s , and, t h e mostrecent
u s e i s i n t h e newlydevelopedmercury
( m e t ) b o i l e r s , where
mercury i s used instead of w a t e r .
-
15
-
THE USES OF QUICKSILVI
(Jenkins and Ransome, 1939)
Industries Using
Quicksilver
Form
Specific Use or Product
I
Pharmaceuticals
Drugs andPreparations
Chemicals
Calomel
Dental Preparations
Chemical
in
Which QuicksilverAppr0x.g
of
Total
is Used
.~
.....................................................
......................
:.................................................
..............................................................
Redistilled Quicksilver
Red and Yellow Mercuric Oxide
..................
I
Y
I
i
............................................................................................................................
j;/
Corrosive Sublimate....................................................................
Disiflectant
Seed
Metallic
Quicksilver
...Compounds
and
Explosives........................................................
Detonators
.
.
Gas Pressure Gages
Flow Meters
Industrial and Control Venturi Meters
Instruments
Vacuum
Pumps
..................................................................
,Heat Control Devices
!Automatic Motor Switches
'Mercury Vapour Lamps
ElectricalApparatusRectifierTubes
Certain
of Batteries
. . Types
Paint .................................................................................. Vermlllon
.......................................................................................
Hats ("Fur Cutter's''
trade)
. Felt .................................................................................................................
Chemical
Industry .................... Caustic
Soda
..................
Catalyst
Acetlc
Mercuric
Acid
as
Salt
i
Fulminate of Mercury ...............................................................
...............................................................................
~
I
19%
9%
Metallic Quicksilver
I
Ifiercuric Nitrate
Metallic
guicksilver
...................................................................................
...........................................
..........
.....................
5%
3%
p~USES OF
Industries Using
Quicksilver
I
t-4
I
QUICKSILVER (Continued)
Specific Use or Product
Form in’A%ich Quicksilver
i s Used
Industrial Laboratories
General Laboratory Use Science Labs. in Schools and
Universities_ ......................... Metallic Quicksilver
._
Amalgamation
............... :._
Quicksilver
Metallic
Gold Nining
Cleaning Chemicals
._
Quicksilver Amalgam
Sulphocyanate of Mercury
Manufacture o f Fireworks.I........
Red .Oxideof Mercury
Harine Antifouling Paints
Mercuric Chloride
:Vood Preservative
......
Quicksilver Compound
Bearings for Lighthouse
Miscellaneous Uses
Lenses
Refining of Lubricating Oils
Supersensitizing Photographic Metallic Quicksilver
Film
Meroury Boiler
Printing Processes
kpprcx.%
cf Total
2%
1%
)
DESCRIPTION OF DEPOSITS.
P i n c h i Lake
The mercury p r o p e r t y a t P i n c h i Lake ( P l a t e I A ) owned by
t h e C o n s o l i d a t e d Mining and Smelting Company of Canada, Limi t e d ,c o m p r i s e st h ef o l l o w i n gm i n e r a lc l a i m s :
Mercury Nos. 1
t o 3, P i n c h i Nos. i t o 4, Dugout Nos. 1 t o 8,Chief
Nos. 1 t o
2 and f r a c t i o n s .
I
The d i s c o v e r y of c i n n a b a r w a s made i n t h e summer of 1937
by J. G. Gray of theGeologicalSurvey
o f Canada, and i s desc r i b e d byhim
on p. 9 of Paper38-14,1938.However,
t h eo r i g i n a lc l a i m s ,t h e
Mercury Nos. 1 t o 3 , werenotstaked
until
May, 1938, by A. J . Ostrem,GeorgeNielsonand
A . R . Brown;
thesewereoptionedinthatyear
by t h e C o n s o l i d a t e d Mining
andSmelting Company of Canada,Limited,andtheremaining
c l a i m ss t a k e dt h e
same y e a r . S i n c e t h a t t i m e t h i s
company has
e r e c t e d a comfortable camp on t h e n o r t h e r n s h o r e o f P i n c h i
Lake ( P l a t e I A).
of a prominent
The d i s c o v e r y s h o w i n g s a r e a l o n g t h e t o p
l i m e s t o n e r i d g e 700 f e e t aboveand a d j a c e n t t o t h e n o s t h e r n
s h o r e of P i n c h i Lake approximately 6 m i l e s f r o m t h e n o r t h w e s t e r n endof t h e l a k e .
The p r o p e r t y may be reached from Fort
S t . James'at the
s o u t h e r n end of S t u a r t Lake, by o n e . o f two land-water r o u t e s .
Of t h e s e t h e b e t t e r and t h e one i n common u s e in 1939, i s v i a
Lake I n d i a n R e s e r v e , t h e n c e
S t u a r t Lake f o r 1 3 m i l e s t o P i n c h i
on good grade f o r 4 1/2 m i l e s t o
by a n unimprovedwagon-road
t h es o u t h e r ns h o r e
of P i n c h i Lake. From t h i s p o i n t t h e d i , s t a m e by -water i s about 2 m i l e s t o t h e company's camp on t h e
n o r t h e r n s h o r e of t h e l a k e , b e h i n d
a small i s l a n d , b e n e a t h t h e
showings. A l t e r n a t i v e l y ,t h ep r o p e r t y
may bereachedby
a
t r a i l andpoorwagon-road,
8 m i l e si nl e n g t h ,b r a n c h i n gw e s t e r l y from t h e F o r t S t .
James-Manson Creekroad a t a p o i n t
about 1 7 m i l e s n o r t h of F o r t S t . James,and
connectingwith a
p o i n t on t h e n o r t h e r n s h o r e
of P i n c h i Lake, a b o u t 7 m i l e s d i s t a n t by waterfromthecompany's
camp. By f a r t h e ' q u i c k e s t
way t o r e a c h t h e p r o p e r t y ,
however, i s by a i r p l a n e from F o r t
S t . James,where
p l a n e sa r eu s u a l l yo b t a i n a b l e .
The a i r - l i n e
d i s t a n c e i s about15miles.
of a ' k i n n a b a r The P i n c h i Lake c i n n a b a r d e p o s i t c o n s i s t s
bearingfracture-zonethatcuts
a s e r i e s of dynamicallymetamorphosed.sediments.
The r o c k si n c l u d el i m e s t o n e ,c h e r t y
q u a r t z i t e ,q u a r t z - m i c as c h i s ta n d
a l i t t l e glaucophaneschist.
-
18
-
Theserocksstrike
more or l e s s u n i f o r m l y n o r t h - w e s t e r l y a n d
dip north-eastward, but in the vicinity
of t h e showings t h e y
havebeenwarped
into a structure that the writer interpretis
a s a combined a n t i c l i n e and s y n c l i n e t h a t s t r i k e s n o r t h e r l y
and plungesfrom
25 t o 60 d e g r e e s i n t h e same d i r e c t i o n . The
fracture-zonestrikesnorth
60 t o 70 d e g r e e s w e s t , a t
timer;
p a r a l l e l t o t h e beddingbutcuttingacrossthestrike
of t h e
f o l d s .T h i sf r a c t u r e - z o n e
i s characterizedundergroundbyext r e m e f a u l t i n g and a s s o c i a t e d b r e c c i a t i o n o v e r w i d t h s r a n g i n g
from 6 i n c h e s t o 4 f e e t , a n d , c h a r a c t e r i z e d
on t h e s u r f a c e b y
of brecdisconnectedoutcrops of b r e c c i a t e d c h e r t , t h e w i d t h s
c i a t i o nr a n g i n g f r o m 2 t o 1 0 f e e t .
The l e n g t h of t h e f r a c t u r e ; not o f u n i f o r m m i n e r a l i z a t i o n ,
may be summarized a s
Length of d e f i n i t e f a u l t - z o n e and associated breoc i a t i o n as s e e n i n t h e main d r i f t of t h e n o r t h
a d i t - 230 f e e t ( a s of June 11, 1939).
showings on DisLength of f r a c t u r e - z o n e i n t h e
covery H i l l a s i n d i c a t e d by f a i r l y c l o s e l y s p a c e d s t r i p p i n g s and outcrops exposing brecciated rock
750 f e e t .
-
Overalldistancebetweenoutcrops
of b r e c c i a t e d
rock a t e x t r e m i t i e s o f p a r t l y - p r o s p e c t e d a r e a
and s e p a r a t e d by long unprospected areas
of
d r i f t - 4,000 f e e t .
Cinnabaroccurs most a b u n d a n t l y i n h i g h l y - b r e c c i a t e d
f a u l t or f r a c t u r e - z o n e m a t e r i a l . of both t h e s o u t h - e a s t e r l y
and
north-westerlyworkingsoverwidthscorrespondingtothose
of
thefracture-zone,and,inchertyquartzite
of t h e n o r t h - w e s t erly workings over widths ranging
from 1 inch to 4 feet.
The showings a r e a l o n g t h e t o p
of a limestone ridge, approximately 700 f e e t h i g h t h a t p a r a l l e l s t h e n o r t h s h o r e
of
t h el a k e .
The s o u t h e r l ys l o p e of t h e r i d g e b e g i n s t o r i s e
s t e e p l y a fewhundred f e e t backfrom t h e wooded shore of t h e
l a k e and r i s e s o n a s l o p e r a n g i n g from 25 t o 30 degrees t o a
r e l a t i v e l y . round-topped ridge a t 700 f e e t above t h lea k e .
For
of t a l u s s l o p e s andlow
themostpart,thehillsideconsists
b l u f f s ,c l o t h e di np a r t
by a densecovering of smalltimber.
The showings themselves are
on t h e h i g h e s t k n o l l of t h e r i d g e
andon t h e n o r t h - w e s t e r l y s l o p e s
of a lowerknollapproximately
one-quarter of a m i l en o r t h - w e s t e r l y .
The ground i n t h e i m m e d i a t e v i c i n i t y of t h e d i s c o v e r y - s h o w i n g s c o n s t i t u t e s t h e
rounded t o p of t h e r i d g e , a p p r o x i m a t e l y
200 f e e t i n w i d t h , a n d
breakingofftosteeptalusslopes
on e i t h e r s i d e .
- 19 -
The w o r k i n g s c o n s i s t of 2 a d i t s , a Northand a South,of
w h i c ht h eN o r t ha d i t( P l a t e
I B ) i s t h e more important, and
s t r i p p i n g s andtrenches (&
Fig. 1 ) .
Inthefollowingdescriptions,
locatepoints,theycanbefoundinone
when it i s n e c e s s a r y t o
of t h r e e ways:
number as it appears
(1)
By r e f e r e n c e t o t h e t r e n c h
o n F i g . 1.
(2)
By r e f e r e n c e t o e i t h e r oneof
North a d i t , o r t h e S o u t h a d i t .
(3)
By r e f e r e n c e t o a g r i ds y s t e m of e o - o r d i n a t e s
wit'n t h e o r i g i n n e a r t h e p o r t a l
of t h e North a d i t .
I t is t o b e n o t e d t h a t t h i s g r i d h a s n o t b e e n l a i d
o u t on t h e g r o u n d , it i s f o r p l a n r e f e r e n c e o n l y .
(See Fig. 1.)
t h e two a d i t s , t h e
-
. .
The h i l l r e f e r r e d t o a s Discovery H i l . 1 i n t h e d e s c r i p t i o n
trendsnorth-westerlyand.the
round t o p o f it l i e s between t h e
NorthandSouthadits.
The d i s c o v e r y o f cinnabar was made on
this hill.
The r o c k s , i n and a d j a c e n t t o t h . e a r e a o f t h e workings
c o m p r i s e :u n a l t e r e da n da l t e r e dc r y s t a l l i n el i m e s t o n e ,
mic a c e o u s ,c h e r t yq u a r t z i t e ,q u a r t z - m i c as c h i s t ,g l a u c o p h a n e
s c h i s t ,s e r p e n t i n e
and a n d e s i t i cg r e e n s t o n e .
With t h e exceptions of the serpentine and greenstone the.rocks form
a group
o f dynamically metamorphosed sediments .that strike northw e s t e r l y and dip north-eastward, except where' disturbed
by
minorwarping i n t h e v i c i n i t y of t h eo r e - z o n e .
The sequence
from t h e l a k e s h o r e n o r t h - e a s t e r l y a c r o s s t h e s t r i k e t o w a r d s
Discovery H i l l i s a sf o l l o w s :
f i . r s t , a 'lake-shore bandof
unaltered and unmineralized,
crystalline limestone, approximatel y 300 f e e t i n exposedwidth;second,
a band o f s c h i s t , a p proximately 1,000 f e e t , i n w i d t h , a l t h o u g h t h i s i s mostly
q u a r t z - m i c a s c h i s t , a band of g l a u c o p h a n e s c h i s t of a n i n d i c a t e d w i d t h of only 150 f e e t , o c c u r s on t h e s o u t h - w e s t a d j a c e n tt ot h el i m e s t o n e ;t h i r d ,
a l e n s of' laminated,micaceous,
chertyquartzite,thescatteredexposures
o f which i n d i c a t e a
width of approximately 300 f e e t i n t h e w i d e s t p a r t ; f o u r t h ,
a
t h i n l e n s o f l i m e s t o n e t h a t i s approximately 40 f e e t w i d e i n
t h e v i c i n i t y . o f a p o i n t 800 f e e t s o u t h and 100 f e e t e a s t o f
tie n o r t h a d . i t (E
Fig. I), b u t narroxxs t o a fewloneoutcropsnorth-westerlyintheviclnity
of 0 f e e t s o u t h and 600
feetwest;fifth,
a t h i n band of limyquartz-micaschist
of
v a r i a b l ew i d t h ,b u t
approximating 100 f e e t , and l a s t l y , a band
.of h i g h l y - a l t e r e d , m i n e r a l i z e d l i m e s t o n e a p p r o x i m a t e l y 400
'
-
20
-
f e e t i n exposed width and f o k i n g t h e t o p of Discovery H i : L l .
S e r p e n t i n e f o r m s , t h e b u l k of PinchiMountain,thesouth--westerof whichbeginapproximately
2 m i l e sn o r t h - w e s t e r l y
l y ,s l o p e s
from t h e North a d i t .S e r p e n t i n ea l s oo c c u r sa t
a pointapproximately 1700 f e e t s o u t h a n d
2400 f e e t e a s t of t h e Nor-th
a d i t (*
F i g . l ) , where it f o r m s a l o n e o u t c r o p i n a l a r g e
d r i f t - c o v e r e da r e a .A n d e s i t i cg r e e n s t o n eo c c u r sa st h em a i n
rock of a low h i l ? a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1500 f e e t n o r t h - e a s t e r l y from
theNorthadit.
As p r e v i o u s l y s t a t e d , t h e r e a r e
two mainbands of limes t o n e and One small l e n s . A band of u n a l t e r e d limestone, apnorth-westerly
proximately 300 f e e t i n exposedwidth,extends
a l o n gt h en o r t h - e a s t e r l ys h o r e
of P i n c h i Lake,and
a band,approximateLy 400 f e e t , i n exposedwidthofalteredmineralized
l i m e s t o n e ,f o r m st h ec r e s t
ofDiscovery H i l l approximate1;y
1700 f e e t n o r t h - e a s t e r l y a c r o s s t h e s t r i k e
from thelakeslnoreband. A narrowlens
of r e l a t i v e l yu n a l t e r e dl i m e s t o n eo c c u r s
on t h e . s o u t h - w e s t e r l y s l o p e of Discovery H i l l between laminated
c h e r t y q u a r t z i t e on the south-west and quartz-mica schist
on
t h en o r t h - e a s t .T h i s . l e n s
i s approximately 40 f e e t wide at a
p o i n t SO0 f e e t s o u t h and100 f e e t e a s t o f t h e North a d i t (see
F i g .l ) ,b u tn a r r o w s
t o a f e wo u t c r o p s ,l a r g e l ys i l i c i f i e d ,i n
' t h e v i c i n i t y of a p o i n t 600 f e e t w e s t of t h e p o r t a l of t h e
North a d i t .
Where r e l a t i v e l y u n a l t e r e d , t h e l i m e s t o n e
i s w h i t e or
more commonly m o t t l e d - g r e y a n d w h i t e ;
it i s d e f i n i t e l y cr:yst a l l i n e and of medium-grain.
The c o m p l e t er e c r y s t a l l i z a t i o n
a l l evidence of bedding,except
of t h e l i m e s t o n e h a s d e s t r o y e d
where p r e f e r e n t i a l c h e r t i f i c a t i o n h a s g i v e n t h e r o c k
a banded
t o theoriginal
appearance,thecolourbandscorresponding
bedding-planes of t h e l i m e s t o n e .
Although t h e r o c k i n the lakeshore-band of limestone has
been r e i a t i v e l y u n a l t e r e d , on Discovery H i l l it hasbeenext e n s i v e l y a l t e r e d by s i l i c i f i c a t i o n and a n k e r i t i z a t i o n .
Silicification has resulted in the formation
of i r r e g u l a r
a r e a s of massive chert and a r e a s i n whichchert-ribbons
alt e r n a t ew i t ht h i nl i m e s t o n eb a n d s .M a s s i v ec h e r to c o u r si n
t h r e e main a r e a s , f i r s t , a veryconspicuousbluffabovethe
South a d i t , second, a OW b l u f f e x t e n d i n g from t h e v i c i n i t y
of ZOO f e e t south t o 200 f e e t e a s t , and a t h i r d a r e a of s c a t t e r e db u tp r o b a b l yc o n n e c t e do c c u r r e n c e s . i n
Nos. 6 t o 10
t r e n c h e s o f t h en o r t h - w e s t e r l yg r o u p
of trenches.Ribbonc h e r t i s v e r y s p o r a d i c , i n its. d i s t r i b u t i o n and occurs i n
of limestone;
patchesindiscriminatelyscatteredwithinareas
for t h i s t y p e of s i l i c i f i c a t i o n
t h e r e i s a tendency,however,
- 23
-
,
t o be more p r e v a l e n t i n t h e t r a n s i t i o n - z o n e b e t w e e n t h e l i m e s t o n e band of Discovery H i l l a n d t h e q u a r t z - m i c a s c h i s t t o t h e
south-west.
Where w e l l - d e v e l o p e d , t h e c h e r t
i s verymassiveandconso t h a t o u t s p i c u o u s l y j o i n t e d by c l o s e l y - s p a c e d f r a c t u r e s ,
of smallangularfragments.
c r o p sp r o d u c ea na b u n d a n tt a l u s
The c h e r t v a r i e s f r o m w h i t e t o
smoky-grey i n c o l o u r and i n
1 inch to 3
placeshas a definitecolour-bandingrangingfrom
i n c h e s i n w i d t h , which r e f l e c t s o r i g i n a l b e d d i n g p l a n e s i n t h e
is
r e p l a c e dl i m e s t o n e :f o l d i n g ,p a r t i c u l a r l yd r a g - f o l d i n g ,
o f t e np l a i n l yv i s i b l ei ns u c hc o l o u r - b a n d e dc h e r t .
The r i b bon-chert differs from the massive chert only in habit; ins t e a d of as l a r g e a r e a s of uniformly massive material,
it occ u r sw i t h i nl i m e s t o n ea sp a r a l l e l ,s i n u o u sr i b b o n sr a n g i n g
2 inchesinthickness
and s e p a r a t e d by
from 1/2 a n i n c h t o
l / 2 a ni n c ht o2 - i n c hb a n d s
of e i t h e r u n a l t e r e d o r a n k e r i t i z e d
limestone.
Most of t h e c h e r t l y i n g a l o n g t h e s t r i k e
of t h e main
f r a c t u r e - z o n e has beenconspicuouslybrecciated.Outcrops
of such m a t e r i a l r e c o g n i z a b l e by t h e i r h a c k l y s u r f a c e , a r e
formed a s a r e s u l t of t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n r e s i s t a n c e t o w e a t h e r ingasbetweenthebrokenpieces
of c h e r t . The c h e r t f r a g mentsrangefrompiecesbarely'visibletothe
nakedeye t o
p i e c e s 1 i n c h i n maximum dimension. They a r e v e r y a n g u l a r
and a r e s e t i n a m a t r i x of f i n e l y - p u l v e r i z e d m a t e r i a l , u s u a l l y
c o n s i s t i n g of a n g u l a r ,s t r a i n e dq u a r t zg r a i n s ,b u to f t e n ' c o n t a i n i n g . some s e r i c i t e .F r a g m e n t a lc h e r to c c u r so c c a s i o n a l l y
i n a limestonematrix,thecarbonategrainsshowingconspicuous cleavage-plane. s l i p s . The b r e c c i a t i o n of t h e c h e r t i s
p r o b a b l y r e l a t e d t o movements a l o n g t h e main f r a c t u r e - z o n e
for
access to the solutions responsible
whichprobablygave
t h e s i l i c i f i c a t i o n , or c h e r t i f i c a t i o n , of t h e l i m e s t o n e .
t h e s t r i k e of
The l i m e s t o n e i n an i r r e g u l a r a r e a a l o n g
t h e main f r a c t u r e - z o n e h a s b e e n v a r y i n g l y a l t e r e d t o m a s s e s
of a n k e r i t i cc a r b o n a t e .
Such a l t e r a t i o n , i s markedbybuff
i n d i s t i n c t cont o brownish-weathering outcrops which are
trast to the white and light-grey outcrops
of t h e u n a l t e r e d
l i m e s t o n e .S l i g h ta l t e r a t i o n
i s markedbymottled-brownand
whitesurface,and
more c o m p l e t e a l t e r a t i o n bymore uniformly
brown s u r f a c e s . The a n k e r i t i z e dl i m e s t o n e
i s c r y s t a l l i n e and
m a s s i v e t o t h e Same d e g r e e a s t h e u n a l t e r e d l i m e s t o n e , b u t
it
t e n d s t o b ef i n e r - g r a i n e d .R e l i c ta r e a s
of r i b b o n - c h e r tw i t h was
i n a r e a s of a n k e r i t i z e d r o c k i n d i c a t e t h a t a n k e r i t i z a t i o n
I t s a r e a ld i s t r i b u t i o n
a l a t e rp r o c e s st h a ns i l i c i f i c a t i o n .
indicatesthatankeritization
is related spatially to the
as a channel for t h e a l fracture-zone,whichprobablyserved
- 24
-
t e r i n gs o l u t i o n s .
A n k e r i t i z a t i o na ss e e ni nt h eN o r t ha d i t ,d o e sn o t
ext e n d i n t o thehanging-wall of t h e f r a c t u r e - z o n e , b u t e x t e n d s
for a c o n s i d e r a b l ed i s t a n c e .
The a l t e r a t i o n
i n t ot h ef o o t - w a l l
i s i n t e n s e f o r 20 f e e t i n t o t h e f o o t - w a l l ,
and t h e n becomes
s p o t t y and much l e s s i n t e n s e for t h e r e m a i n i n g d i s t a n c e of 120
feet to the portal.
C h e r t y q u a r t z i t e , commonly c o n t a i n i n g enoughmica t o impart a definitelylaminatedhabitto
i t s texture,occursin
s c a t t e r e do u t c r o p st h a ts u g g e s t
a lens-shaped body extending
southerly and south-easterly from the north-westerly showings
and narrowing from approximately
300 f e e t a t t h e n o r t h e r l y
end
t o a few s c a t t e r e d o u t c r o p s , t o w a r d t h e s o u t h , i n t h e v i c i n i t y
of a p o i n t 500 f e e t s o u t h t o 300 f e e t w e s t of t h e North ad.it
(-s e e P i g . 1 ) . Both m a s s i v e a n d l a m i n a t e d q u a r t 2 i t . e o c c u r s i n
t h e Morth a d i t i n a s h o r t w o r k i n g t h a t e x t e n d s
for 25 f e e t
south-westerlyfrom a p o i n t 35 f e e t from t h e f a c e .
Sandy
q u a r t z i t e o c c u r s a s a l e n t i c u l a r band ranging from 1 i n c h t o
a l e n g t h of approximately EO f e e t
18 i n c h e s i n t h i c k n e s s o v e r
band c o n s i s t s of 1.ighti n No. 1 2 t r e n c h . The m a t e r i a l i n t h i s
c o l o u r e d ,s u g a r yq u a r t z i t e ,m o t t l e d
brown by rusty-weathering
c a r b o n a t eg r a i n se v e n l ys c a t t e r e dt h r o u g ht h er o c k .
The q u a r t z
g r a i n s r a n g e from medium t o f i n e i n s i z e and a l l show t h e e f i n e i t h e r strain'shadows o r granf e c t s of dynamicmetamorphism
u l a t i o n of t h e g r a i n s ; a l l evidence of o r i g i n a l sandgrains.
hasbeendestroyed.Thiscrushedquartzitecontainsanahundance of evenly-disseminatedcinnabargrains.
The w e l l - l a m i n a t e d q u a r t z i t e c o n s i s t s
of 1/4-inch t o
l/2-inchbands
of' c h e r t y q u a r t z i t e s e p a r a t e d
by t h i n l a y e r s
p a r t i n g s of f i n e ,w h i t em i c a .
Where a d j a c e n tt ol i m e s t o n e : ,
1/16 t o 1/E of a n i n c h l a y e r s
of lime frequently alternate
with the quartzite.
or
a p u r e r and l e s s a r g i l The q u a r t z i t e p r o b a b l y r e p r e s e n t s
laceous sandstone than the quartz-mica schist.
Limy phases of t h e s c h i s t o c c u r a l o n g t h e s o u t h - w e s t e r l y
border of theDiscovery H i l l limestone band: some of t h e s e
c o n t a i n so much c a r b o n a t e , f r e q u e n t l y a n k e r i t i c , t h a t t h e y a r e
p e r h a p s , b e t t e rc a l l e dl i m e - s c h i s t s .
The mainbody of q u a r t z - m i c a s c h i s t o c c u r s a s
a band apbetweenand i s conproximatel.y,1,000 feet in w i d t h , t h a t l i e s
formablewiththe
two mainbands
of l i m e s t o n e .S c a t t e r e do u t crops of t h i s s o h i s t - b a n d e x t e n d a l o n g t h e s t r i k e
f o r a mj,nimum d i s t a n c e of 1 2 , 0 0 0 f e e t f r o m a n o u t c r o p a t
a p o i n t whj,ch
-
25
-
i s 700 f e e t s o u t h and 1,200 f e e t west of t h e North a d i t (see
F i g1, )
t o an outcrop a t a p o i n t which i s 6,000 f e e t n o r t h
and8,509feetwest
of t h e North a d i t ( s eeF i g .
1). In t h i s
distance the strike' varies
from n o r t h 8 0 d e g r e e s w e s t t o n o r t h
45 degrees west and the dips from
45 degrees t o 60 degrees
A secondnarrow
band of s c h i s t ,
northwardandnorth-eastward.
approximately100feetinwidth,occursbetweentheDiscovery
H i l l band of limestone and t h e l i m e s t o n e - l e n s t o t h e s o u t h of t h i s
west;inadditiontothequartzosephase,theschist
i n some o u t c r o p s n e a r t h e
main limestone.
band t e n d s t o belimy
The q u a r t z - m i c a s c h i s t i s c h a r a c t e r i z e d by w h i t i s h of
weatheringoutcrops of s c h i s t o s e r o c k , t h e s c h i s t o s i t y
which i s f r e q u e n t l yb a d l yc o n t o r t e d .
The r o c ki t s e l f ,
cons i s t s of lens-shapedaggregates of q u a r t zg r a i n ss u r r o u n d e d
by f i n e r g r a i n s of quartzand by weaving s h r e d s of f i n e - g r a i n e d
white
mica.
The q u a r t z - g r a i n s a l l show s t r a i n - s h a d o w s ,a r e
badly fractured and have been largely broken into the smaller
a n g u l a rg r a i n st h a tf o r mt h em a t r i x
for t h e l a r g e r g r a i n s .
A
small amount of m a t e r i a l was n o t i c e d i n w h i c h g r a n u l a t i o n w a s
so advanced t h a t t h e s c h i s t o s e t e x t u r e
had g i v e n way t o a definitel-y-laminated habit.
Light-green,highlymicaceousschistoccursassqueezed
of t h e main c r o s s c u t of t h e North a d i t
lenses in the limestone
and t o w a r d st h e ' w e s t e r l y
end of No. 5 t r e n c h .I ng e n e r a l ,t h e
m a t e r i a l of t h e s e l e n s e s i s verymicaceous and c o n t a i n s l i t t l e
q u a r t za n dc a r b o n a t e ;t h el e n s e sp r o b a b l yr e p r e s e n ta r & . l l a c e o u s
m a t e r i a l ,t h a th a sb e e ns q u e e z e da n dh a sf l c w e di n t ol e n s e s
d u r i n g f o l d i n g of t h e e n c l o s i n g l i m e s t o n e s .
A s m a l l amount o f l i g h t - g r e e n s c h i s t c o n t a i n i n g a n
abuna
dance of limeand some q u a r t z o c c u r s i n t h e N o r t h a d i t i n
shortworkingthatextends
f o r 25 f e e t s o u t h - w e s t e r l y f r o m
a
p o i n t 35 f e e t f r o m t h e f a c e of t h e main c r o s s c u t and i n t h e
f a c e of t h e w e s t d r i f t i n t h e
same a d i t ; t h i s s c h i s t h a s n o t
beensqueezed t o t h e same e x t e n t a s t h e more purely micaceous.
Outcrops of g l a u c o p h a n e s c h i s t w e r e s e e n i n t h e v i c i n i t y
of a p o i n t 1500 f e e t n o r t h t o 4000 f e e t w e s t of t h e .North a d i t
an.d on t h e s o u t h - w e s t e r l y s i d e o f t h e m a i n q u a r t z - m i c a s c h i s t
o f a bandapproximately :1.50 ' .
band. The o u t c r o p sf o r mp a r t
feet in width that iies in
a slight d.epression adjacent to
of t h e l a k e - s h o r e
and n o r t h - e a s t e r l y from a prominentbiuff
l i m e s t o n eb a n d .Q u a r t z - m i c as c h i s ti i e sa d j a c e n tt ot h eg l a u cophane s c h i s t on t h en o r t h - e a s t .
The rock i s d a r k - g r e yi n
o o l c u r ,f i n e l ys c h i s t o s e ,b u tb a d l yc r u m p l e d
and s h e a r e d . I t
o o n s i s t s of shreddyglaucophanewrappmgaroundbadlysheared
andbrokenpyroxene
and o l i v i n e .
A small amount of glaucophane was s e e n i n a n o u t c r o p
of
grey schist in the vicinity
of 800 f e e t s o u t h t o 1200feet;
west o r a p p r o x i m a t e l y 2 8 0 0 f e e t s o u t h - e a s t e r l y a l o n g t h e
gene r a 1 d i r e c t i o n of s t r i k e from t h e l a s t - m e n t i o n e d o c c u r r e n c e .
There may b e a s t r a t i g r a p h i c c o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n t h e
two 00is n o t d e f i n i t e l y shown.
c u r r e n c e s ,b u tt h i s
S e r p e n t i n eo c c u r sa sa ni s o l a t e do u t c r o p ,s u r r o u n d e d
by
d r i f t on a l l s i d e s , i n t h e v i c i n i t y of a p o i n t 1 7 0 0 f e e t s o u t h
t o 2300 f e e t e a s t of t h e North a d i t . The outcrop f o r m s a
40 f e e t h i g h
south-westward-facingescarpment,approximately
on t h e w e s t e r l y and n o r t h e r l y f a c e s ; w i t h a s e m i - c i r c u l a r
l e n g t h o f approximately 700 f e e t .
The n e a r e s t o u t c r o p s , w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n
of one sma1:l
c h e r to u t c r o p1 5 0f e e ts o u t h - w e s t e r l y
f r o m it, a r e t h o s e o f
theDiscovery H i l l limestone,1500feetnorth-westerly.
of buff-coloured,reddishThe o u t c r o p c o n s i s t s m o s t l y
weathering serpentine that has been completely silicified and
carbonatized.
However, u n a l t e r e d
serpentine,
or definitely
small patches on t h e n o r t h - e a s t e r g r e e ns e r p e n t i n e ,o c c u r si n
lyperiphery of theoutcrop.
The a l t e r e d s e r p e n t i n e i s l i g h t b u f f - c o l o u r e d a n d f r e quentlyspottedwithlightgreenclusters
of m a r i p o s i t e a:2d
o c c a s i o n a lg r a i n s of chromite;theexposedsurfacesweather
t o a c h a r a c t e r i s t i cr e d d i s h - b r o w n ,h a c k l ys u r f a c e .
The rock
of shreddycarbonategrain:s
alc o n s i s t s o f l e n s e sa n ds t r e a k s
t e r n a t i n g w i t h s t r e a k s of f i n e t o medium-sized g r a i n s of q u a r t z .
The q u a r t z g r a i n s a r e c l e a r , r e l a t i v e l y u n s t r a i n e d
andun'5roken;
t h e c a t a c l a s t i c t e x t u r e common t o t h e s c h i s t and q u a r t z i t e , i s
l a c k i n g . T h i s s u g g e s t st h a t t h e development of q u a r t z in t h e
s e r p e n t i n e i s l a t e r t h a n t h e main f o l d i n g of t h e sedimentary
rocks and a l s o l a t e r t h a n t h e c r u s h i n g a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e
main fracture-zone.which,combined.withtheoccurrence
0:'
occasional l/8 t o l/4 of a n i n c h s l a b s
of c i n n a b a r ,s u g g e s t s
t o thefracture-zone
t h e p r o x i m i t y of t h i s s e r p e n t i n e o u t c r o p
r e s p o n s i b l e f o r b o t h s i l i c a - b e a r i n g and mercury-bearing solutions,
A1.though g r e e n s t o n e d o e s n o t o c c u r i n t h e i n m e d i a t e v i c i n i t y of 'cne workings, it f o r m s a low h i l l t h a t l i e s a p p r o x i m a t e l yi 5 0 0f e e tn o r t h - e a s t e r l yf r o mt h eN o r t ha d i t .
This
occurrenceconstitutesthesouth-westerlyside
of a north,w e s t e r l y - t r e n d i n g band o f greenstone.
Regionallythemainstructure
i s a b e l t of dynamically
metamorphosedsedimentaryrocksthatstrikesnorth-wester:Ly
- 27
-
and d i p s n o r t h - e a s t w a r d , f o r m i n g p a r t
of a limb of a major
fold,theremainingparts
o f whichdonot
ocme w i t h i n t h e
presentmap-area.Locally,however,
i nt h ev i c i n i t y
of t h e
ore showings, this limb has been warped- into what the writer
i n t e r p r e t s a s a s m a l l a n t i c l i n e and s y n c l i n e t h a t p l u n g e s
northward d i a g o n a l l y down t h e r e g i o n a l d i p .
A s t u d y of s t r i k e s and d i p s of ,bedding-planes,and
of t h e
r e l a t i o n of t h e a x i a l p l a n e s
of s e v e r a l small d r a g - f o l d s t o
bedding,has'led
to the conclusions that
- (1) warpinghasreand
s u l t e d i n a combined a n t i c l i n e and s y n c l i n e , t h e o r e s t
t r o u g h of which a r e i n t h e v i c i n i t y of No. 1 2 t r e n c h , and t h e
south-westerly end of No. 20 t r e n c h( s e eP i g .
l ) , respectively;
( 2 ) thesefoldsstrikenortherly
andplunge i n t h e same d i r e c tion at angles ranging from
25 degrees t o 60 d e g r e e s .
The s e c o n d i m p o r t a n t s t r u c t u r a l f e a t u r e
i s a s t r o n gc i n n a b a r - b e a r i n gf r a c t u r e - z o n e ,
marked undergroundbyconspicuo u s f a u l t i n g , and b r e c c i a t i o n r a n g i n g f r o m
6 inches t o 4 f e e t
i n w i d t h , andmarked on t h e s u r f a c e b y
a zoneand
scattered
o u t c r o p s of b r e c c i a t e dc h e r t .
The s t r i k e of t h e f a u l t i n g
undergroundandof
t h e zone o f b r e c c i a t e d o u t c r o p s on t h e surface,rangesfromnorth.60degreeswesttonorth
70 d e g r e e s
west, and d i p of t h e f a u l t i n g from45 degrees t o 65 degrees
south-westward.Althoughthestrike
of t h i s zone i s n e a r l y
p a r a l l e l t o t h e bedding i n some p l a c e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e
d r i f t of t h e North a d i t , it cutsthebeddingelsewhere,and
in general is transverse to the axial direction
of t h e l o c . a l
a n t i c l i n e and syncline.
The zone of o u t c r o p s of b r e c c i a t e d c h e r t ,
and i n p l a c e s
of b r e c c i a t e d l i m e s t o n e v a r i e s f r o m
2 t o 10 f e e t in w i d t h .
Outcrops o f b r ' e c c i a t e d c h e r t . o c c u r on t h e g e n e r a l s t r i k e of
t h e f r a c t u r e - z o n e from No. 1 4 t r e n c h s o u t h - e a s t e r l y
t o No. 2 0 .
trench,asseeninr"ig.'l;this
zoneveryprobablycontinues
approximately 2000 feet south-easterly to an outcrop
of deFinitely-brecciatedchertthatoccurs150feetsouth-westerly
of t h e c i n n a b a r - b e a r i n g s e r p e n t i n e k n o l l m e n t i o n e d i n t h e
d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e r o c k - t y p e s .
The n a t u r e o r t h e l i n e a l e x t e n t
besummarized a s follows:
of t h e f r a c t u r e - z o n e
may
(1) Length of d e f i n i t ef a u l t - z o n e and a s s o c i a t e db r e c c i a t i o n ,a s
seen i n t h e main d r i f t of t h e Worth
a d i t - 230 f e e t ( a s of June 11, :1.939).
(2)
Length of f r a c t u r e - z o n e as i n d i c a t e d by f a i r l y
c l o s e l y - s p a c e ds t r i p p i n g sa n do u t c r o p s
o f brecc i a t e d r o c k - 750 f e e t .
- 2%
-
A.
B.
Camp of the Consolidated Mining and Smelting
Company of Canada, Limitsd on Pinchi Lake.
Portal of North Adit, Pinchi Lake mercury property
of the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company
of Canada, Limited.
PLATE 11.
A.
B.
Copper Creek cinnabarproperty,
dumps of
northshowings on l e f t o f picture.
Small D-retort at Copper Creek cinnabar
property.
'
(3)
Overalldistancebetweenoutcrops
of b r e c c i a t e d
rock a t e x t r e m i t i e s of p a r t l y - p r o s p e c t e d a r e a
and separated by long, .unprospected areas
Of
d r i f t , a p p r o x i m a t e l y 4000 f e e t .
The n o r t h - w e s t e r l y e x t r e m i t y of prospecting done on t h i s
p a r t l y - m i n e r a l i z e df r a c t u r e - z o n e ,
i s marked by No. 14 t r e n c h ,
11
wherecinnabaroccursin.brecciatedrockassociatedwith
v e r t i c a ls h e a r .
The s o u t h - e a s t e r l ye x t r e m i t y
i s marked b;y an
outcrop of b r e c c i a t e d c h e r t , 150 f e e t s o u t h - w e s t e r l y of occurrences of c i n n a b a r i n a l t e r e d s e r p e n t i n e .
The d i s t r i b u t i o n of cinnabar i s more o r l e s s c o i n c i d e n t
w i t ht h ef r a c t u r e - z o n e .
The h e a v i e s tc o n c e n t r a t i o n s of c i n nabar occur where brecciation
and s h e a r i n g of t h e f r a c t u r e zone m a t e r i a l a p p e a r s most i n t e n s e and t h e l i m e s t o n e m o s t s i l i of o r e c o n s i s t s p r e d o m i n a n t l y
of s c a t t e r e d
ceous.Thistype
o
f
g
r
a
i
n
s
,
and,
t
o
a
l
e
s
s
e
x
t
e
n t , 0: unig r a i n s and c l u s t e r s
f o r m m i n e r a ls h e e t s .
The cinnabaralsooccursinweaving
wisps o r s t r e a m e r s of v a r i a b l e w i d t h w i t h , i n v e r y f i n e l y - c o m minutedmaterial
between l a r g e rb r e c c i a - f r a g m e n t s .
The o r e zone b r e c c i a c o n s i s t s of angularfragments of c h e r t s e t i n a
p u l v e r i z e dm a t r i x of f i n e g r a i n s of q u a r t z ,c a r b o n a t e and
sometimes e p i d o t e a n d s e r i c i t e - - t h e t e x t u r e
is definitely-that
of a crush-or fault-breccia and as such
forms a very good h o s t
f o r t h ec i n n a b a r .
Samples t a k e na c r o s s1 - f o o ta n d1 8 - i n c h
w i d t h s of breccia well charged with cinnabar have assayed:
Mercury, 1.09 p e rc e n t .
and 1 . 4 3 percent.
The widths of b e t t e r m i n e r a l i z e d r o c k
more or l e s s c o r r e s p o n d w i t h t h o s e of the crush-or breccia-zone,
and a r e usua l l yv e r yp o o r l yd e f i n e d .
In g e n e r a l , t h e w i d t h s
of good mine r a l i z a t i o n rangefrom
6 inches t o an observed maximum of 4
f e e t . The onlyplacewhere
a c o n f i n i n gw a l l i s e v i d e n t i s
underground i n t h e main d r i f t of t h e North a d i t . Cinnabar
doesnotoccur
i n t h e f o o t - w a l l of t h e m a i n f a u l t , a l t h o u g h
it extends for i r r e g u l a r d i s t a n c e s . i n t o t h e h a n g i n g - w a l l .
The c o n c e n t r a t i o n of cinnabar i s d e f i n i t e l y v a r i a b l e
a l o n gt h el e n g t h
of t h e s h e a r .
The main and b e s t a r e a of
mineralization being that in the brecciated material extendi n g f r o m t h e e a s t end of No. 8 t r e n c h w e s t e r l y t o t h e m i d d l e
of No. 5 t r e n c h , a d i s t a n c e of.140 f e e t ; i n t h i s d i s t a n c e t h e
exposedwidth of m i n e r a l i z a t i o n r a r g e s f r o m 1 i n c h t o . 1 0 f e e t .
Representative samples .taken by the writer and considered to
be more or l e s st y p i c a l of t h i s zone,assayedfrom:Mercury,
2 . 5 t o 7.02 p e r c e n t . o v e r 1 0 - f o o t s e c t i o n s
(for d e t a i l s see
pig. 1).
- 31
-
Althoughcinnabaroccursoutsidethe
mainzoneofbrecSamples t a k e n by
c i a t i o n , it i s o n l yi n smal.1 q u a n t i t i e s .
the writer in sections adjacent to but outside the
mainzone
of b r e c c i a t i o n ,a s s a y e df r o m :M e r c u r y ,a . t r a c et o ' ah i g h
of
0.1 percent.
0.75percent;theyaveraged,Mercury,
The d e p o s i t i o n o f c i n n a b a r i n t h e w e s t e r l y g r o u p
of
t o brecciatedrock,butalsoto
trenches i s notonlyrelated
t h e o c c u r r e n c e of a heavy bed o f more o r l e s s c r u s h e d q u a r t z i t e where t h e b e s t g r a d e o f o r e i n
t h i s group of workings has
beenfound
t od a t e( J u n e
10, 1 9 3 9 ) ,i n Mo. 1 2 t r e n c h (see
F i g . 1). Two samplestakenacross12-inchwidths
of t h i s bed
assayed:Mercury,
0.56 p e rc e n t .
and 2 . 9 6 p e rc e n t .
A t . o t h e rp l a c e s ,s u c h
a s i n Nos. 11 and 1 5t r e n c h e s
s
e
e
F
i
g
.
l),
cinnabar
i
s
d
i s s e m i n a t e dt h r o u g ht h er i b b o n s
L."
l a m i n a t e dq u a r t z i t e .
of
Minuteamountsof
stibnite were seen in
a small"outcrop"
of high-grade near t h e d i s c o v e r y - p o s t ; it i s n o t a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c m i n e r a l of t h e d e p o s i t .
I n a d d i t i o n t o c i n n a b a r a small amount ofuncrushed,hyd r o t h e r m a lq u a r t zo c c u r s ,c l o s e
t o , butnotinthefracturezone. Narrow i r r e g u l a r l e n s e s and s t r i n g e r so fw a t e r yq u a r t z
upto 3 inches thick occur in the vicinity
of a p o i n t w h i c h
i s 450 f e e t s o u t h arid 540 f e e t e a s t of t h e North a d i t (see
Fig. l), and a t a p o i n t on t h e west w a l l , 100 f e e t f r o m t h e
p o r t a l of t h e North a d i t .
C a l c i t e s t r i n g e r s a r e commonly a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e c i n . n a b a r ;t h e s e a r e d e f i n i t e l y l a t e r t h a n t h e a n k e r i t i z a t i o n
of
t h el i m e s t o n e ,b u t
more or l e s s contemporaneous w i t h t h e c i n nabar.
F a v o u r a b l ec o n d i t i o n sf o ro r e - d e p o s i t i o n ,
s p a r s e o c c u r r e n c e s ofore;appear
t o havebeen
as opposed t o
in part,
(1) The presence of h i g h l y comminuted, crushedand
brecciated material related to the fracture-zone.
(2)
(3)
The o c c a s i o n a lp r e s e n c e
i n No. 1 2 t r e n c h .
'
of c r u s h e dq u a r t z i t e ,a s
P o s s i b l y t h e o c o u r r e n c e of s c h i s t o s e a n d , t h e r e f o r e ,
r e l a t i v e l yi m p e r v i o u sp h a s e s
of t h e s e d i m e n t s t h a t
seem t o haveacted as l o c a l b a r r i e r s t o r i s i n g s o l u t i o n s and a i d e d i n t h e o o n c e n t r a t i o n
of cinnabar
i n t oo r e - s h o o t s .
-
32
-
The t y p e o f groundrepresentedby
(1) and ( 2 ) i s r e l a - .
t i v e l y p o r o u s andwould o f f e r no r e s i s t a n c e t o t h e p a s s a g e
of
m i n e r a l i z i n gs o l u t i o n s .
Mo rock-types or s t r u c t u r e ,o t h e r
t h a n p o s s i b l y some s o h i s t o s e p h a s e s , d e f i n i t e l y s u i t a b l e
to
s e r v e as a t r a p f o r t h e . c o n c e n t r a t i o n of t h e o r e - s o l u t i o n s ,
a n d ,t h e r e f o r e ,s u i t a b l e
for t h e f o r m a t i o n of o r e - s h o o t s ,
w e r ee v i d e n ta tt h et i m eo ft h ew r i t e r ' se x a m i n a t i o n .
I t j.s
possible that the relatively flat-lying Tertiary lavas,
remn a n t s o f whichoccurnorthandsouth
of S t u a r t Lake, served
for the rising mineralizing solutions:
as the ultimate trap
the nearest lava
remnant is t h e e a s t w a r d - s l o p i n g c u e s t a t h a t
form Hunitlin Mountain, approximately
11 m i l e s i n a n a i r - l j . n e
north-easterly.
"
K.a
m l o o ~Lake and Vicinity
Occurrences
Cinnabaroccurs a t s e v e r a l p l a c e s w i t h i n a b e l t a p p r o x i f o r 11 m i l e s n o r t h e r l y and
mately.8mileswidethatextends
f o r a p p r o x i m a t e l y t h e same d i s t a n c e s o u t h e r l y f r o m t h e w e s t
end of IiamloopsLake
( f i g . 2 ) . The d e p o s i t sc o n s i s t of s h e a r zonesanddolomiteveinsthatcontainvarying
amounts o f c i n nabar. The r o c k sa r eg r e e n s t o n e
of theNicolagroup,which,
i n t h e v i c i n i t y of t h e d e p o s i t s , have usually been
intense:ly
a l t e r e d by a n k e r i t i z a t i o n . The o c c u r r e n c e si n c l u d e t h e fo'!lowing d e p o s i t s : CopperCreek
CinnabarClaims;Hardie
Mount a i n CinnabarDeposit;SabistonFlats;DavisShowings;
Criss
CreekShowings(MercuryMining
S y n d i c a t e ) ; Charbonneau Showi n g s n e a r Savona S t a t i o n on theCanadianPacificRailway;
showings i n . t h e v i c i n i t y of Tunkwa Lake (Fig. 2 ) . These a r e
described in detail in, the following text.
COPPER CREEK
CINNABAR CLAIMS.
The most r e c ei n ft o r m a t i o n
concernin,:
mouth o f
CopperCreek
indicates that they were
l a s t owned by theCinnabarMining
Company of B. C . , formerly
c a r e of Davis,Marshall,
MacNeil and Pugh, 626 P e n d e rS t r e e t ,
Vancouver.Theseclaimswentiintotax-salein1938,thedtlte
of redemptionexpiring November 7 , 1939.
t h e c i n n a b acr l a i mns e atrh e
The p r o p e r t y i s s i t u a t e d on t h e s l o p e of t h e h i l l s i d e
immediately t o t h e n o r t h from Copper Creek S t a t i o n , a flags t o p on t h e CanadianNationalRailway
on t h e n o r t h s h o r e
of'
Km>Oops Lake,approximately 5 m i l e s e a s t e r l y from t h e w e s t
end of.thelake.
There a r e two means of access, one by CanadianNational
Railway f r o m Savona, and one by auto-roadfrom
Kamloops. The
d i s t a n c e i s 32 m i l e s by roadfrom Kamloops p a s t T r a n q u i l l e ,
up t h e T r a n q u i l l e R i v e r
and down Carabine(Copper)Creek
to
Fig. 2. Key map, cinnabar occurrence, in the vicinity of Kamloops
Lake. Areal geology adapted from Dawsonw i t h modifications
around Kamloops Lake by Drysdale.
Copper Creek Station; this road
is steep, narrow and the
surface clayey and should
not be attemptedwith a motor-car
in
wet weather.
The workings are situated
on an open hillside which
slopes smoothly south-eastward
to the levelof Kamloops Lake;
the slope changing gradually from approximately
30 degrees at
the
the elevation of the worktngsto only a few degrees near
lake (Plate I1 A ) . The only coveron thehillside is a small
amount of range-grass, sage-brush, and in the few draws, pine
trees,
Geologically the deposit consistsof cinnabar-bearing
dolomite fissure-veins. These dolomite veins occur chiefly
-
34
-
w i t h i n and p a r a l l e l t o t h e w a l l s of conspicylousbrown-weat.hera s e r i e s of
ingandhighly-alteredandesiticdykesthatout
s i l l s . F a u l t i n g of a l l
f r a g m e n t a lv o l c a n i c sa n di n t e r c a l a t e d
theserockshasbeenextensive
and spread over a long timci n t e r v a l . The dykes,whichoccupy
f a u l t s ,o b v i o u s l yt e n d e d
to localize the later faults that were followed
by t h e do1.omite-cinnabar ireins: the
most r e c e n t f a u l t i n g h a s t e n d e d
to
displace both the veins
and t h e e n c l o s i n g r o c k - t y p e s .
In b r i e f , t h e w o r k i n g s c o n s i s t
of a l a b y r i n t h of d r i f t s ,
c r o s s c u t s , r a i s e s and s h o r t s h a f t s .T h e s ew o r k i n g sa r ei n
t h r e e m a i n groups, s o u t h e r l y and c e n t r a lg r o u p s( F i g .4 )
at
a n a l t i t u d e of 1 7 0 0 f e e t (Kamloops Lake1125. f e e t ) , h a l f
~i
mile north-westerly from
CopperCreek S t a t i o n , and a n o r t h e r l y group (Fig. 3)
a t a p p r o x i m a t e l y t h e same e l e v a t i o n b u t h a l f
a m i l e n o r t h e r l y f r o m t h e s o u t h e r l y group; t h e r e l a t i v e posit i o n s o f t h e s o u t h e r l y and c e n t r a l groups a r e shown i n F i g . 4.
In general the workings are badly caved and several seca t the
t i o n s o f t h e a d i t s and t h e s t o p e s w e r e i n a c c e s s i b l e
t i m e ofexamination(June-July,1939).
The name CopperCreek appears t o h a v e o r i g i n a t e d froin
the report that in
thepastIndiansobtainedsmall
amounts of
c l o s e t o and
t h ev o l c a n i cr o c k so u t c r o p p i n g
nativecopperfrom
i n t h e bed of CopperCreek.This
i s i n d i c a t e db y a q u o t a t i o n
fromBrewer,AnnualReport,Minister
of N i n e s ,B r i t i s h Co:Lumb i a , 1914,p.195
- " T h i sc r e e kd e r i v e s
i t s name f r o m t h e f a c t
thattheIndians
have f r o m time immemorial known it as a l o c a l i t yw h e r en a t i v ec o p p e r
was found.Specimens
a r e y e t found
i n t h e s e r p e n t i n o u s decomposed rooks t o t h e e a s t of t h e s t r e a m
which show some of t h i s n a t i v e c o p p e r , b u t w h e t h e r t h e
qu:mt i t y i s s u f f i c i e n t t o be of economic v a l u e i s q u e s t i o n a b l e . "
Between1890 and 1900 unsuccessful attempts were
made t o
find copper o r e i n mineableamounts on s h m i n g s c o n s i s t i n g of
o h a l c o c i t e and b o r n i - t e i n q u a r t z - f i l l e d f i s s u r e - v e i n s t h a t
ocof
curred i n basiodykes on t h e T e n d e r f o o t c l a i m s i t u a t e d e a s t
and 800 f e e t aboveCopper Creek.
The f i r s t i n t e n s i v e work on t h e CopperCreekoinnabar
sho7,vings a p p e a r s t o havebeen doneby a n American company i n
1894, when, i n a d d i t i o n t o a small amount of surfaoe-prospecting,anadit
was d r i v e n 1 3 7 f e e t and a s h a f t and incl-inesunk
for 51 f e e t and31 f e e - tr e s p e c t i v e l y .
The grade of mercury
mineralization at that time
i s i n d i c a t e d by t h e s t a t e m e n t t h a t
t h e dump a t t h e a d i t - p o r t a l c o n t a i n e d
8 t o n s of m a t e r i a l a v e r agingapproximately,mercury,
20 percent.,and
1 2 t o n sa v e r agingapproximately 7 per cent.
-
35
-
\
I
\
I
I
I
I
I
I
\
I
I
Sample N?Width%Mercury
Description
0"
0.8 mixed vein-dolomite & black sulphide
8"
12"
3.2
nil.
nil.
0.2
0.6
nil.
0.4
18''
4"
4"
I
2"
Vein-dolomite & scattered cinnabargrains
Vein-dolomite
B l a c k f i l m so n j o i n t si n v e i n
Across 2oneofdolornite&quartzstringers
Dolomite-vein
Across quartz-dolomite lens
Across dolomite-cinnabar veinlet
LEGEND
Green & ourole
volcanic breccias
8
,
E1.1740'
Tuff
White vein-dolomite. sometimes
containingdisseminatedcinnabar
S t o p e d areas
Open-cut
G
Vein showing dip
"
Fault, showing dip
"
Scale
a
20
10
0
4
0
Fig. 3 . Plan of north showings, Copper Creek oinnabar property.
-
36
-
50
Feet
I n 1895the'Cinnabar
Mining Company of B . C . tookover
t h ed e p o s i t s .T h i s
company didexploratorywork,erectec.
two
r e t o r t s and operated them f o r only a few weeks producing,
"more t h a n1 0 0f l a s k s
of q u i c k s i l v e r . " The underground work
done by t h i s company i n 1895 appears t o have c o n s t i t u t e d t h e
bulk o f t h e workdone on t h ep r o p e r . t y .
I t i s r e p o r t e dt oh a v e
c o n s i s t e d of 750 f e e t of d r i f t s and c r o s s c u t s on onepart: of
mt h e Rose Bud c l a i m of t h a t t i m e , a l a r g e s t o p e , a n d , i n
a d i t 120 f e e t longand a r a i s e 8 0 f e e t l o n g t o
otherpart,an
t h es u r f a c e .
On t h e YellowJacketc'laim
of .that time,underground work c o n s i s t e d of 900 f e e t of d r i f t s andcrosscut:;and
two r a i s e s t o t h e s u r f a c e , 8 0 f e e t
and100 f e e t r e s p e c t i v e l y
i n l e n g t h ; 12.00 f e e t of d i a m o n d - d r i l l i n g was a l s o done i n t h i s
section.
Between1896and1925
v e r y l i t t l e workwas done on t h e
p r o p e r t y . However, i n 1924, Mr. J. Fleetwood-;flells, who had
operated the property twenty-five years previously, re-opened
theworkings,operated'forthreeyears
and o b t a i n e d a b o u t f i v e
f l a s k s of mercury. No work hasbeendonesince
1927. During
t h i sp e r i o df r o m
1927 t o t h e p r e s e n t , t h e
old retort(Plate
11 B ) and f u r n a c e ( P l a t e I11 A),havebeendismantledand
p a r t l yd e s t r o y e d .
The p r o d u c t i o n of mercuryfrom
hasbeen as f o l l o w s :
1895
1924
-
1897
- 1927
t h e Copper Creek d e p o s i t s
- 138 f l a s k s of mercury
-5 f l a s k s
Approximately143flasks
of mercury
of mercury
The bed-rockgeology of t h e Copper Creek cinnabardep o s i t s i s complex. The rockscomprise a group o f igneou:;
r o c k s ,b o t he x t r u s i v e
and i n t r u s i v e . The extrusivesincl.ude
both green and p u r p l e v o l c a n i c b r e c c i a s
and interbedded t u f f s .
The i n t r u s i v e s i n c l u d e , d i a b a s e
and p i c r i t e ( e s s e n t i a l l y o l i vineandaugite)
s i l l s and brown-weatheringdykes:thesedykes
a r e of b a s a l t i c c o m p o s i t i o n b u t
w i l l be r e f e r r e d t o a s
brown
porphyrydykes i n t h e t e x t b e c a u s e of t h e i r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y
brown outcrops and d e f i n i t e l y p o r p h y r i t i c t e x t u r e .
The most p r e v a l e n t r o c k , b o t h i n t h e w o r k i n g s a n d t h e
rockbluffsimmediatelyabovethem,
i s g r e e nv o l c a n i cb r e c c i a .
of angularfragmentsrangfng
f r o m 1 inch t o
T h i sr o c kc o n s i s t s
8 inches in average diameter that are set in
a more fine:.yf r a g m e n t a lt u f f a c e o u sm a t r i x .
The m a t e r i a l of thefragments
i s c h i e f l yd a r kg r e e nb a s a l t i cg r e e n s t o n e ,
sometimes f i n e l y p o r p h y r i t i c .P u r p l ev o l c a n i cb r e c c i a ,c o n s i s t i n g
of d i s t i n c t l y
- 37
-
p u r p l ef r a g m e n t si n a p u r p l et u f f a c e o u sm a t r i x ,o c c u r si r r e g u larly distributed in the workings; they occur in all the
worki n g s of t h e c e n t r a l g r o u p
and i n t h e e a s t b r a n c h
of t h e "1510"
l e v e li nt h es o u t hg r o u pi nt h e
same a r e a . Inasmuch a s t h e ,
p u r p l e and g r e e n b r e c c i a s g r a d e i n s e n s i b l y i n t o e a c h o t h e r ,
it was impossible t o map d e f i n i t e c o n t a c t s b e t w e e n t h e s e
two
colour-types of b r e c c i a s .
As thebrecciasareextremelymassiveinstructure,
bedd i n g - p l a n e sa r en o te v i d e n t
and it i s i m p o s s i b l e t o d e t e r m i n e
t h e i r a t t i t u d e f r o m t h e s t u d y of t h e b r e c c i a s a l o n e .
However,
t h e a t t i t u d e andgeneralcontact-relations
of w e l l - b e d d e d t u f f s
occurringinthewesterlybranch
of t h e "1510" l e v e l i n d i c a t e
a n o r t h - w e s t e r l y s t r i k e and a m o d e r a t e d i p of about 2 0 d e g r e e s
north-eastward f o r b o t h t h e b r e c c i a s and i n t e r s t r a t i f i e d t u f f s .
The mainoccurrence of t u f f i s i n t h e s o u t h e r l y g r o u p
of worki n g s ,s p e c i f i c a l l yi n
t h e w e s t e r l y b r a n c h of t h e "1510" l e v e l ,
and a l o n g p a r t of t h e e a s t e r l y b r a n c h of t h e same l e b e l . Tow a r d s t h e p o r t a l of t h e w e s t e r l y b r a n c h o f "1510," t h e t u f f s
a r ev e r yi n c o h e r e n t :t h ee x t r e m ei n c o h e r e n c yb e i n gl a r g e l yd u e
t o t h e p e r c o l a t i o n of s u r f a c e ' w a t e r s down t h e d i p f r o m t h e
i n the workings, the beds
s u r f a c e o u t c r o p of ' t h e b e d s ; f a r t h e r
become blocky and massive. The bedding of t h e t u f f s as s e e n
i n the incoherent material strikes north-westerly and dips
20
degreesnorth-eastward.
The compact t u f f sa r ed a r k - g r e y
in
c o l o u ra n df i n e ,m e g a s c o p i c a l l ye v e n - g r a i n e di nt e x t u r e .
Howe v e r ,u n d e rt h em i c r o s c o p et h e ya r es e e nt oc o n s i s t
of c l o s e l y p a c k e dc r y s t a l - f r a g m e n t si n
a densecloudymatrix.
The c r y s t a l s c o n s i s t of a l t e r e d f e l d s p a r a n d p y r o x e n e ; t h e f e l d s p a r
crystal's are largely altered
t o f i n e w h i t e micaand t h e pyroxenes t o f i n e l y - g r a n u l a r ,i r o n - s t a i n e dc a r b o n a t e .
Diabase s i l l s occur i n t h e c r o s s c u t b e t w e e n t h e
two
branches of t h e "1510" . l e v e l i n t h e s o u t h e r l y g r o u p of worki n g s . The two occurrences i n t h i sc r o s s c u ta r ee a c ha p p r o x imately 4 f e e t t h i c k ; t h e
more w e s t e r l y s i l l i s conformable
withtheunderlyingtuffbeds
and t h e e a s t e r l y s i l l i s p a r a l l e l t o it. I n t h e i rb l o c k ym a s s i v ec h a r a c t e rt h e
sills are
similar to the blocky 'tuffs, but they are
much d a r k e r 'in c o l or. Under t h e m i c r o s c o p e t h e t e x t u r e
i s seen t o be f i n e g r a i n e d and d i a b a s i c : t h e g l a s s y
or d e n s e groundmasswhich
mightbeexpected.
if t h e s e w e r e flows, r a t h e r t h a n s i l l s , i s
lacking:. The m i n e r a l sc o m p r i s ec a l c i cp l a g i o c l a s e ,h o r n b l e n d e
and a small amount of o l i v i n e .
Augitepicriteoccursinthe
"1615" open-cutand i n t h e
s h o r t "1600" a d i t of t h e c e n t r a 1 , g r o u p of workings. The expo'sures consist of badly-fractured,dark-greenrockwhich
c o n t a i n sa b u n d a n tc r y s t a l s
of o l i v i n e , commonly 1/16 of a n
-
58
-
Fig. 4. Plan of central and south showings, Copper Creek
cinnabar property.
inch in diameter. These olivine.crystals, set
in a dense,
dark-green groundmass, are easily recognized by the purple
colour of the alteration-products formed within the crystals.
Under the microscopethe rock is seento oonsist of numerous
grains of olivine largely alteredto serpentine and finelydivided hematite. None of the pink material is cinnabar.
-
39
-
a peridoThisrock i s named a u g i t e p i c r i t e r a t h e r t h a n
t i t e b e c a u s e :t h et e x t u r e
i s p o r p h y r i t i c and r e s u l t s from
small phenocrysts of o ' l i v i n e and a u g i t e s e t i n a densegroundmass.Although
t h eo u t c r o p s of t h e p i c r i t e a r e b a d l y d i s i n t e g r a t e d and t h e c o n t a c t - r e l a t i o n s a n d t h e s u r r o u n d i n g r o c k s
n o te x p o s e d ;t h er o c k
i s believed t o be e x t r u s i v e .
Conspicuouslybroum--matheringporphyriesoccurasdykes
of w i d e l y - v a r y i n gs t r i k e and dip.Thesedykesareconspicuous
because of t h e i rr u s t y - b r o w no u t c r o p s ;f r e s h l y - b r o k e n ,
unw e a t h e r e ds u r f a c e sa r e ,h o w e v e r ,l i g h t - g r e yi nc o l o u r .
The
dykesrange i n g e n e r a l f r o m 6 inches t o 3 f e e t i n t h i c k n e s s ;
however, s c a t t e r e d o u t c r o p s of 'brown porphyry occurring a t
places from 100 t o 600 f e e t t o t h e w e s t o f t h e s o u t h e r n g r o u p
of showings, i n d i c a t e d y k e s t h a t h a v e
a minimum w i d t h of 75
feet.
The d y k e - m a t e r i a l i n w e a t h e r e d o u t c r o p s
is definitely
p o r p h y r i t i c ; c o n s i s t i n g of well-shapedbutbadly-altered,
i n a dense o r f i n e c r y s t a l s of p l a g i o c l a s e andpyroxeneset
g r a i n e d , brown groundmass. The p o r p h y r i t i ct e x t u r e i s n o t S D
Under t h e m i c r o s c o p e t h e
e v i d e n t on f r e s h l y - b r o k e n s u r f a c e s .
v a r y i n gd e g r e e s ,t of i n e l y feldspars are seen to be altered, in
i n a l l secf e l t e d a g g r e g a t e s of white mica and the pyroxenes
t i o n sc o m p l e t e l ya l t e r e dt of i n eg r a n u l e s
of c a r b o n a t e . The
groundmass c o n s i s t s of e i t h e r a dense, brown a g g r e g a t e of c a r bonateandlimonite,
o r of f i n e l y - f e l t e d l a t h s of a l t e r e d
p l a g i o c l a s e and i n t e r s t i t i a l l i m o n i t e and c a r b o n a t e ; s c a t t e r e d
c l u s t e r s o f f i n e - g r a i n e dm a g n e t i t ea r e
common. The p r e s e n c e
of c o n s i d e r a b l e plagioclase,pyroxene
and m a g n e t i t e i n d i c a t e
t h a t t h e s e dykes a r e of b a s a l t i c c o m p o s i t i o n ; t h e y
will b e r e f e r r e d t o , however, i n t h e t e x t a s
brown porphyrydykes.
The
c a r b o n a t e of t h e s e r o c k s , b o t h i n t h e a l t e r e d p y r o x e n e
and t h e
groundmass, i s l a r g e l y a n k e r i t e and i s n o tt ob ec o n f u s e dw i t h
t h a t of t h e d o l o m i t e v e i n s .
A n k e r i t i z a t i o n , o r t h e f o r m a t i o n of a n k e r i t i c c a r b o n a t e ,
of a l t e r a t i o n i n t h e brown porhas been the dominant process
p h y r yd y k e s .T h i sa l t e r a t i o na n t e d a t e d . o r
was t h e f o r e r u n n e r
of t h a t which was r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e d e p o s i t i o n of vein-dolomiteandcinnabar
i n f i s s u r e s w i t h i n ' t h ed y k e s .
One lamprophyredyke was s e e n on t h e p r o p e r t y a t a p l a c e
350 f e e t w e s t e r l y f r o m t h e s o u t h e r l y g r o u p
of showings.This
dyke i s . 1 0 f e e t w i d e a n d s t r i k e s n o r t h - w e s t e r l y
and i n t r u d e s
t h es u r r o u n d i n gg r e e nv o l c a n i cb r e c c i a .
In appearance it i s
of f e l d s p a r .
a greyporphyriticrockcontaininglonglaths
Under the microscope it i s s e e n t o . c o n s i s t of l a r g e , l o n g
l a t h s of l a b r a d o r i t e - p l a g i o c l a s e s e t i n a f e l t e d groundmass
-
c
40
-
of dark-brown b i o t i t e ; n e i t h e r
seen.
amphibolenorpyroxenewere
F a u l t i n g of t h e r o c k s and v e i n s i s w i d e s p r e a d i n t h e dei s no g e n e r a l s t r i k e a n d d i p t o t h e f a u l t s a l p o s i t ,T h e r e
though it i s t o b e n o t e d t h a t e a s t - w e s t
andnorth-southfaults
a r e uncommon, Dips range from n e a r l yh o r i z o n t a lt ov e r t i . c a 1 .
D i s p l a c e m e n ta l o n gt h ef a u l t - p l a n e s
is v a r i a b l e , r a n g i n g f r o m
almostnothingtolargebutindeterminableamounts.
The f a u l t s
r a n g ei nw i d t hf r o mh a l fa ni n c h
t o 1 f o o t , andshear-zones
.from 1 f o o t i n w i d t h t o 40 f e e t .
Faulting both preceded and followed the formation
of t h e
d o l o m i t ev e i n s .
The e a r l i e r f a u l t i n g opened f i s s u r e s for t h e
brown-porphyrydykesand
l a t e r for t h e v e i n s , and i n some i n s t a n c e s f o r m e ds h e a r - z o n e st h a tl a t e rr e c e i v e d
a small amount
of dolomiteandcinnabar,
as shown i n t h e o p e n - c u t a t a n e l e of showings. I t i s
v a t i o n of 1645 f e e t i n t h e m i d d l e . g r o u p
impossibletosay
what percentage of t h e f a u l t s i n t h e r o c k formationsantedatedtheveins,butprobablyvery
fewbec:ause
of t h e l a c k of s e a l i n g - m i n e r a l s .
'
'
P o s t - v e i n f a u l t i n g i s of c o u r s e t h e m o s t conspicuous.
The d o l o m i t e v e i n s a r e f r e q u e n t l y
boundedby f a u l t s p a r a l . l e 1
t o e i t h e r one wall, a s shown by t h e v e i n i n t h e w e s t e r l y ' b r a n c h
of t h e "1535" l e v e l i n t h e s o u t h e r l y g r o u p
of showings, or t o
b o t h . w a i l s , a s shown by t h e v e i n i n t h e
"1740" l e v e l of t h e
n o r t h e r l yg r o u p of showings. The v e i n sa r e sometimes d e f i n i t e l y c u t by. t r a n s v e r s e f a u l t s and displaced f o r unknown
amounts, a s s h o w n ' b y t h e i e i n i n t h e l a s t
example c i t e d . The
e f f e c t of f a u l t i n g o r . . t h e r o c k - f o r m a t i o n s has b e e n t h e f a u l t ing of one rock-type into another as
%shownt o t h e b e s t advant a g e , b y t h e f a u l t - b o u n d e d t r i a n g u l a r segment o f p i c r i t e a d j a c e n t t o brown porphyry i n t h e open-cut a t a n e l e v a t i o n of 1570
f e e t in t h e s o u t h e r l y showings.
Veins of w h i t e , m a s s i v e t o c r y s t a l l i n e d o l o m i t e , c o n t a i n i n gs p o r a d i cd i s s e m i n a t i o n s
of c i n n a b a r , c h a r a c t e r i z e t h e
posit.
These veins occur chiefly within the
de-
brown porphyrydykes
as :
continuousribbonwhichpinchesandswells
from
1 inch to 3 f e e t i n w i d t h , w i t h i n
or close t o ,
one w a l l of the dyke.
(1)
li
(2)
Gash-veins a' fewinches i n t h i c k n e s s t h a t t r e n d .
diagonally to the strike
of t h e d y k e , b u t a r e
-
41
-
wholly contained within the dyke.
(3)
O c c a s i o n a l l yn a r r o ws t r i n g e r si nt h ev o l o a n i c
breccia in the vicinity
of the dykes.
Although t h e d o l o m i t e v e i n s r a n g e f r o m
a knife-edge t o
3 feetinthickness,
a width o f 18 inches i s t h e commonest
average f o r t h e m o s t p e r s i s t e n t v e i n s .
The t e x t u r e i s u s u a l l y m a s s i v e c o n s i s t i n g of c l o s e l y packed c r y s t a l s of dolomite. However, occasionalvugsoccur
which a r e l i n e d and f r e q u e n t l y n e a r l y f i l l e d b y p r o j e c t i n g
c r y s t a l s of d o l o m i t e . , A b r e c c i a t e d t e x t u r e o c c a s i o n a l l y
ocIn such
c u r s , p a r t i c u l a r l y n e a r t h e b o r d e r s of t h ev e i n s .
p l a c e s t h e v e i n c o n s i s t s of fragments andwisps of brown porphyry i n t h e p r o c e s s of replacement by t h e v e i n - d o l o m i t e .
ChemiThe vein-makter i s predominantlywhitedolomite.
c a l and o p t i c a l s t u d i e s i n d i c a t e t h a t
it. approaches very
c l o s e l y t h e t h e o r e t i c a lc o m p o s i t i o n . o fd o l o m i t e .S m a l l
amounts
of c h a l c e d o n i cq u a r t za n d ,i n
some v e i n s , s t r i n g e r s ,
of more
c o a r s e l yc r y s t a l l i n eq u a r t zo c c u r .
The o n l ys u l p h i d es e e ni n
has been
t h e d o l o m i t e v e i n s was c i n n a b a r , a l t h o u g h s t i b n i t e
r e p o r t e d . A small amount of t e t r a h e d r i t e was s e e n i n a l e n s
of q u a r t z i n t h e n o r t h w o r k i n g s .
Within t h e v e i n t h e r e h a s b e e n
a rhythmical precipitat i o n of the chief gangue-minerals; the sequences are best seen
around fragments of p o r p h y r y - b r e c c i a w i t h i n t h e v e i n - - t h e
most common sequence i s a sf o i l o w s :
’
1.
Dense w h i t e or g r e yc h a l c e d o n i cq u a r t z .
2.
Bands of c r y s t a l l i n ed o l o m i t e ,t h ec r y s t a l s
of
whichhave grown i n a d i r e c t i o n normal t o t h e
previous band of m i n e r a l .
3.
Grey c h a l c e d o n i cq u a r t z .
4.
Where openspacesexisted,
c r y s t a l s of q u a r t z .
small pyramid-shaped
The amount of c i n n a b a r s e e n i n t h e v e i n s
was so small
t h a t d e f i n i t e data concerning i t s t i m e of d e p o s i t i o n c o u l d
n o tb eo b t a i n e d .
However, it was c o m o n l ys e e n on t h eb o r d e r s of h a i r - i i k e s t r i n g e r s of dolomite, a h a b i t s u g g e s t i n g
that the cinnabar antedated the deposition
of d o l o m i t e w i t h i n
s u c hs t r i n g e r s ;
it was a l s o s e e n a s d i s c r e t e g r a i n s and small
masses within main dolomite v e i n s , i n d i c a t i n g d e p o s i t i o n con-
-
42
-
temporaneous with that
of t h e d o l o m i t e .
I n g e n e r a l ,t h i sc i n n a b a r
was i n p a r t s l i g h t l y e a r l i e r
t h a n , and i n p a r t contemporaneouswith,thedolomite.
..
The most common occurrence of cinnabar i s d i s c r e t e , f : l a k y
g r a i n sw i t h i nw h i t ev e i n - d o l o m i t e .
I t a l s oo c c u r s as t h i n
films w i t h i n f i s s u r e s , or b o r d e r i n g d o l o m i t e s t r i n g e r s
tha-G
occurwithineither'the
brown porphyrydykes or, l e s s f r e q l l e n t of t h ed y k e s .
Old r e p o r t s i n d i c a t e t h a t
much
l y ,t h ew a l l - r o c k
of t h e mined cinnabar occurred a s b l e b s o r nodules of massive
cinnabar within the dolomite.
No developedore-bodieswereexposed
i n t h e workings tat
t h e t i m e of t h e w r i t e r ' s e x a m i n a t i o n ( J u n e t o J u l y , 1 9 3 9 ) .
The l o c a t i o n and generalshape of p r e v i o u s l y - e x i s t i n g o r e "
b o d i e sa r er o u g h l y
shown by t h e o l d s t o p e s ,
as o u t l i n e d on
F i g s . 3 and 4. U n f o r t u n a t e l y ,t h e s es t o p e sa r eb a d l y - c a v e d
and i n a c c e s s i b l e a t t h e t i m e of examination so t h a t t h e n a t u r e
of t h e o c c u r r e n c e of a n y p o s s i b l e r e m n a n t s o f ' o r e
and of t h e
t y p e of wall-rock,couldnotbedetermined.
A c a l c u l a t i o n . of.
the approximate volume of a l l t h e s t o p e s i n d i c a t e s t h a t a b o u t
500 t o n s of rock was excavatedfrom them. A c a l c u l a t i o n oE
a gross reported
thegradeoforebasedonthistonnageand
production of 143 f l a s k s , o r 1068 l b s .o f . m e r c u r y ,i n d i c a t e s
an average grade
of 1.08 percent.mercury
f o r t h e 500 t o n s
of rock.
I t i s t o benotedthatthisgradeexceedsthepercentage
of a l l butone o f t h e s a m p l e s t a k e n b y t h e w r i t e r ; t h e e x c e p t i o n b e i n g a sample taken across
8 i n c h e s of vein-dolomite
All samples of a l t e r e d
whichassayed:Mercury,3.2percent.
rock,even when cinnabar w a s v i s i b l e i n t h e hand specimen,assayed much l e s s Clan:Mercury,1.08percent.Thisdistribut i o n of v a l u e s and t h e q u o t a t i o n f r o m Wilmot (1926, p. 55)"
"durhgoperationsthirtyyearsago,thegreaterpart
of t h e
metal recovered was obtained from one pocket,"--suggests
t:hat
t h e ore-bod.ies occurred within the dolomite veins.
Inasmuch as no o r e i s a t p r e s e n t exposed, t h e o n l y d a t a
obtainableconcerninglocalizationare
from t h e p o s i t i o n s ,of
t h eo l ds t o p e s .
The l a r g e s ts t o p e i s between t h e "1510" a:?d
"1535" l e v e l si nt h es o u t h e r l yg r o u p
of workings. The stoped
area i s within the acute angle lying
betiveen two brown porThe
t
h
e
a
n
g
l
e
b
e t w e e n t h e t w o dykes
phyry dykes.
ground i n
may havebeen more f r a c t u r e d a n d ,t h e r e f o r e ;
of e a s i e r a c c e s s
by t h e m i n e r a l i z i n g s o l u t i o n s t h a n t h a t a d j a c e n t t o ' t h e d y k e s ,
o f i n t e r s e c t i o n .E l s e w h e r eo nt h e
b u tn o ti nt h ev i c i n i t y
property the only controlling factor
i s t h e p r e s e n c e of t h e
-
43
-
dolomite veins, which in turn are largely localized
presence of brown porphyrydykes.
by t h e
The sequence of e v e n t s l e a d i n g t o t h e f o r m a t i o n
d o l o m i t e v e i n s i s conce'ivably as f o l l o w s :
1.
Earlyformatio'n
2.
F i l l i n g of t h e s e ' b y brown porphyrydykes
of t h e
of s t r o n gf r a c t u r e s .
3. . Later fracturing along the
same l i n e s of weakness a s
followed by t h e e a r l y f r a c t u r i n g and t h e r e f o r e more
or l e s s f o l l o w i n g t h e p o r p h y r y d y k e s .
4.
D e p o s i t i o n of d o l o m i t ev e i n s and c i n n a b a ri nt h e s e
i n t r a - d y k e f r a c t u r e s and f r a c t u r e d w a l l - r o c k , a c companied by replacement of a n y b r e c c i a t e d m a t e r i a l .
Samples were t a k e n of t h e ?allowing t y p e s of r o c k and
vein-matter :
1.
Volcanicbreccia,sheared
and s h a t t e r e d ,b o t h
and w i t h o u t d o l o m i t e s t r i n g e r s .
2.
3rown p o r p h y r yd y k e s ' c o n t a i n i n gd o l o m i t e
m i t e - c i n n a b a rs t r i n g e r s .
3.
Typicaldolomitevein-matter.
with
or dolo-
The d e t a i l e d r e s u l t s of t h i s s a m p l i n g a r e g i v e n i n t h e
a s s a y ' t a b l e s on F i g s . 3. and 4. I t i s t o b en o t e dt h a t
only
s a m p l e s t h a t showed c i n n a b a r p l a i n l y v i s i b l e t o t h e
nakedeye
containedmercury.Samples
i n whichcinnabar was n o t v i s i b l e
t o t h e nakedeye i n v a r i a b l y a s s a y e d nil.
This i,s mentioned t o i n d i c a t e t h a t r o c k , e v e n t o
make
i
s
d
i
stingt
h
a
t
low-grade o r e , c o n t a i n s . c i n n a b a r i n amounts
u i s h a b l e by t h e eye. The following comment byEardley-Wilmot
(1926, p. 5 5 ) , i n d i c a t e s t h a t h e a r r i v e d a t t h e
same conclusionaftersamplingtheso-called"low-gradeore"--"Fromthe
above r e s u l t s it a p p e a r s t h a t it would n o t pay t o c a r r y o u t
mining on t h e r o c k s and vein-matter in which
n o cinnabar i s
v i s i b l e .T h i s
i s 1oose.lytermed'low-gradeore.'"
A' few g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s maynow be made concerning favoura b l e ground for p r o s p e c t i n g . The occurrence of cinnabar on
thispropertyindicatesthatfurtherprospectingshouldbe
conf'ined t o a r e a s of brown-weatheringporphyrydykes.Within
s u c h a r e a s , it i s sugge.sted,'thatfavourableground
may l i e
-
44
-
within the acute angles forged
by t h e i n t e r s e c t i o n ofany two
d y k e s .R e f e r r i n gp a r t i c u l a r l yt ot h es o u t h e r l yg r o u p
of workwould
i n g s , it i s s u g g e s t e df u r t h e r ,t h a tf a v o u r a b l eg r o u n d
befoundwherethe,downwardextensions
of t h e dykes i n t e r s e c t
thosebeds of t u f f s t h a t a r e exposed i n t h e "1510" l e v e l , and
s i l l s . The s t r u c t u r e
whichimmediatelyunderliethediabase
of ground i n such a s e c t i o n would supply a p o r o u s r o c k ( t u f f s )
o v e r l a i n by r e l a t i v e l y .t i g h tr o c k s( d i a b a s e ) .
Such c o n d i t i o n s
from the nearby channel made
would p e r m i t s o l u t i o n s m i g r a t i n g
b y . t h e . m a i n p o r p h y r y , d y k e t o t r a v e l t h r o u g h a r e l a t i v e l y porous
t u f f w i t h a p o s s i b l e t r a p p i n g and d e p o s i t i o n of cinnabar below
therelativelytightdiabase.
The ground t h a t i n c l u d e s t h e c i n n a b a r
showings on
HardieMountain a t onetimecomprised
t h e Crowngranted mineral claims Lots
949-959andLot1736,
and were owned by theHardieCinnabar
Mines,Limited.These
l o t s r e v e r t e d t o t h e Crown s e v e r a l y e a r s ago.and t h e s u r v e y s ,
f i e l d n o t e s and p l o t s of t h e c l a i m s w e r e c a n c e l l e d
on February
9, 1939.
HARDIE
MOUNTAIN.
The workings on Hardie Mountain a r e 4 m i l e s n o r t h e r l y
from t h e Copper Creek S t a t i o n a l o n g t h e r o a d t h a t f o l l o w s t h e
v a l l e y of Carabine(Copper)Creek(Pig.
2 ) . They a r e on t h e
s t e e p h i l l s i d e on t h e e a s t e r l y s i d e of t h e road: t h e lowermost
w o r k i n g ,a na d i t ,b e i n g1 0 4 5f e e te a s t e r l y
from t h e r o a d and
255 f e e t above it, a t a n e l e v a t i o n of 2355 f e e t :
T h e . m a i n a d i t s on t h e p r o p e r t y a r e on a s t e e p , r e l a t i v e l y
open h i l l s i . d e c o v e r e d w i t h t a l u s a n d s c a t t e r e d j a c k - p i n e ; t h e
sldpe averages 30 degrees and,is unbroken
by any r o c k y b l u f f s .
Most o f t h e s u r f a c e w o r k i n g s a r e
on a wide r e l a t i v e l y f l a t
slope near the top
of t h e h i l l on which t h e r e a r e many clumps
o f ' s m a l l f i r i n t e r s p e r s e dw i t hg r a s s ya r e a s :o u t c r o p sa r er e 1atively.scarce.
The g e o l o g y o f ' t h e , d e p o s . i t c o n s i s t s
of a s e r i e s of v o l canicrooksthatstrikenortherly
and d i p 30 degreeswestward;
therocksincludedark-coloured,fine-grainedandamygdaloidal
b a s a l t s ,l i g h t - g r e y ,c o a r s ef e l d s p a r - p o r p h y r y
and l i g h t - g r e y
a n d e s i t e , some t u f f sa n dv o l c a n i cb r e c c i a s .
Many
of
t h er o c k s
so that their outcrops in the
havebeenpartlyankeritized
i n colour.Widely-scattered
surfaceworkingsarerusty-brown
d o l o m i t e s t r i n g e r s cu-t t h e r o c k s i n a few places.
The workings consist of f o u r a d i t s and several open-cuts.
The' a d i t s , two of.whioh are caved, have been driven northeasterlyintothesteep,south-westward-slopinghillsideto
interceptreportedopen-cutshowings
of c i n n a b a r t h a t o c c u r
-
45
-
on t h e more g e n t l y - s l o p i n g h i l l s i d e a p p r o x i m a t e l y
100 f e e t
a b o v e . t h eh i g h e s ta d i t .
The a d i t s f a i l e d t o r e a c h p o i n t s
beneathanyofthecuts
o r t oc u ta n yc i n n a b a ro c c u r r e n c e s .
It
i s r e p o r t e d ' t h a ts a m p l e sc o n t a i n i n &
small amounts of cinnabar
havebeenobtainedfrom,thesurface-cuts.
No cinnabar was
s e e n by t h e w r i t e r , b u t
it i s p r o b a b l e t h a t t h e e x t e n s i v e
sloughing of s o i l i n t o most of t h e o p e n - c u t s c o v e r e d t h e
ac't u a l o c c u r r e n c e s of t h e m i n e r a l .
The showings on Hardie Mountain were discovered late
in
. August,1895,
by Messrs: McCartneyand
I r v i n g . The f i r s t
undergrou:ndwork was commenced i n 1896, and continuedin1898,
b u t mostof
theunderground work as it now e x i s t s was done i n
1902 when f i v e a d i t s w e r e d r i v e n a g g r e g a t i n g 1 0 6 6 f e e t i n
of t h e s e showed low-grade
l e n g t h . I t is r e p o r t e dt h a te a c h
o r e , and t h a tt h eo p e n - c u t sa b o v e
showed 2 t o 3 percent.
mer,c u r yo r e .
The l a s t reportedwork on t h e p r o p e r t y was done i n
was d r i v e n .
1909 when a n a d i t 1 0 6 f e e t l o n g
T h e r ea r e
no r e c o r d s of production.
The workings w i l l b e d e s c r i b e d b e g i n n i n g w i t h t h o s e n e a r e s t t h e r o a d andprogressingeasterly
up t h e h i l l s i d e .
The p o r t a l of No. 1 a d i t i s 1045 f e e t e a s t e r l y from t h e
above it, a t a n e l e v a t i o n of 2355 f e e t . Thorroadand255feet
ough caving of t h e portalpreventedexamination
of it.
The p o r t a l of No: 2 a d i t i s 420 f e e t i n a d i r e c t i o n n o r t h
57 d e g r e e s e a s t from t h e p o r t a l of No. 1 and 2 6 0 f e e t above i t ,
a t a n e l e v a t i o n of 2615 f e e t .T h i sa d i th a sb e e nd r i v e nt h r o u g h
a s e r i e s of fragmentalandflow-rocks
a t n o r t h 63 d e g r e e s e a s t
f o r 173 f e e t t o t h e f a c e .
W e l l - d e f i n e db e d d i n gi nt h er o c k s
i s absent,butnarrow
zones of c r u s h i n g m a r k i n g c o n t a c t s b e t w e e n d i f f e r e n t f l o w s
s t r i k e n o r t h and d i p3 5 . d e g r e e sw e s t w a r d .A l t h o u g ht h ea d i t
it c r o s s e s s e v e r a l n a r r o w c r u s h doesnotfollowany'brealc,
zones i n a d d i t i o n t o t h o s e on c o n t a c t s a n d a 2-inch dolomite
v e i n1 2 0f e e t
from t h e p o r t a l .
Samplestaken a t t h e f o l l o w nil a l o n g a 2-inchcrush-zoce,
ingplacesassayed:Mercury,
a t 117 f e e b f r o m t h e p o r t a l ; a t 125 f e e t a c r o s s a 2-inchdoloa crush-zone 8 inches i n
miteveinlet;at150feetacross
t h i c k n e s sa n dc o n t a i n i n g
much blackcrushedrock;and
a t 168
f e e ta c r o s ss i m i l a rm a t e r i a l .
No cinnabar was s e e n i n t h i s
adit.
-
The p o r t a l of No. 3 a d i t i s 540 f e e t i n a d i r e c t i o n n o r t h
55 d e g r e e s e a s t f r o m t h e p o r t a l
of No. 2 and130 f e e t above it
- 46 -
a t a ne l e v a t i o n of 2745 f e e t .T h i s
p o r t a l and ' c o u l d n o t b e examined.
, .
_'
I.
a d i t was cavecl a t t h e
I
The p o r t a l of No. 4 a d i t i s 400 f e e t i n a d i r e c t i o n n o r t h
60 d e g r e e s e a s t f r o m t h e p o r t a l
of No. 3 and165 f e e t above it
a t a n e l e v a t i o n of 2910 f e e t . - 1 t . h a s b e e n d r i v e n n o r t h - e a s t e r ly i n t o t h e h i l l s i d e f o r 136 f e e t a n d c u t s a c r o s s
a s e r i e s : of
l a v a s and v o l c a n i cb r e c c i a s .
Bedding i n t h e s e r o c k s
i s absent,
a northbutthecrushedcontactsbetweenthetypesindicates
w e ' s t e r l y 's t r i k ea n dd i p
of 30 degreessouth-westward.
The
most oommo~lrock-type i s coarsefeldspar-porphyry;
it c o n s i s t s
of t a b u l a r f e l d s p a r c r y s t a l s
which range from
1/4 t o 1 i n c h
inlargestdimensions;thefeldspars
are c o m p l e t e l y a l t e r e d
,
t o w h i t e micaand t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n of t h e o r i g i n a l . f e l d s p a r
i s i m p a s s i b l e .T h e . o t h e r
mainrock-type
i s a b a s a l t i n which
p i l l o w s t r u c t u r e i s varyingly developed.
I
A t 100 f e e t from t h e p o r t a l , t h e
adit crossesthree
s t r i n g e r s ofdolomitewhichrangefrom1/2-inch
t o 2 inches
i n thickness--asample
of t h ed o l o m i t ea s s a y e d :
Mercury,
e.
No cinnabar was s e e n i n t h i s a d . i t .
Two hundredandseventy
f e e t i n a d i r e c t i o n n o r t h 30 degrees west, from the portal
of No. 4 a d i t a n d a t t h e same, e l e vation,anadithasbeendrivennorth-easterlyintothe
hj.11;
t h e p o r t a l of t h i s a d i t was completelycaved.
No. 4 a d i t i s t h e . l a s t 'of. t h e e x t e n s i v e , u n d e r g r o u n d vrorki n g s , and t h e f o l l o w i n g d e s c r i p t i o n s a p p l y t o c u t s l y i n g
.fart h e r n o r t h - e a s t e r l y andon l e s s s t e e p g r o u n d .
Cut, o r trench, No. '1 lies 685 f e e t in a d i r e c t i o n n o r t h
45 d e g r e e s e a s t f r o m " t h e p o r t a l
.of No. 4 adjt and at a n el.evat i o n of 3015 f e e t . ti this trenchhasbeen
dug i n a d i r e c t i o n
for 20 f e e t and a t p r e s e n t i s caved. Ten
north 50 degrees east
f e e t n o r t h - e a s t e r l y f r o m t h e endof t h i s t r e n c h a n o t h e r h a s
i n t h e same d i r e c t i o n f o r 2 6 f e e t .
been dug 6 feet deep and
The m a t e r i a l i n t h i s t r e n c h i s h i g h l y - a l t e r e d amygdaloida:i
l a v ac o n t a i n i n gs c a t t e r e dp y r i t ec r y s t a 1 . s .
. .
No cinnabar was seen and a sample t a k e n f o r 10 f e e t a l o n g
of t h et r e n c ha s s a y e d :
Mercury, 11%.
t h en o r t h - w e s t e r l ys i d e
.No. 2 c u t i s 225 f e e t i n a d i r e c t i o n s o u t h 60 degrees
east from No. 1 and a t a n e l e v a t i o n 2975 f e e t . I t has been
drivennorth15degreeswest
f o r 26 f e e t andsouth 75 degrees
westfor15feet,the
floor o f t h i s . l a t t e r s e c t i o n is 5 f g e t
above t h a t of t h e2 6 - f o o ts e c t i o n .
The onlyvein-matter
con-
- 47 , '
s i s t s of two 10-inchzonesofdolomitestringersexposed
\
t h en o r t h - w e s t e r l yf a c e .
A combinedsamplefrombothzones
assayed:Mercury,
The rock i s greyporphyriticandes i t e c o n t a i n i n g 1/16-inch f e l d s p a r p h e n o c r y s t s .
in
&.
,
The only other surface-working seen
on t h e p r o p e r t y i s
anopen-cutleading
i n t o a n o l d s h a f t a t a p l a c e which i s 720
f e e t i n a d i r e c t i o n n o r t h 78 d e g r e e s e a s t f r o m No. 1 c u t and
a t an e l e v a t i o n of 3000 f e e t . The c u t and s h a f t a r e on a
wooded h i l l s i d e which slopes locally southward into
a small,
drywater-course.
The c u th a sb e e nd r i v e n . i n
a direction
n o r t h 10 degrees west f o r 10 f e e t , t h e n c e a s a s h o r t a d i t f o r
8 f e e t t o t h e bottom o f t h e s h a f t .
The s h a f t i s only 8 f e e t
deepand 3 . f e e ts q u a r e .
The workingsare on t h e n o r t h e r l y striking contact between basalt
on t h e w e s t and c o a r s e f e l d spar-porphyry on t h e e a s t .
IJo vein-mineralswereseenand
samplesofboth
t h e b a s a l t and theporphyryassayed:Mercury,
nil.
-
SABISTON
FLATS.
A showing o f c i n n a b a ro c c u r sn e a rt h e
mouth o f
S a b i s t oC
n r e ew
k h i cfhl o wsso u t h e r liyn t o
Kamloops
Lakeand crosses under the Canadian
NationalRailwaytwo
m i l e sw e s t e r l y fromCopperCreek
S t a t i o n( F i g .
2 ) ~ Although
be a s c e r t a i n e d ,
t h e o m e r s h i p , if any, of t h i s groundcouldnot
theworkings'weredescribedunderthe
name of Independent
group by Camsell (see B i b l i o g r a p h y ) .
A short adit has been driven northerly into the hill
at
a p l a c e 100 f e e t above t h e r a i l w a y o n t h e w e s t e r l y s i d e o f a
,dry gulch that crosses'the tracks
1500 f e e t e a s t e r l y from t h e
48
S a b i s t o nC r e e kc r o s s i n g .
The a d i t h a s b e e n d r i v e n a t n o r t h
degrees west f o r 18 f e e t and d u e n o r t h f o r 10 f e e t .
The f i r s t p a r t of t h e ' a d i t f o l l o w s a v e r t i c a l d o l o m i t e calc'ite vein that follows
a zone of s h e a r i n g 10 f e e t w i d e and
which s t r i k e sn o r t h4 0d e g r e e sw e s t .
The v e i n i s 3 i n c h e s
w i d ea n dc o n t a i n sh a i r - l i n es t r e a k s
of c i n n a b a r . k sample of
thisvein-matterassayed:Mercury,
0 . 2 p e rc e n t .
The dolomite-calcite vein continues into the wall at the'
bend, but for
some unknown r e a s o n t h e a d i t f o l l o w s
a secondaryjoint-plane
to the' north.
The r o c k - f o r m a t i o n i n t h e a d i t
i s brown-weathering,
On t h es u r f a c et h i sr o c ko u t c r o p so v e r
feldspar-porphyry.
a n a r e a 500 f e e t i n w i d t h and extends an unknown d i s t a n c e
n o r t h e r l y up t h e h i l l s i d e . . I t i n c l u d e s a "horse': o f greenstoneabout 50 f e e t i n w i d t h t h a t e x t e n d s f o r
a short distance
n o r t h e r l y f r o m n e a rt h ep o r t a l .E x t e n d i n ge a s t e r l yf r o mt h e
g u l c h l y i n g 200 f e e t e a s t e r l y f r o m t h e a d i t and extending
-
48
-
westerly from Sabiston Creek, the rock
No work i s a t present being done
i s greenstone.
on t h e showings.
There i s no r e c o r d o f p r o d u c t i o n f r o m t h e p r o p e r t y .
D o l o m i t es t r i n g e r sa n dv e i n sn o r t h
of Kamloops
Lake i n t h e v i c i n i t y of Savona S t a t i o n on t h e Can2 ) , a r eu n d e r s t o o dt oh a v eb e e n
adianNationalRailway(Fig.
covered by t h e i?ee N o s . _ l t o 8 mineralclaims,staked
by
JohnDavis for e i g h t p r i n c i p a i s on July12th,1937.
DAVIS.
and b l u f f h i l l s i d e
The showings l i e on t h e s t e e p , r o c k y
t h a t e x t e n d s up t o Mount Uren n o r t h - e a s t e r l y f r o m Savona S t a t i o n on t h e CanadianNationalRailway.
The showings b e g i n a t
a n e l e v a t i o n of 1800 f e e t and c o n t i n u e a t s c a t t e r e d p o i n t s
n o r t h e r l y up t h e h i l l s i d e t o a n e l e v a t i o n
of 2400 f e e t .
The m i n e r a l o c c u r r e n c e s c o n s i s t
of small amounts of c i n nabar i nw h i t ed o l o m i t ev e i n s
or s t r i n g e r s .T h e s es t r i n g e r s
occur i n t i g h t s h e a r - z o n e s w i t h i n t h e p r e v a i l i n g
rock-for:maThe r o c k w i t h i n
t i o n of v o % c a n i cb r e c c i a and a l i t t l e t u f f .
and a d j a c e n t t o t h e s h e a r - z o n e s h a s b e e n h i g h l y a l t e r e d t o
a
d e n s er o c kc o n t a i n i n ga b u n d a n ta n k e r i t i cc a r b o n a t e ;t h i sp r o c e s s i s r e f e r r e dt oa sa n k e r i t i z a t i o n .
The sol.utionsresponsib l e f o r . t h e a n k e r i t i z a t i o n and a l s o for t h e d e p o s i t i o n of t h e
dolomiteandcinnabar,
came upalongtheshear-zones.These
a n k e r i t i cz o n e sw e a t h e r
t o conspicuouslyrusty-brownoutcrops
and t h e c o l o u r i s i n s t r i k i n g c o n t r a s t t o t h e d a r k - g r e e n
of
the volcanic breccias.
of
The f i r s t showing i s on t h e h i l l s i d e a t a n e l e v a t i o n
3 2 degrees west f r o m Savona
From t h i s p o i n t a
s t a t i o n on theCanadianPacificRailway.
shear extends diagonally
up t h e ro'cky h i l l s i d e for a sloped i s t a n c e of 480 f e e t w e s t e r l y ; t h e s h e a r s t r i k e s n o r t h
60 de-.
greeswestanddips30degreessouth-westward.
The greenvolc a n i c b r e c c i a on e i t h e r s i d e of t h e s h e a r i s a l t e r e d t o a
rusty-brownrock for widths ranging from
8 inches.to 18 i n c h e s ;
t h i . s marked w e a t h e r i n g ' r e s u l t s f r o m t h e o x i d a t i o n
of f i n e g r a i n e d a n k e r i t e , iron c a r b o n a t e , ' t h a t h a s b e e n d e p o s i t e d
by
solutionsissuing f r o m thefissureandseepingintotherock
on e i t h e r s i d e . V e r t i c a i s h e a r s
w h i c hb r a n c h . i n t ot h e
hanging-wall and f o o t - w a l l f r o m t h e w e s t e r i y end of t h e main shear
a r e accompanied t o a l e s s e r e x t e n t by similar but narrower
zones of a l t e r a t i o n of t h e w a l l - r o c k s .
1800 f e e t and i n a d i r e c t i o n n o r t h
The a n k e r i t i z e d z o n e s o f b o t h t h e main shear and branchshearscontainsinglestringers
of dolomiteandoccasional'
films of c i n n a b a r . The cinnabar commonly o c c u r sw i t h i nt h e
"
49 -
dolomitestringers;occasionally
it i s found i n t h e a l t e r e d
k sampletalcenacross
r o c kc i o s e t o t h ed o l o m i t es t r i n g e r s .
a b r e c c i a t e dd o l o m i t ev e i n
10 incheswideassayed:
Mercury,
trace.
of h i l l s i d e a p p r o x The n e x t o c c u r r e n c e s a r e i n a n a r e a
i m a t e l y1 0 0 0f e e ts q u a r e .
The lowest of t h e s e i s i n a n e a s t w e s t s a d d l e a t a n e l e v a t i o n of 1950 f e e t on t h e southwardsloping hillside and lies northerly from the last
showing.
Here a r u s t y zone of a n k e r i t i c r o c k s t r i k e s n o r t h 80 d e g r e e s
west o v e r a n exposed l e n g t h of 240 f e e t and a w i d t h r a n g i n g
from10inches
t o 3 feet.Threeshallowstrippingshavebeen
The r o c k i n t h e zone i s badlysheared
made on t h ee x p o s u r e .
and b r e c c i a t e d and c o n t a i n s a d i s c o n t i n u o u s , c e n t r a l d o l o m i t e
of t h e zone
v e i n . A s a m p l et a k e na c r o s sa . f u l l1 0 - i n c hw i d t h
i n c l u d i n g a dolomitevein,assayed:Mercury,
The rock
i n t h e v i c i n i t y of t h e brown a n k e r i t e - z o n e i s d a r k - g r e e n , ' v o l c a n i cb r e c c i a .
nil.
The nextexposu're o f brown a n k e r i t i c r o c k i s on a low
s i d e h i l l - k n o l l 100 f e e t above the l a s t exposureandbeginning
a t a p l a c e 250 f e e t i n a d i r e c t i o n n o r t h 10 d e g r e e s e a s t f r o m
it. Scatteredoutcropswhichoccuroveran
area 200 f e e t i n
d i a m e t e r ,i n d i c a t ea ne a s t e r l y - s t r i k i n gz o n e
o f brown-weather200 f e e t i n w i d t h .
However,
i n ga n k e r i t i z e d, r o c ka p p r o x i m a t e l y
a shortdistance
t h e zoneof
alterationapparentlydiesout
westerlybecauseunaltered,greenvolcanicbrecciaoutcrops
across the strike
of t h e zone a t a p l a c e 600 f e e t w e s t e r l y .
The s o u t h e r l y b o r d e r of t h e zone of a l t e r a t i o n i s a shear-cont a c tw i t hd a r k - g r e e na g g l o m e r a t e .
The m a t e r i a l i n t h i s showA 2-footsampleacross
i n gc o n t a i n sv e r yl i t t l ev e i n - d o l o m i t e .
some narrow s t r i n g e r sa s s a y e d :
Mercury, g.
The lower end of t h e n e x t showing i s on a s t e e p s e c t i o n
of t h e h i l l s i d e a t a place which i s 300 f e e t n o r t h - w e s t e r l y
from t h e n o r t h e r n edge of t h e l a s t showingand 175 f e e t above
it. The showing i s a strong,conspicuous
zone of brown, ankeri t i c rock that extends diagonally north-westerly
up t h e h i l l s i d e for a n o k t c r o p d , i s t a n c e of 350 f e e t a n d d i s a p p e a r s i n
d r i f t . The zone of a n k e r i t i z a t i o nr a n g e s from 4 f e e t t o 2 0
f e e ti nt h i c k n e s s ,g r a d u a l l yi n c r e a s i n gn o r t h - w e s t e r l y .
The
m a t e r i a l i n it c o n s i s t s of b a d l y - s h e a r e d ,d e n s e ,a n k e r i t i z e d
rockcontainingonly
a few s t r i n g e r s of white, vein-dolomite.
A sample taken across the full width
o f 4 f e e t of a n k e r i t i z e d
rockand a fewdolomitestringers,assayed:Mercury,
e.
The r o c k s i n t h e immediate v i c i n i t y of t h e showingscons i s t of dark-green volcanic breccia and
a few t u f f b e d s ; t h e s e
The s h e a r i n ga l o n g
r o c k ss t r i k ee a s t
and d i p 30 d e g r e e sn o r t h .
-
50
-
and f r o m w h i c h t h e a n k e r i t i c a l t e r a t i o n h a s s p r e a d c u t s a c r o s s
t h e a t t i t u d e of t h e s e ' r o c k s .
There i s no record of production from the property.
The c o u n t r y on t h ee a s t e r l ys i d e
of t h e Deadman River between Kamloops Lakeand Crisri
Creek was examined by members of t h e Dominion-Prov.incia1Youth
T r a i n i n g P r o j e c t "D" u n d e r t h e d i r e c t i o n
of M. S . Hedley,
B r i t i s h ColumbiaDepartment
of Mines. I n h i s . r e p o r t , Dr. Hedl e y d e s c r i b e s t h i s a r e a as f o l l o w s :
DEADMAN R I V E R .
"Rusty-weatheringzones
of c a r b o n a t i z a t i o n a r e found
on t h e e a s t e r l y - s i d e of Deadman River a t a number of
p l a c e s i n theNicolarocks,andfoursmallzonesoccur
on
t h ew e s t e r l ys i d e .T h e s ea r ea l l
on t h e lowerslopes.
3,000 f e e t e l e v a t i o n , art3
The upperslopes,abovea.bout
made up of u n a l t e r e d andunbrokenrocks.
The Criss Creek
zone of a l t e r a t i o n i s l a r g e andextendsfromthecreek
n o r t h e r l yt ot h e
edge of columnar T e r t i a r yb a s a l t .
Simi l a r a l t e r a t i o n o c c u r s on t h e l o w e r s l o p e s o f t h e v a l l e y
t o w i t h i n one-half of a m i l e of t h e mouth of Criss Creck
and a s f a r s o u t h e r l y as t h e t r a i l o p p o s i t e t h e ShOwing8.
No new d i s c o v e r i e s w e r e made.
"Half a m i l e s o u t h e r l y of t h e I n d i a n V i l l a g e and
adjacent t o the road are bluffs
composed of sandy t o
arkosicsediments and some l i m e s t o n e ,d i p p i n gn o r t ht o
of
north-eastward a t 40 t o 65 degrees.Rusty-weathering
t h e s e r o c k s i s notproduced by carbonatization,althou.gh
t h e r e a r e a few d o l o m i t e s t r i n g e r s w i t h narrowborderi:ng
zones of a l t e r a t i o n . There i s a l i t t l e ,s p a r s e l y disseminated chalcopyrite and pyrite
on t h e n o r t h e r l y edge o:?
of a m i l e n o r t h of ' t h e highway
t h e s eb l u f f s .O n e - q u a r t e r
bridge prominent bluffs
on t h e e a s t e r l y bank of t h e r i - u e r
'areconsiderablyaltered
and c o n t a i n l o c a l f i n e v e i n l e t s
of c r y s t a l l i n e gypsum ( s e l e n i t e ) .A l t e r a t i o n ,
of *what
a r ei np a r ta tl e a s ts e d i m e n t a r yb e d s ,
i s intense, w i t h
t h e p r o d u c t i o n of a w h i t i s h t o y e l l o w i s h p o r o u s m a t e r i ; i l ,
highlyoxidized a tt h es u r f a c e .
"In a prominentgulchbelowthehighway,
on t h e w e s t i s much c a r e r l y boundary of t h e I n d i a n R e s e r v e , t h e r e
b o n a t ev e i n i n gi nv o l c a n i cb r e c c i a .S t r i n g e r s
and vei:ns
up t o s e v e r a l i n c h e s i n w i d t h s t r i k e
and d i p a t a l l an,.;l.es,
and most o f them a r e accompaniedby a marginal zone of
c a r b o n a t i z a t i o n e x t e n d i n g beyond t h e v e i n s f r o m a few
No cinnabar was
i n c h e st os e v e r a lf e e ti nt o t a lw i d t h .
s e e ni nt h e s ev e i n - z o n e s .
A littlesimilarmaterialis
- 51 -
" s e e n i n a gulch one-quarter of a m i l e n o r t h - w e s t e r l y .
Northerly for about 5 m i l e s ,o u t c r o p sa r ev e r ys c a r c e
and onlyonesmallzone
of c a r b o n a t i z a t i o n was s e e n i n
thisdistance,about
3 m i l e s n o r t h of t h e h i g h r a y .
Fartherwesterlycarbonatezoneswerenotobserved."
CRISS CREEK.
The MercuryXiningSyndicate,care
of Arthur
McDonald. 2 3H a s t i n e sS t r e e t
East, Vancouver,
8. C . , owns t h ef o l l o w i n gc l a i m s
on C r i s s Creek:Eclipse,
Bluff, Old Spot, Calumet, Nevada, Pal, Cluiok and Monarch.
TheseclaimswerestakedinJune,1933,
by Messrs.Davidson,
McDonald, Sharpe and Woodside, of Vancouver, B. C .
-
"
The p r o p e r t y i s about 3 m i l e s by good pack-horse t r a i l
up Criss (Chris)Creekfrom
i t s j u n c t i o n w i t h t h e Deadman
R i v e r ;t h i sj u n c t i o ni s . a b o u t1 4m i l e s
by goodmotor-road
n o r t h e r l y f r o m Savona up t h e Deadman River Valley (Fig.
2).
'
The c l a i m s l i e on t h e s t e e p , open h i l l s i d e s l o p i n g s o u t h e a s t w a r di n t o Criss Creekbetweenelevations
o f 2150 f e e t a t
t h e c r e e k - l e v e l andof2850
f e e t n o r t h - w e s t e r l y up t h e ' h i l l side.
Criss' Creek
The f i r s t claims on the cinnabar showings up
w e r es t a k e di nt h e
summer o f . 1 8 9 6 .D e s u l t o r yp r o s p e c t i n g
and
s u r f a c e work w a s ' d o n e i n 1897
and
1900
on
t
h
e
m.inera1
.
.
.
.
c l a i m of t h o s e y e a r s . ' More r e c e n t l y t h e g r o u n d h a s b e e n r e stakedtwice,andbetweentheyears1929and
1938 some s h o r t
A t t h e t i m e of t h e p r e s e n t
a d i t sw e r ed r i v e n
by theowners.
examination(July,1938)
a small amount of s u r f a c e work w a s
beingdone by A. McDonald. The propertyhasbeenmostrecentl y d e s c r i b e d by Freeland (1933).
*
Several small surface workings have been dug
s i d e n o r t h f r o m and immediately above the cabin.
in the hill-
A t a n e l e v a t i o n of 2250 f e e t and 500 f e e t i n a d i r e c t i o n
n o r t h 25 degreeswest f r o m t h e c a b i n , a No. 1 c u t S f e e t l o n g
hasbeen dug on t h e w e s t e r l y s i d e
of t h e t r a i l . T h i s c u t i s
i ng r e e n s t o n e ; no c i n n a b a r was e x p o s e d .S i x t yf e e ta n d
75
f e e t e a s t e r l y f r o m t h i s c u t , t w o small p i t s havebeendug
in
brown, a l t e r e d r o c k ; no c i n n a b a r was exposed.
A t a n e l e v a t i o n of 2380-feet,and,1050feet
in a direca s h o r t i n c l i n e on
tionn'orth 1 2 degreesyestfromthecabin,
t h e w e s t e r l y - s i d e of t h e t r a i l h a s beensunk i n a d i r e c t i o n
n o r t h 80 degreeswest 'on a 65-.degree s l o p e . The f l o o r of t h e
i n c l i n e f o l l o w s a dolomite vein and s l i p which s t r i k e n o r t h
10 ' d e g r e e s e a s t a n d d i p
60 d e g r e e s n o r t h - w e s t w a r d ; t h e v e i n
- 52 -
r a n g e si nw i d t h
from 2 i n c h e s t o 6 inches. The dolomite cont a i n s a fewspecks of cinnabar and r e a l g a r . A sampletaken
of dolomiteassayed:
Mercury,
a c r o s st h eb e s t4 - i n c hw i d t h
n i l . The r o c k i s brown-weathering, ankeritized, tuff.
-
The next group of workings a r e c l o s e t o a n o l d b l a c k - smithshopthat
i s 130 f e e t above t h e o l d road up Criss Creek
at
and1200 f e e t n o r t h 15 d e g r e e s e a s t f r o m t h e l a s t w o r k i n g
a n e l e v a t i o n of 2540 f e e t .
A t a p l a c e 75 f e e t s o u t h 10 d e g r e e s w e s t f r o m t h e b l a c k smith shop, t h e e a s t e r l y of two groups o f p i t s , 50 f e e t a p a r t ,
strikes
hasbeen dug i n a 6-foot band of ankeritized rock which
.north-westerly up t h eh i l l s i d e .T h i se a s t e r l yg r o u pc o n s j . s t s
of two . p i t s , a n e a s t e r l y
or No. 1 and a w e s t e r l y o r No. 2 p i t ;
t h e y a r e 8 f e e t i n d i a m e t e r by 4 f e e t deep and a r e 4 f e e t a p a r t
i n a w e s t e r l yd i r e c t i o n .
The No. 1 p i t , exposes a zone 4 f e e t
wide t h a t c o n t a i n s numerous s t r i n g e r s o f whi.te vein-dolomite
and t h i n films o f s t i b n i t e . A sampletakenacrossthe4-foot
zone of d o l o m i t es t r i n g e r sa s s a y e d :
Mercury, n i l ; antimony,
0 . 9 p e r c e n t . and a sample of s t i b n i t e - b e a r i n g m a t e r i a l f r o m
nil; antimony, 1 . 0 p e rc e n t .
t h e dump assayed:Mercury,
No. 3 p i t , 50 f e e t w e s t e r l y from t h e l a s t p i t s ,
and 6
on a dolomi,e
f e e t i n d i a m e t e r by 3 f e e t deep,hasbeendug
60 degrees
10 d e g r e e s e a s t ' a n d d i p s
veinthatstrikesnorth
The veinwestward and rangesfrom 2 inches t o 6 incheswide.
d o l o m i t e ,b u tn o tt h ew a l l - r o c k .c o n t a i n s
a few minute grains
of cinnabar. A 6-inchsample
of t h i sm a t e r i a la s s a y e d :
Mercury, 0 . 1 p ecr e n t .
is
No. 4 p i t , 2 f e e td e e p ,
25 f e e tw e s t e r l yf r o m
No. 3.
A zone of brown-weathering a n k e r i t i z e d rock extends w e s t e r l y
from Nos. 1 and 2 p i t st h r o u g h No. 3 t o No. 4 p i t . No. 5 p i t ,
No. 3, i s 3 f e e t i n diameter by
40 f e e t n o r t h - w e s t e r l y f r o m
I t exposesgreenstone in t h e e a s t e r l y wall and
3 f e e td e e p .
a fewspecks
o f . r e a l g a r b u t no
ankeritizedrockcontaining
c i n n a b a ri nt h e floor. Greenstoneoutcrop,sbetween
No. 3 and
No. 5 p i t s .
An a d i t h a s b e e n d r i v e n
in a d i r e c t i o n n o r t h 43 degrees
westasanopen-cutfor
6 f e e t , and a s a n a d i t f o r
8 feetfrom
a point on the hillside at an elevation
of 2625 f e e t and 11.30
f e e t i n a d i r e c t i o n s o u t h 60 d e g r e e s e a s t f r o m t h e b l a c k s m i t h
shop. I n t h e r o o f , t h e a d i t f o l l o w s
a brecciated.vein,rangof f r a g ing f r o m l inch t o 4 inchesinwidth,thatconsists
ments of g r e e n s t o n es e a l e d by vein-dolomite. A t s e v e r a l
places fracture-'planes in the ankeritized greenstone have
beensealed l
y specularhematite;thesehematitestringerscut
-
53
-
a n k e r i t i z e dg r e e n s t o n e ,b u ta r ei nt u r nc u t
'
by t h ed o l o m i t e
.stringers.
A tight 3-inch dolomite vein containing
no s u l p h i d e s ,
c r o s s e st h ep o r t a l
of t h e a d i t .
A sample o f it assayed: MerThe rock-formation of b o t ht h ec u t
and a d i t i s
cury, g.
massive greenstone t u f f w h i c h h a s b e e n s l i g h t l y a n k e r i t i z e d
i n andclosetothebrec'ciatedvein.
Below t h e a d i t a n open-cut 5 f e e t wide, elevation
2555
feet, has been driven westerly for
8 f e e t from a p o i n t t h a t
i s 1 5 0f e e ts o u t h
45 d e g r e e se a s tf r o mt h ea d i t .
A 1-inch
no cinnabar was
dolomite vein crosses the cut at the face;
seen,ineitherthevein
o r wall-rock.
The r o c k i n t h e a d i t
i s t y p i c a l , brown a n k e r i t i z e d r o c k w h i c h a p p e a r s t o b e l o n g t o
a n i n d e f i n i t e zone trending north-westerly
up t h e h i l l s i d e t o
p i t s Nos. 1 and 4 .
A t a p o i n t 225 f e e t due west from t h e l a s t c u t , and a t
has been d r i v e n n o r t h 37
a n e l e v a t i o n of 2540 f e e t , a n a d i t
d e g r e e sw e s t f o r 1 2 f e e t i n m a s s i v ed i a b a s i cg r e e n s t o n e . .
The
d i a b a s e i s b a d l y j o i n t e d and films of h e m a t i t e o c c u r a l o n g t h e
joints.
A t a p l a c e 1200 f e e t due west from the blacksmith shop
beendriven,into
and a t a n e l e v a t i o n o f 2850 f e e t , a n a d i t h a s
t h e h i l l s i d e i n a d i r e c t i o n n o r t h 55 degreeswestfor
12 feet,
north 18 degrees west
f o r 27 f e e t and n o r t h GO d e g r e e s we.s.t
From t h e p o r t a l t o t h e f i r s t t u r n
fop 1 2 f e e t t o t h e f a c e .
a t 12 feet,theadit
i s i n d r i f t and l o o s er o c k ,b u tf r o m
12
f e e t t o t h e n e x t bend a t 39 f e e t it f o l l o w s a s t r o n g d o l o m i t e
stripping.imv e i n t h a t i s exposed , i n a combined open-cutand
m e d i a t e l y above t h e a d i t . In t h i s s u r f a , c e w o r k i n g t h e v e i n ,
rangingfrom 3 f e e t t o 4 f e e t . i n w i d t h , is exposed f o r 22 f e e t ;
butpassesintodrift.ateither
end and i n t h i s l e n g t h ; t h e
v e i n - d o l o m i t ec o n t a i n ss c a t t e r e dg r a i n s
and s t r i n g e r s of c i n nabar. Two sampleseachacross
42 i n c h e s of v e i n - d o l o m i t ea s sayed,Mercury,
and,oneacross
3 f e e t showing c o n s i d e r 1 . 7 p e rc e n t .
ablecinnabar,assayed:Mercury,
=,
The rock i n t h e c u t i s brown-weathering, a n k e r i t i c r o c k .
The v e i n i n t h e d r i f t below t h e o p e n - c u t i s much narrower than
on t h e s u r f a c e , t h e a v e r a g e
widt.hbeing.only
3 inches. I t
lies 'in the hanging-wall
of a s t r o n g f a u l t t h a t d i p s
GO dea 3-inchwidth
grees south-westward.. A sample taken across
of v e i n - d o l o m i t ea tt h e
second bend assayed:Mercury,
a trace.
i s massive,grey,ankeritizedgreenstone
The r o c k i n t h e a d i t
which i s o c c a s i o n a l l y c u t b y h a i r - l i k e s t r i n g e r s
of v e i n dolomite.
- 54 -
Search was made, w i t h o u t s u c c e s s , i n t h e
company of Mr.
McDonald, for a t r e n c h t h a t was r e p o r t e d t o beabout1500
feet north-westerly from the last adit
and a t about 3200 f e e t
e l e v a t i o n . However, it was r e p o r t e d t o c o n t a i no n l y brownI t i s t o be n o t e dt h a tt h eh i g hb l u f f s
baweatheredrock.
g i n n i n g a t a n e l e v a t i o n of approximately 3400 f e e t c o n s i s 5 of
Tertiarylavas;inthisvicinitytheyarechieflybasalt.
For approximately half a mile up-stream from the
cab:tn,
o u t c r o p s a r e numerous i n t h e bed of Criss Creek, beyond t h i s ,
however, t h e s t r e a m flows i n a gravel-bedandbetweengravelof rilbanks. The o u t c r o p si nt h eh a l f - m i l es t r e t c hc o n s i s t
t e r n a t i n & e x p o s u r e s of v a r i e t i e s of greenstone and brownw e a t h e r i n g ,a n k e r i t i z e dg r e e n s t o x e .
As s e e ni ns c a t t e r e d , ,
singlefissureswithrelativelyunalteredgreenstone,the
a n k e r i t i z a t i o n s p r e a d s f r o m a f i s s u r e , or f i s s u r e s , i n t o t h e
rock on e i t h e r s i d e of t h eb r e a k .
The numerous l a r g e a r e a s
of such a l t e r a t i o n r e p r e s e n t e i t h e r a r e a s
of i n t e n s ef r a c - c u r i n g or a r e a s i n which a l t e r a t i o n b e g i n n i n g i n f i s s u r e s h a s b e e n .
relatively widespread.
The r e l a t i v e l y u n a l t e r e d g r e e n s t o n e i n c l u d e s c o a r s e d i o r i t ep o r p h y r y , and c u t t i n gt h i s ,f i n e - g r a i n ' e da n d e s i t e ,
and
d a c i t e dykes.
A t a s h a r p bend in t h e c r e e k , 2200 feet up-stream from
of t h e r i v e r c o n s i s t s
thocabin,anoutcropinthenorthside
of a s e r i e s of bedded rocksthatinclude,progressing.nor.:herly,fromdrift
andgravel,
50 f e e t of a n k e r i t i z e d c h e r t - i l m e s t o n eb r e c c i ac o n t a i n i n gf r a g m e n t s
of c h e r t andlimestone; 10
f e e t of f i n e - g r a i n e d t u f f ; 1 0 f e e t o f c o a r s e - g r a i n e d t u f f ;
10
f e e t of laminatedblack t o g r e y ,c r y s t a l l i n el i m e s t o n e ;
50
f e e t of m a s s i v e f i n e - g r a i n e d t u f f ; t h e n i n t o d r i f t
and g r a v e l .
Thesebeds s t r i k e n o r t h 60 d e g r e e s e a s t and d i p 35 degree83
north-westward.
U p s t r e a m beyond thesebeds,brown-weathering,anlceritized rock outcrops
i n the bluffs easterly from the rive>a n unknown d i s t a n c e .
for
There a r e no r e c o r d s of production from t h i s p r o p e r t y .
CHMBOXTNEAU.
Separate
showings,
1500 f e eet a s t e r l y
from
and 2.500 f e e t s o u t h e r l y f r o m Savonp. S t a t i o n
on t h e CanadianPacificRailway,
w,ere examined ( F i g . 2 ) . No
r e c o r d of ownershipcouldbefound
for t h e s e , b u t it was r e ported that the surface trenches were
made by J o s . Charbonneau
of Cloverdale, B . C .
- 55
-
A strippingexposes a dolomite vein in a d r y g u l c h t h a t
l e a d ss o u t h - w e s t e r l yi n t ot h eh i l l si m m e d i a t e l y - s o u t h
of Savona
of t h eg u l c h
S t a t i o n . The s t r i p p i n g i s on t h e s o u t h e r l y s i d e
a t a p o i n t t h a t i s 1500 f e e t s o u t h - e a s t e r l y f r o m t h e S t a t i o n .
The s t r i p p i n g e x p o s e s ' a b r e c c i a t e d v e i n 4 2 i n c h e s i n w i d t h ,
s t r i k i n g s o u t h 75 d e g r e e s e a s t and d i p p i n g 70 degreessouthward. The v e i n - m a t t e rc o n s i s t s of rock-fragmentssealed
by
v e i n - d o l o m i t e ;a n dt h ew a l l sc o n s i $ t
ofcrushedcarbonatized
Mercury,
g r e e n s t o n e . A sample t a k e na c r o s st h ev e i na s s a y e d :
nil.
A second c u t h a s b e e n d u g i n t h e n o r t h - e a s t e r l y b a n k
of
t h e g u l c h 8 f e e t above the stream-bed a t a p o i n t t h a t i s 280
f e e ts o u t h - e a s t e r l yu p - s t r e a m
f r o m t h e l a s t working.Thiscut
i s i n t h e form of a bench t h a t measures 18 feet
i n a southe a s t e r l yd i r e c t i . o n and i s 7 f e e t wide. The c u t i s e n t i r e l y
i n s h e a r e d anddecomposedro'ck,
but had'evidently been
dug t o
i n t e r s e c t t h e downward e x t e n s i o n of a 5 - f o o t o u t c r o p of ankeritized rook lying
15 f e e t n o r t h - e a s t e r l y up t h e h i l l s i d e .
The w e l l - w a s h e d r o c k - s u r f a c e s i n t h e
bed of t h e g u l c h i n dicate that the rock-formation
i s massive,brightgreenvolcanic breccia.
A deep trench has been
dug a t t h e edge of a f i e l d n o r t h
of t h e Canadian P a c i f i c Railway tracks e a s t of Savona S t a t i o n .
The t r e n c h l i e s 5'0 f e e t aboveand325
f e e t i n a direction south
20 degrees east from a p o i n t on t h e r a i l w a y t r a c k s t h a t . i s
1500
6
f e e te a s t e r l yf r o m
Savona S t a t i o n . The trenchhasbeendug
f e e t d e e p for 23 f e e t i n a d i r e c t i o n s o u t h 7 0 d e g r e e s e a s t t o ward t h e b a s e o f a n 1 0 0 - f o o t
s i l t b l u f f . A b r q o c i a t e dd o l o m i t e
veinthatrangesfrom
2 inches t o 4 i n c h e s i n w i d t h ,
and d i p s
85 degreess.outh-ea,stward,crossesthemiddle
of t h e t r e n c h ;
no cinnabar w a s s e e n i n it and a sampleassayed:Mercury,
nil.
. .
Five feet from the westerly
end of t h e t r e n c h , a v e r t i c a l
f r a c t u r e - z o n e ,t h a tr a n g e sf r o m
2 i n c h e s t o 4 inchesinwidth,
strikesnorth40degreeseastacrossthetrench;
and c o n t a i n s
a s t r i h g e r Of dolomitewhichranges
f r o m 1/2 an inch t o 1 inch
i n w i d t h . . 'No c i n n a b a r was seen.
A t theeasterly
end of t h e . t r e n c h , a t i g h t b r e c c i a - z o n e
45 d e g r e e s e a s t a c r o s s t h e
t r e n c h , and c o n t a i n s a s t r i n g e r o f dolomiterangingfrom
l/S
of aninch t o ' l i n c h i n w i d t h .
. A sample of t h i s d o l o m i t e assayed:
Mercury,
nil, and a sanipletakenacrossthe6-inch
breccia-zone,assayed:
'Mercury, g.
6 inches i n w i d t h , s t r i k e s n o r t h
The r o c k i n t h i s . t r e n c h i s brown-weathering porphyry that
-
56
-
hasbeenhighlyalteredto
a dense aggregate
bonateand a few r e s i d u a l a l t e r e d p h e n o c r y s t s
pyro'xene
.
of a n k e r i t i c c a r of f e l d s p a r a n d
T.UWNA M E .
Showingsone m i l ew e s t e r l y from Tunkwa Lake
were m o s t r e c e n t l y c o v e r e d by t h e Ridge and
BullEornmineralclaims,
owned by
A. and Mrs. JaneFerguson,butwhichlapsedSeptember15,1937,and
by t h e !l..
and Ciflnabar, ownedby
J . B. and D . J . McDonald butwhich
lapsed May 1, 1938. C_amsell d e s c r i b e s t h e o c c u r r e n c e s u n d e r
t h e name of Summit claims
Bibliography).
N
'.
(see
. ,.
The showings, a t a n e l e v a t i o n o f 3850 f e e t , l i e 1 5 . 5
miles southerly from
Savona on theSavona-Merrittcut-off
r o a di na na r e at h a t
i s known a s t h e Summer Range. The worki n g s a r e on t h e e a s t e r l y s i d e of, and a d j a c e n t t o t h e r o a d .
They l i e 1000 f e e t n o r t h e r l y froman unnamed lakewhich i s on
t h e e a s t e r l y s i d e of t h e r o a d a n d
1 milewesterlyfromthe
e a s t e r l ys i d e of. Tunkwa Lake ( F i g . 2 ) . More s p e c i f i c a l l yt h e
showings l i e on t h e n o r t h e r l y and w e s t e r l y , s i d e s o f some low
5 t o 20-footknolls o f r a n g e - l a n d t h a t f r i n g e
a pond measuring
300 f e e t ' i n a n o r t h e r l y d i r e c t i o n , and 200 f e e t i n a n e a s t e r l y
direction.
The mainshowingsandworkings
a r e on t h e w e s t e r l y s i d e
of a k n o l l 2 0 f e e t h i g h t h a t t r e n d s s o u t h e r l y . W i t h i n
a dist a n c e of 8 0 f e e t , s i x ' o p e n - c u t s a n d
a shaft(filled.withwater
on t h e w e s t e r l y s i d e of t h e
a s of July,1938)havebeendug
k n o l la l o n g a s t r o n g zone of sheared-rock.
The shear-pla.nes
s t r i k e s o u t h 1 5d e g r e e se a s t
and d i p 60 degrees north-eastward.
The m a t e r i a l i n t h e s h e a r - z o n e h a s b e e n
a l t e r e d t o a dense
ankeritic rock' that weathers to
a conspicuous brown c o l o u r .
A s shown by t h e d e c r e a s e i n b r o w n - w e a t h e r i n g ,
this alteration
so t h a t 60 f e e t e a s d e c r e a s e s e a s t e r l y Prom t h es h e a r - z o n e ,
t e r l y on t h e e a s t s i d e of t h e k n o l l t h e r o c k i s much l e s s '
a n k e r i t i z e d . On t h e e a s t e r l y s i d e of t h e k n o l l t h e r o c k i n
t h e o u t c r o p is s t i l l somewhat sheared; examination of t h i s mat e r i a li n d i c a t e st h a tt h er o c k
i s a s h e a r e dt u f P .
Numerous
h a i r - l i k e s t r i n g e r s . of v e i n - d o l o m i t e t r a v e r s e t h e . z o n e ,
n:ost
of them p a r a l l e l i n gt h es h e a r i n g .C i n n a b a r
was s e e no n l yi n
t h e s o u t h end of a c u t . a t a p o i n t 2 0 f e e t s o u t h of t h e s h a f t .
The f o l l o w i n g s a m p l e s w e r e t a k e n i n t h e
more or l e s s conn e c t e d c u t s on t h e w e s t e r l y s i d e o f t h e h i l l ; t h e d i s t a n c e s
a r e g i v e n a s measured southerly f r o m t h e s h a f t :
-
57 -
amp1e
No
.
DistanceSouth
of S h a f t
Mercury
Description
12 feet
Across a 4 - f o o t w i d t h
o f shear-zone, numerous s t r i n g e r s o f dolomite.
20 feet
Across a 4 - f o o t w i d t h
of shear-zone, numerous s t r i n g e r s of dolom i t e . A fewspecks
of c i n n a b a r s e e n h e r e .
36 f e e t
Across6-footwidth
of shear-zone..
72 f e e t
Across 3-foot width
of shear-zone, numero u s s t r i n g e r s o f dolomite.
may
Smalloutcrops of brown-weathering,ankeritizedrock
beseen i n t h r e e low 5 - f o o t k n o l l s t h a t s k i r t t h e s o u t h e r l y
and e a s t e r l y s i d e of t h e pond. A sample t a k e na c r o s s 25 f e e t
o f s u c h m a t e r i a l on t h e exposed n o r t h e r l y n o s e o f a k n o i l l y i n g 275 f e e t i n a d i r e c t i o n s o u t h 80 d e g r e e s e a s t fromthe
,&x
and a sampletakenacross
5
shaft,assayed:Mercury,
f e e t of s i m i l a r m a t e r i a l on t h e n o s e of a small k n o l l l y i n g
1 5 0f e e tn o r t h - e a s t e r l yf r o mt h e
l a s t , alsoassayed:Mercury,
nil.
Thebrown-weathering,
a n k e r i t i z e d z o n e of rock,probably
main k n o l l , can b e t r a c e d
t h e zone of s h e a r i n g , a s s e e n i n t h e
f o r h a l f a m i l e s o u t h e r l y from t h e s h a f t by r o c k - f r a g m e n t s i n
t h e s o i l of t h e r a n g e ; f a r t h e r s o u t h e r l y a l o n g t h e p r o j e c t i o n
of t h i s zone no fragments of anykind a r e t o beseen,because
of pondsand muddy s o i l .
The n e a r e s t o u t c r o p o'f r o c k , o t h e r t h a n t h a t i m m e d i a t e l y
a r o u n d . t h es h a f t ,l i e s
900 f e e t s o u t h - w e s t e r l y .
In t h i so u t croptherockconsists
of m a s s i v e , v e r y c h l o r i t i c g r e e n s t o n e ,
c u t by w i d e l y - s p a c e d j o i n t - p l a n e s t h a t a r e f i l l e d
by c a l c i t e
stringer's--therehasbeen
bo a n k e r i t i z a t i o n of t h i s g r e e n s t o n e .
on t h e
Elsewhere, t h e o n l y r o c k s a r e b a s a l t b o u l d e r s l y i n g
range-land.
- 5% -
A t t h e t i m e of e x a m i n a t i o n( J u l y ,1 9 3 8 ) ,t h ep r o p e r t y
was i d l e . However, a t some s h o r tt i m ep r e v i o u s ,p o s s i b l yt h e
summer of 1937, a 12-inch by 20-inch by 9 - f e e t r e t o r t ( P l a t e
I V A ) made by t h e P a c i f i c F o u n d r i e s , L i m i t e d ,
hadbeenerected
closetotheshaft.
The o n l yb u i l d i n g s on t h e groundwere a
s h e dh o u s i n gt h er e t o r t ,
a t o o l - s h e d and a roof o v e r t h e s h a f t .
T h e r e a r e no r e c o r d s of p r o d u c t i o n f r o m t h i s p r o p e r t y .
Yalakom River Cinnabar Occurrences
The a r e a i n c l u d i n g t h e s e o c c u r r e n c e s
i s reached by following the road from Lillooet.
up t h e Lower Bridge-Yalakom.
Rivers f o r a d i s t a n c e of 23 l/2 m i l e s t o C h r i s t y ' s r a n c h ( P r e emptionLots3102-3)which
l i e s beyond Moha p o s t - o f f i c e on t h e
e a s t e r l y s i d e of t h e Yalakom R i v e r . Prom t h i s r a n c h a good
pack-horse t r a i l i s f o l l o w e d u p t h e e a s t e r n s i d e
of t h e Y a l a kom River f o r 3 . 6 m i l e s , t o t h e GoldenEagle t e n t c a m p - s i t e
on t h e w e s t e r n bank. A t t h e c a m p - s i t e t h e r i v e r
may be crossed
by a good f o o t - l o g , or forded by t h e h o r s e s a t s h o r t d i s t a n c e s
down-stream f r o m t h e camp. An a l t e r n a t i v e r o u t e o f compa.rable
l e n g t h f o l l o w s up t h e w e s t e r n s i d e o f t h e Yalakom River 'ceginning a t t h e end of t h e r o a d a t B a u m g a r t i n ' s r a n c h , w h i c h
is
a c r o s st h er i v e rf r o mC h r i s t y ' s .
The known occurrences c f
c i n n a b a ra r ec o v e r e d
bytwogroupsofclaims,(1)theGolden
Eaffle g r o u p , l y i n g m o s t l y o n t h e n o r t h - e a s t e r l y s i d e
of t h e
r i v e r , and ( 2 ) t h e Red Eagle, or MacInnes-Parkergrouplying
on thesouth-westerlyside.These
twogr0up.s w i l l be d e s c r i b e d
separately.
_"
The a r e a , a d j a c e n t t o t h e
Yalakom River and both up-.stream
and down-stream from
t h e Red Eagle and Golden Eagle workings,
was prospected l a t e i n t h e autumn of 1939 by members of t h e
Dominion-Provincial Youth T r a i n i n g P r o j e c t "D", u n d e r t h e
d i r e c t i o n of M. S. Hedleyof
t h e B r i t i s h ColumbiaDepartment
5 ) Dr.
of Mines. I nh i sr e p o r t
and accompanying p l a n( F i g .
Hedley describes the geology
o f t h i s s e c t i o n of t h e Ya1ak:om
Riverareaasfollows:
"The rocks of t h e r e g i o n a r e , a c c o r d i n g t o
Geol o g i c a l Survey',Canada,
Memoir 130, 1 9 2 2 on t h e Bridge:
of Lower
RiverMap-area,
members of t h e E l d o r a d o s e r i e s
Cretaceousageon.thenorth-easterlyside
of t h e r i v e r
ofCarboniferousage
OP.
and of t h e B r i d g e R i v e r s e r i e s
t h es o u t h - w e s t e r l ys i d e .
Between t h e s er o c k s i s a prcmi n e n t band of p e r i d o t i t e , .n o t mapped' byMcCann.
The
structuralrelationsbetweenthe
two s e r i e s a r e o b s c u r e d .
"The r o c k s n o r t h - e a s t e r l y
- 59
of t h e r i v e r , p r o v i s i o r a l l y
-
" a l l referab'le t o t h e E l d o r a d o s e r i e s , a r e p r e d o m i n a n t l y
some
sedimentary. Some v o l c a n i c b r e c c i a s a n d p o s s i b l y
f l o w - r o c k so c c u ri n ' t h ev a l l e yp r o p e r ,b u te l s e w h e r e
they are sandy to shaly sediments
and many a r e a r k o s i c
t o c o n g l o m e r a t i c . ' A d i v i s i o n h a s b e e n made f o r purposes
of t h i s r e p o r t i n t o t h r e e
members, of which t h e boundari e s a r e shown approximately on Pig. 5.
"Inthevalleyproperaregreenandpurplevolcanic
b r e c c i a s ,p r e p o n d e r a n t l yp o r p h y r i t i ca n di n c l u d i n ga p p a r e n t l y some f l o w - r o c k s ; i n a d d i t i o n t h e r e a r e b a n d s
of f i n e g r a i n e d s i l t y and a r g i l l a c e o u s s e d i m e n t s and a l i t t l e
.limestone. T o t h e n o r t h - e a s t i s a broadband of f i n e l y g r a n u l a rs e d i m e n t si n c l u d i n g
some s h a l e and some c o a r s e
sandstones and f i n ec o n g l o m e r a t e s .T h i s
member breaks
down r e a d i l y t o f i n e t a l u s and d e t r i t a l c o v e r .
Theupper member i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y m a s s i v e , i s g r e e n i s h
i n colour and varies from fine arkose and sandstone
to
u n s o r t e dc o n g l o m e r a t e .S t r a t i f i c a t i o n
is o n l yl o c a l l y
developed, and the massive character
and r e s i s t a n c e t o
weathering accounts for the fact that this rock type
makes
up t h e h i g h e r summits a n d r i d g e s f r o m t h e h e a d
o f FcurMileCreek,across
BeaverdamCreek,
t o Yalakom Mountain.
"The p e r i d o t i t e body i s t o o poorlyexposed t o be
w e l ls t u d i e d .
I t i s s t r o n g l ys e r p e n t i n i z e d
and a p p e a r s
t o havebeen a p e r i d o t i t e o f v a r i a b l e p y r o x e n e c o n t e n t
r a t h e rt h a n a p y r o x e n i t e o r d u n i t e . I t f o l l o w st h e
s o u t h - w e s t e r l y s i d e of t h e r i v e r f r o m a t l e a s t
a mile
aboveBurkholderCreek
t o theBridgeRiver,where
it app a r e n t l y l i e s i n t h e v a l l e y bottom. The body i s a b o u t 1
m i l e i n w i d t h , and i n c l u d e s a l o c a l andminoramountof
sedimentary rock.
"The l a r g e bodyof
serpentinized peridotite contains
severalinterestingexposuresthatwerecarefullysearched
f o r c i n n a b a r ,b u t
none was found.Theseoccurbotheast e r l y and w e s t e r l y ofShulapsCreekand
midway between
t h a ts t r e a m andJunctionCreek.
They a r er u s t y - w e a t h e r i n g
patches as much as 400 f e e t i n a p p a r e n t w i d t h , b u t s i n c e
t h e yo n l yo u t c r o p
on s h o r t , s t e e p s l o p e s t h e a c t u a l s i z e ,
a t t i t u d e and c o n t i n u i t y o f e a c h
i s n o t known, nor t h e
p o s s i b i l i t y of c o n t i n u i t yb e t w e e n some of them. The r u s t y
col.our on w e a t h e r i n g r e s u l t s f r o m a n a l t e r a t i o n p r e s u m a b l y
a t t hper o p e r t i e s .
t h e sane as t hcea r b o n a t i z a t i o n
"The rock i s so a l t e r e d t h a t t h e o r i g i n a l c h a r a c t e r
can only be determined by o c c a s i o n a l' g h o s t s '
of pyroxene.
The whole i s c u t b y many v e i n s and s t r i n g e r s of w h i t e
-
60
-
LEGEND
Coursearkose 8 sandstone.
conglomerate
fine
Sandstone,shale. grit. fine
conglomerate
Greenstone breccia. argillite.
sandstone. limestone
Serpentinizedperidotite
Bridge
Riverseries:
sediments
Mercury property showing
Scale
1
-
W
L
P
S I
ezl
R
[
I
I
I
I
X
3
Miles
Fig. 6. Geology of the Yalakom River nrea after
Id. S.
-
Eedley.
61
-
“dolomiteand a few v e i n l e t s of opal. Some v e i n l e t s Cont a i n bothcarbonate and s i l i c a a n d , l o c a l l y ,
some s i l i c i f i c a t i o n on a m i n u t e s c a l e .
The r o c k i s w h i t i s h t o f l e s h coloured and tends
t o b e p a t c h y and f l e c k e d w i t h green.
No cinnabar was seen, and o n l y a veryfewspecks
of what
is apparentlystibnite.
“The r o c k s s o u t h - w e s t e r l y of t h e s e r p e n t i n e u n d e r l y
t h eh i g h ,h e a v i l y - t i m b e r e ds l o p e s
of ShulapsMountains a t
e l e v a t i o n s i n excess of 5,000 f e e t , and werenotstudied.
They i n c l u d e , s o far a s known, s l a t y and s c h i s t o s e t y p e s
a tt h el o w e r ,o b s e r v e de l e v a t i o n s .
“The a t t i t u d e o f t h e B r i d g e R i v e r s e r i e s
is not
known, b u t t h e s e r p e n t i n e b o d y
and t h e E l d o r a d o r o c k s
s t r i k e p a r a l l e l t o t h er i v e r .
Dips i nt h eE l d o r a d o
seriesaresteepnorth-eastward,
w i t h a fewminor flex-.
u r e s and o v e r t u r n s . The a x i s of a s y n c l i n e ofmajor
imp o r t a n c e i s b e l i e v e d t o e x i s t on upperJunctionCreek,
b u t t o o l i t t l e work w a s done t o p r o v e t h i s p o i n t
oonclusively;certainlythere
i s a l o c a lc h a n g ei ng e n e r a l
attitude.
“Patchesofcarbonatizationwerefoundat
a number
of t h e r i v e r of l o c a l i t i e s on t h e n o r t h - e a s t e r l y s i d e
valleyfromFour-MileCreek
t o Beaverdam Creek.These
p a t c h e s o r zones a r e r e s t r i c t e d a l m o s t e n t i r e l y t o t h e
lower member of t h eE l d o r a d os e r i e s .
The v o l c a n i cb r e c c i a i s , i n a d d i t i o n , muoh f r a c t u r e d and f i n e l y and i r r e g ularly veined with carbonate but
w i t h no a t t e n d a n t a l t e r a t i o n .C o n s i d e r a b l ep e t r o g r a p h i cs t u d y
wouldbenecessary
to describe fully or t o classify these zones,
andnone
hasbeenattempted.
Many a r e bedded, o r f o l l o w some e v i d e n t l yf a v o u r a b l eh o r i z o n ,b u to t h e r s ,n o t a b l yu p - s t r e a m
from t h e G o l d e nE a g l e ,c l e a r l yc u tt h ef o r m a t i o n .
The
zonesappearforthemostpartto
follow f r a c t u r e s o r
shear-zonesand somemay b e l o c a l i z e d by d y k e s , b u t t h e
degree of a l t e r a t i o n makes d e t e r m i n a t i o n of o r i g i n a l
rock-typesdifficult.
“No cinnabar was s e e w i n any of t h e s e z o n e s , a l l
of
which a r e c h a r a c t e r i z e d by c a r b o n a t i z a t i o n and t h e p r e s enceofdolomitestringers
and v e i n s . Among t h e most promof Fourinent zones are those between the main laver fork
M i l eC r e e k ;b o t he a s t e r l y
and w e s t e r l y of t h a t s t r e a m ; on
t h e summit of t h e r i d g e betweenFour-Mile and Grouse
Creeks; on t h e b l u f f s u p - s t r e a m
f r o m t h e GoldenEagle
p r o p e r t y for 1 m i l e ; on t h e e a s t e r l y s i d e of lowerJunct i o n Creek;andabove
t h e t r a i l 1 mile below Beaverdam
-
62
-
"Creek. One zone i nf i n e l y - g r a n u l a rs e d i F e n t s
on t h e
a mile from the
n o r t h - w e s t e r l y s i d e of BeaverdamCreek,
r i v e r , was t r a c e d 2,000 f e e t up t h e h i l l s i d e , and a n o t h e r s i m i l a r zone was searched on t h e h i g h r i d g e c o r n e r
in the south-easterly angle between the.same creek and
t h er i v e r ,b u tw i t h o u ts u c c e s s .
"Clearlythe mostfavourablebelt,and.thatin
whichmost c a r b o n a t i z a t i o n o c c u r s , i s h e r e t e r m e d t h e
lower member of t h e Eldorado s e r i e sa se x p o s e d .T h i s
b e l t o c c u p i e s t h e main v a l l e y , l a r g e l y on t h e n o r t h on t h e
e a s t e r l y s i d e below Junction Creek and wholly
n o r t h - e a s t e r l ys i d e belowFour-MileCreek.
Above Beavsrdam Creek, a t l e a s t for t w o o r t h r e e m i l e s , t h e n o r t h e a , s t e r l y s i d e of t h e v a l l e y is one of v e r y f e w outcrop.?
and t h e f a v o u r a b l e b e l t a p p e a r s i n p a r t t o b e n a r r o w e r , ,
perhapstruncated
by t h es e r p e n t i n e .
The l e a s tf a v o u r able belt for the occurrence
ofmercury
i n t h e a r e a ex.amined i s t h e one of massivefragmentalrockswhich
includes the high
summits t h r o u g h t h e head of Four-Mile
Creekand Yalakom Mountain. The i n t e r m e d i a t e b e l t d o e s
n o t appear t o c o n t a i n many a t a l l prominentcarbonatezones, and i s n o t deemed f a v o u r a b l e owing t o t h e incomp e t e n t n a t u r e of t h e s h a l y t o s a n d y ,f i n e l y - f r a c t u r e d
sediments
.
"That b e l t of c o u n t r y l y i n g n o r t h - e a s t e r l y
of t h e
mainbody o f J u n c t i o n Creek i s one of l o n g s l o p e s w i t h
veryfewexposures.
The r o c k sc l o s et oJ u n c t i o n
Creek
are g r i t t y s e d i m e n t s which, s o far ascanbejudged
from
a d i s t a n c e , a r e bedded n e a r l y p a r a l l e l t o t h e l o n g s l o p e s .
" I n t h e Yalakom R i v e r a r e a a d e f i n i t e b e l t of c a r b o n a t e - z o n e si n c l u d e st h ev a l l e y - b o t t o m ,t h en o r t h - e a s t e r n
v a l l e y - w a l l , and t h e s o u t h - w e s t e r n v a l l e y - w a l l
t o the
known l i m i t s of t h e p e r i d o t i t e body.Farthernorth-east e r l y t h e r e a r e f e w i n d i c a t i o n s o f m i n e r a l i z a t i o n and .the
r o c k sa r en o tc o n s i d e r e df a v b u r a b l e .T h e r ea p p e a rt o
be
no m a j o r s t r u c t u r e s s u c h a s f o l d s t h a t m i g h t t e n d
t o loc a l i z ef i s s u r i n ga n dp o s s i b l y
t o "trap" mercury.There
i s a p p a r e n t l y a s y n c l i n e ' o n %lie n o r t h - e a s t e r n s i d e of upno evidence of m i n e r a l i z a t i o n i n
p e r J u n c t i o n Creek,but
t h i s v i c i n i t y ; minoropen f l e x u r e s i n s e v e r a l o t h e r l o c a l i t i e s do n o t a p p e a r t o h a v e i n f l u e n c e d
a localization
o f f r a c t u r i n g or of m i n e r a l i z a t i o n .
:,
"Zones of c a r b o n a t i i a t i o n w i t h i n t h e f a v o u r a b l e
b e l t may a l l b e found within a few days by' c l i m b m g t h e
summits adjaceEt t o t h e r i v e r , and p r e l i m i n a r y work i s
-
63 -
I t i s t o be
of f i e l d - g l a s s e s .
"greatly aided by the use
zones and carbonate-veins
notedthateventhesmallest
produce a l i b e r a l amount of e a s i l y - r e c o g n i z a b l e f l o a t .
The r e g i o n d o e s n o t a p p e a r t o h a v e b e e n c l o s e l y p r o s pectedand i s r e l a t i v e l y e a s y t o
examine,onedisadvanta g e . b e i n g . t h e , s c a r c i t y of w a t e r . The f a v o u r a b l e b e l t i s
b e l i e v e d t o continue t o t h e s o u t h - e a s t on t h e h i g h summits
flanking the river."
TheGoldenEaglegroup(Pig;
6) c o n s i s t s of t h e minera1claimsGoldenEagle
Nos. 1 t o
and 8 t o 9 inc l u s i v e , l y i n g on t h e n o r t h - e a s t e r l y s i d e o f t h e
Yalakom River, 23 1/2 m i l e s by auto-roadand 3 1/2 m i l e s by
t r a i l from Lillooet; they are immediately opposite the
Red
owned byMessrs.ParkerandNacInnes.Theseclaimswere
s t a k e d i n 1938and a r e s e v e r a l l y owned by Geo. M. Murray,
P. J. Wilsonandassociates
o f L i l l o o e t andVancouver.
,*.<GOLDEN
EAGLE.
*- "i'
LA*
The e a s t e r l y v a l l e y - w a l l i n t h e i m m e d i a t e v i c i n i t y
of
t h e showings c o n s i s t s m o s t l y of t a l u s - s l o p e s and draws s l o p i n g
s t e e p l y a t anaverageangle
of 35 d e g r e e s t o t h e r i v e r - b o t t o m .
i n a s e r i e s of t a l u s Above t h e w o r k i n g s t h e v a l l e y - w a l l r i s e s
slopesandbareunsoalable.'bluffstothetop
of t h e r i d g e .
.Theelevation'ofthetop
of t h e r i d g e is 5400 f e e t and t h a t of
t h e r i v e r - b o t t o m i s 2400 f e e t ; t h e e l e v a t i o n
of t h e w o r k i n g s
is 2650 f e e t .
The GoldenEagletent-camp
i s on t h e o p p o s i t e o r s o u t h w e s t e r l y s i d e of t h e r i v e r a n d a p p r o x i m a t e l y
400 f e e t downstream from a p o i n t i n t h e r i v e r i m m e d i a t e l y d o w n h i l l f r o m
the workings.
The rocks on t h e h i l l s i d e i n t h e v i c i n i t y of t h e showi n g s on t h e n o r t h - e a s t e r l y s i d e
of t h e Yalakom R i v e r c o n s i s t
of b o t h g r e e n and p u r p l e v o l c a n i c b r e c c i a s o v e r l a i n
by s e d i and c h e r t .
m e n t sc o n s i s t i n g o f s a n d ys h a l e ,l i m e s t o n e - l e n s e s ,
The v o l c a n i c b r e c c i a s s t r i k e n o r t h
60 d e g r e e s w e s t a n d d i p
from 30 t o 60 degreesnorth-eastward.
The overlyingsediments
60 t o 70 d e g r e e s n o r t h s t r i k e n o r t h 55 d e g r e e s w e s t a n d d i p
eastward. The o n l y i n t r u s i v e s e e n was a g r e e n s t o n e s i l l i n
t h es e d i m e n t s ; no g r a n i t i c r o c k s w e r e
observed.
a t two h o r i z o n s
The v o l c a n i c b r e c c i a h a s b e e n a l t e r e d
t o two zones of dense,brownish-weathering,ankeriticrock;
a
lowerzone
i n t h e v i c i n i t y of t h e w o r k i n g s and an upper one
2150 f e e t above, a t an e l e v a t i o n of 3800 feet.'Thesezones
a r e t r a v e r s e d b y narrow s t r i n g e r s of w h i t e v e i n - d o l o m i t e . t h a t
e x t e n di n t ot h ea d j a c e n tu n a l t e r e db r e c c i a s .
Afost of t h e c i n nabargrainsseenareeitherin
or adjacenttothedolomite
veinlets.
-
64
-
In. t h e immediate v i c i n i t y of t h e Golden Eagle workings
an i r r e g u l a r zone of
the rocks comprise volcanic breccia and
brown a n k e r i t i c r o c k , more o r l e s s c o n f o r m a b l e t o t h e a t t j . t u d e
of t h e b r e c c i a ; narrowbands of c h e r t and tuff occur above the
workings. The exposedzone
of a n k e r i t i cr o c k i s l e n t i c u l a r i n
380
o u t c r o p , t h e maximum- exposed width measuring approximately
f e e t on t h e s l o p e of t h e hill'^ The workings a r e i n a sma:Ll,
t r i a n g u l a r - s h a p e d a r e a of p u r p l e v o l c a n i c b r e c c i a t h a t e x t e n d s
south-easterly from i t s apex f o r 200 f e e t t o end i n . t a l u s j u s t
e a s t of No. 2 c u t ; a t t h i s p l a c e t h e w i d t h i s 25 f e e tT. h i s
a r e a r e p r e s e n t s a fragment of v o l c a n i c b r e c c i a s t i l l unre"
placedbythesolutionsthathaveconvertedtherock
above and
belowand on t h e w e s t e r l y end i n t o brown-weathering, ankeritic
r o c k .E a s t e r l ya c r o s st h et a l u s - s l i d et h er o c k
i s volcanic
,
breccia.
One hundredand f i f t y ' f e e t above the workings the arikeri t e - z o n e c o n t a i n s a s e r i e s of well-bedded rocks striking .north
60 degrees west and d i p p i n g 40 degreesnorth-eastward.Begin2 f e e t of g r e y c h e r t ,
n i n g a t t h e bottom, t h e s e r i e s i n c l u d e s
25 f e e t of a n k e r i t i z e d b r e c c i a , 8 f e e t of j a s p e r . i n 8 - i n c h
bands, 25 f e e t o f p u r p l e and g r e e n b r e c c i a , 8 f e e t o f g r e e n
t u f f s , and l a s t l y , d e f i n i t e l y - g r e e n v o l c a n i c b r e c c i a t h a t
ext e n d s up t h e h i l l s i d e t o t h e n e x t a n k e r i t i c zone1000 f e e t
above, as shown on Fig. 6. The i n t e n s ea n k e r i t i z a t i o n ends
beneaththejasper
beds-; t h e a l t e r a t i o n of rocks above these
beds i s v e r y s l i g h t .
Thesebeds a r e c u t anddisplacedabout
5 f e e t by a f a u l t t r e n d i n g up t h e g u l c h and d i p p i n g 40 degrees
eastward. The rock i s i n t e n s e l y a n k e r i t i z e d t o a massive c a r of t h e f a u l t - p l a n e and
bonaterock f o r 4 i n c h e s o n e i t h e r s i d e
c o n t a i n s a s m a l ls t r i n g e r of w h i t ev e i n - d o l o m i t e .T h i sa l t e r a t i o n and m i n e r a l i z a t i o n i n d i c a t e s t h e n a t u r e of t h e p r o c e s s e s
i n v o l v e d . i n t h e f o r m a t i o n of the extensive brown-weathering
ankerite-zones, namely a p r o c e s s i n v o l v i n g a permeation o f
altering solutions from channels afforded by faults
o r by
o p e n - t e x t u r e dr o c k s ,i n t ot h es u r r o u n d i n gr o c k .A p p a r e n t l y ,
therelativelyopen-textured,volcanic'breccia,
and t h i s i n
v a r y i n g d e g r e e s , wasmorepermeab1.e
to the altering solutions
t h a nt h ec h e r t ,j a s p e r . o r . t u f fb e d s .
The v a g a r i e s o f r e p l a c e ment p r o c e s s e s a r e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r . t h e i r r e g u l a r
and l e n t i c u of v o l c a n i c
l a r s h a p e of t h e s e a n k e r i t e - z o n e s w i t h i n t h e a r e a s
breccia.
t o be a t t h e c o n t a c t . of
The lower ankerite-zone appears
two bands of v o l c a n i c b r e c c i a , a lower t h a t weathers pred.omi n a n t l y p u r p l e and a n upper t h a t w e a t h e r s p r e d o m i n a n t l y g r e y ish-green.
Tonguesand
l e n s e s of t h ep u r p l eb r e c c i aw i t h i n
t h e a n k e r i t i c zone i n d i c a t e t h a t t h i s zone l i e s w i t h i n t h e
purpleratherthanthegreenishbreccia,thepreference
3,s'
- '65
-
*
e
0
0
e
%
="&
LEGEND
Vclcanic Breccia
predominantly purple
Volcanic Breccia
predcminantly green
Sediments,chiefly sandy
s h a l ea n dc h e r t
Limestonebands
Greenstone. sill
Brown weathering,anker-itic zones of alteration
x
Swuor rf ka icneg
A r e a of cinnabar
Occurrence
Fig: 6. Detailed @,ology i n v i c i n i t y of Golden Eagle
showings, Yalakom River.
probably related to
two b r e c c i a s .
a difference in the permeabilities of the
A t r a v e r s e was made up t h e h i l l s i d e above t h e w o r k i n g s t o
for
t h e n o s e of t h e r i d g e t h e n c e n o r t h e r l y u p t h e r i d g e - n o s e
3,000 f e e t t o t h e c r e s t a t 5,400 f e e t , and down t o t h e r i v e r shown on
bottom. The rock-types t h a t w e r ee n c o u n t e r e da r e
Fig. 6. A t a ne l e v a t i o n o f 3,800 f e e t , a second o r upper
brown-weathering ankeritic zone occurs between green volcanic
.
.~.
.
.
b r e c c i a and overlying s'ediments; the breccia
i s too massive
f o r a d e t e r m i n a t i o n of a t t i t u d e , b u t t h e s e d i m e n t s a r e w e l l
beddedand a g e n e r a l ' s t r i k e of n o r t h 60 degree,swest and a.
d i p of 70 degrees north-eastward was observed. The zone of
most i n t e n s e a l t e r a t i o n i s about 200 f e e t t h i c k and it ex-.
tends approximately 1500 feet north-westerly and approxima.tely
500 f e e t s o u t h - e a s t e r l y , ' t h e i n t e n s i t y of t h e a l t e r a t i o n dyi n go u t a t e i t h e re n d .
The s e d i m e n t so v e r l y i n gt h e
zone were
c a r b o n a t e f o r a d i s t a n c e of 15
s l i g h t l y - a l t e r e d ,a n k e r i t i c
f e e t from t h ec o n t a c t .
The g r e a t e r p e r m e a b i l i t y of t h e r o c k
in the contact-zone between the volcanic breccia
andover1.yingsedimentsprobablyaidedinlc'calizingtheintensity
of
a n k e r i t i c ' a l t e r a t i o n ' i n t h i s second o r upperzone.
A few
g r a i n s of cinnabar were found i n scme 1 / 4 - i n c h v e i n l e t s of
w h i t e v e i n - d o l o m i t e t h a t occur i n t h e lower p a r t of t h e zone.
The s e d i m e n t s o b e r l y i n g t h e v o l c a n i c b r e c c i a c o n s i s t
of
sandyshale,
a few l e n s e s of limestone andwell-beddedchert.
A t a n e l e v a t i o n of approximately 4900 feet
a greenstone s i l l
200 f e e t i n t h i c k n e s s was seen.
A s of August,1938,
t h ew o r k i n g sc o n s i s t e d
of t w o openNo. 1 cuthasbeendriven.at
c u t s 280 f e e t above t h e r i v e r .
n o r t h 27 d e g r e e s east. f o r 2 2 f e e t t o a 20-foot vertical fticq
i n t h e e a s t e r l y ' w a l l o f a s m a l l n o r t h e r l y - t r e n d i n g rack-d:?aw.
A t distances
The c u t i s e n t i r e l y i np u r p l ev o l c a n i cb r e c c i a .
two s t r i n g e r of 6 f e e t and18 f e e t f r o m t h e f a c e , t h e r e a r e
zones, 2 f e e t and 4 f e e t w i d e r e s p e c t i v e l y ; t h e y s t r i k e e m t e r l ya c r o s st h ec u t
and d i p 60 degreessouthward.These
two
zonesconsi.st of a f e w l e n t i c u l a r and d i s c o n t i n u o u s d o l o m i t e
veinletsrangingfrom1/2-inch
t o 1 1/2 i n c h e s i n t h i c k n e s s .
C i n n a b a ro c c u r si nt h e s ez o n e se i t h e ra sd i s c r e t eg r a i n s
and
b l e b s w i t h i n t h e d o l d m i t e s t r i n g e r s , or s h o r t c r i s s - c r o s s i n g ,
h a i r - l i k es t r i n g e r so fp u r ec i n n a b a r .
A sampletaken
6 fset
from t h e f a c e a c r o s s a 6-inchbrecciatedzone,sealed
by #dolomiteand hairs of cinnabar,assayed:
Mercury, 0.3 percent.
ThFee samplesweretaken
across a m i n e r a l i z e d zone, 18 f e e t
from t h e f a c e .
One, '.'takenacross .1 f o o t i n t h e f l o o r , assayed:
Mercury, 1 . 0 percent.;.another,ta'ken
on t h e e a s t e r l y wall 2
f e e t above t h e f l o o r a n d a c r o s s
a kidney oi' high-grade 6
inches by 1 2 inches,'as.sayod:.Mercury,
8 . 0 p e rc e n t ;
and ano t h e r t a e e n one f o o t aboveand n o r t h e r l y f r o m t h e i a s t , a s sayed:Mercury,
0.'2 ,percent.
.i
No. 2 c u t i s 75 f e e ti n , ad i r e c t i o ns o u t h
35 degrees
e a s tf r o m No. 1. I t i s a s h a l l o ws i d e h i l l - c u te x t e n d i n g1 8
feet along the hi1lside.in.a south-easterly direction, the
f a c ea l o n gt h i sl e n g t hr a n g e sf r o m
2 f e e t t o 7 feet in height.
T h i s c u t i s a l s o i n v o l c a n i cb r e c c i a ,b u tt h eg e n e r a lo u t c r o p
. .
-
67"
has a b r o w n i s h c a s t r e s u l t i n g
f r o m t h e f o r m a t i o n of films of
l i m o n i t ea l o n gt h ej o i n t - p l a n e si nt h er o c k .T h e r e
i s much
l e s sc i n n a b a ri nt h i sc u tt h a ni n
No. 1; k sample t a k e n
of c i n n a b a r s e e n , a p a t c h o n e f o o t
in
acrosstheonlypatch
diameter,assayed:
Mercury, 0.1 p e rc e n t .
A thirdcut,very
muoh s m a l l e r t h a n t h e o t h e r s , h a s b e e n
made i n t h e s l o p e - f a c e ,
50 f e e t w e s t e r l y from No, 1 c u t .T h i s
by 2 f e e t up it, i s i n a
c u tm e a s u r i n g 5 f e e t a l o n g t h e s l o p e
t h i n band o f v o l c a n i c b r e c c i a o n l y
2 f e e tw i d e .
Only a few
g r a i n s of c i n n a b a r w e r e s e e n i n
t h i s working.
A t t h e t i m e o f examination of t h e property(August9th
t o l o t h , 1938)one of t h e owners, Mr. Lands, was doing s u r f a c e work.
There i s no record of p r o d u c t i o n f r o m t h i s p r o p e r t y .
I 5
The Red. E a g l e - g r o u p c o n s i s t s of t h e mineral olaims
Red E a g l e Nos. 1 t o 21, o r i g i n a l l y staked in May,
1937, by Chas. J. Parker,and owned by Geo. L. Macv
o f Vancouver, B. C . The p r o p e r t yl i e s
I n n e sa n da s s o c i a t e s
s o u t h - w e s t e r l y a c r o s s t h e Yalakom r i v e r from the
, and i s most conv'enientlyreached by t h e same
""
The topography i s similar t o t h a t d e s c r i b e d f o r t h e e a s t e r n s i d e of t h e v a l l e y where t h e m o u n t a i n - s i d e s l o p e s s t e e p l y
upfrom t h e r i v e r , b u t ,
as compared w i t h t h e e a s t e r n s i d e
of
the valley, the western side
i s covered w i t h a much d e n s e r
The exposures
,growth of evergreensandlesstalus-material..
a r e f e w e r u n t i l a p o i n t i s reached t h a t is 1,000 f e e t above
the river; here the
bushgives way t o b a r e openrock-slopes.
The
and t e r m i n a t e s i n a saw-tooth ridge of v o l c a n ibcr e c c i a .
500
f
e
e
t
above
t
h
e
a
r
e
workings a t an e l e v a t i o n of 2875 f e e t
river: they are south 50 degrees west
up t h e h i l l s i d e from a
p o i n t5 0 0 ' f e e td m - s t r e a m
f r o m t h e Golden Eagle camp.However, at this point the slope
i s too bluffy to climb and the
cutsarereachedby
a t r a i l t h a t l e a v e s a c a m p s i t e 2,140 f e e t
down-stream and w i n d s a l o n g t h e s i d e - h i l l n o r t h - w e s t e r l y t o
t h ec u t s .
The w o r k i n g s c o n s i s t of f o u r open.-cuts i n p u r p l e , v o l c a n i c b r e c c i a ; in m o s t of t h e c u t s t h e b r e c c i a
i s brownishand
badiy decomposed.
Xo. 1 i s t h e f i r s t c u t met on t h e t r a i l when climbing up
from t h e r i v e r . It i s o n l y 2 f e e t wide and has been driven
westward f o r 5 f e e t i n t o t h e s l o p e . The rock i s b a d l y - f r a c -
-
68
-
t u r e db r e c c i a ,b u t
ci.nnabar.
it c o n t a i n s n e i t h e r d o l o m i t e v e i n l e t s
r.0r
No. 2 c u t i s 2 2 f e e tn o r t h e r l ya l o n gt h eh i l l s i d e .
?:t
i s 3 t o 4 f e e t w i d e and. has b e e n d r i v e n w e s t e r l y f o r 6 f e e t i n to the h i l l inbreccia.
The onlyshowing of cinnabar was a 1/8
of c i n n a b a r a s s o c i a t e d w i t h
some do1.oby 1/4 by 2-inch bleb
Mercury,
m i t e . A s a m p l et a k e na c r o s st h i sm a t e r i a la s s a y e d :
5 . 4p e rc e n t .
A sample t a k e n i n 1937 a c r o s s t h e f a c e
of t h i s
of c i n cut,containing a t t h a t t i m e t h r e e h a i r - l i k e s t r i n g e r s
nabar,assayed:
Mercury, 1.3 p e rc e n t .
No. 3 c u t i s 10 f e . e t belowand
n o r t h - e a s t e r l y down t h e
45-degreeslopefrom
No. 2 . I t i s more l i k e a small s t r i p p i n g
than a cut,extendingalongthehillside
f o r 5 f e e t w i t h a 2f o o tf a c e .
No cinnabar was s e e n i n t h i s c u t .
No. 4 c u t i s 15 f e e t below No. 3 i n a s o u t h - e a s t e r l y d i r e c t i o n . It extends 8 f e e t a l o n g t h e h i l l s i d e
w i t h backs 3 f e e t
high. k s a m p l et a k e na c r o s st h e8 - f o o tf a c ei n
1937assayed:
A t t h a tt i m et h e r ew e r e
a fewspecks
Mercury, 1.0 p e rc e n t .
of c i n n a b a r v i s i b l e , b u t i n
August, 1938, t h e r e was onlyone
A l a r g e sample
g r a i n o f cinnabar and a few d o l o m i t e s t r i n g e r s .
of cinnabar-bearing rock from the
dump t a k e n i n August, 1938,
assayed:Mercury,0.7percent.
Between Nos. 3 and 4 c u t s , t h r e e d i v e r s e l y - o r i e n t e d ,
3 inches
' t a b u l a r , brown, a n k e r i t i c - d o l o m i t e v e i n s , r a n g i n g f r o m
t o one f o o t i n t h i c k n e s s , c u t t h e v o l c a n i c b r e c c i a ; c i n n a b a r
was n o t v i s i b l e i n t h e s e v e i n s .
The v e i n s r e p r e s e n t i n t e n s e
a n k e r i t i z a t i o n of t h e r o c k a d j a c e n t t o f i s s u r e s s u b s e q u e n t l y
f i l l e d by white vein-dolomite.
No. 5 c u t i s 120 f e e t n o r t h e r l y a l o n g t h e h i l l s i d e from
No. 2 . I t h a s been driven 2 f e e t w e s t e r l y i n t o t h e h i l l s i d e
i n decomposed p u r p l eb r e c c i a .
No cinnabar showed.
Three f e e t n o r t h e r l y from t h i s cut,,smallone-footoutc r o p s of brown a n k e r i t i z e d v o l c a n i c b r e c c i a w e r e s c a t t e r e d
overanarea
25 f e e t i n d i a m e t e r .
No cinnabar was s e e n i n
theseoutcrops,butthearea
i s worthy of note because it cont a i n e d t h e o n l y brown a n k e r i t i c r o c k s e e n on t h i s h i l l s i d e of
a kind similar t o t h a t on t h e GoidenEagle claims a c r o . s s t h e
river,
No, 6 c u t i s i o 0 r e e t n o r t h e r l y a l o n g t h e h i l l s i d e
from
No. 5. This.cutexposes
a rock-face 20 f e e t l o n g i n
a northThe rock i s p u r p l ev o l c a n i c
s o u t h d i r e c t i o n and 4 f e e t h i g h .
brecciathat
is irregularlycut
-
69
Qy 1/4-inchdolomite.vein:lets;
-
only one 1/16 by 8-inch f i l m o f cinnabar was seen along a
j o i n t - p l a n e i n t h eb r e c c i a .
A sampletaken i n 1937across
1 0 f e e t of t h e f a c e and c u t t i n g more cinnabar f i l m s t h a n w e r e
A large
v i s i b l ei n 1938,assayed:Mercury,0.05percent.
specimen of ore measuring 2 i n c h e s by 3 inches by 6 i n c h e s ,
c o n t a i n i n g t w o films of c i n n a b a r ,o n e ,l e n t i c u l a r ,
1/16 i n c h
by 3 i n c h e s , and a second, 1/8 i n c h by 2 inches,assayed:
Mercury,2.3percent.
A t r a v e r s e was made u p t h e h i l l s i d e f r o m t h e w o r k i n g s
t o t h e t o p of t h e r i d g e a t a n e l e v a t i o n
of 3650 f e e t . The
exposuresdidnot
commence u n t i l n e a r t h i s p o i n t ,
and t h e n
werecontinuousalongthebareridge-top.
The rock-formation
was s e e nt ob ee x c l u s i v e l yv o l c a n i cb r e c c i a .
The b r e c c i a s a r e
c u t by a n o c c a s i o n a l s h e a r f r o m w h i c h a n k e r i t i z a t i o n h a s
brownspread 'for a f e w i n c h e s , r e s u l t i n g i n c o n s p i c u o u s
of a n k e r i t e , which a r e someweathering veifis consisting mostly
No cinnabar was seen
t i m e sc u t by s t r i n g e r s of vein-dolomite.
in either the ankerite veins or the adjacent volcanic breccia.
A t . t h e t i m e of examination,(August10,1938)
temporarily ,suspended on t h e p r o p e r t y .
'
workhadbeen
There a r e no r e c o r d s of production.
Bridge River Occurrences
The kn.own occurrences i n t h e Bridge River a r e a a r e t h o s e
up
Tyaughton
Creek.
They i n c l u d e t h o s e a t t h e ' Dnpire(Manitou)
Mines,Limited,betweenRelay
and Mud Creeks, and a t t h e ConardonMines,Limited,approximately
6 m i i e sn o r t h - w e s t e r l y
from'TyaughtonLake.Cinnabaroccursinsmallamounts
on
claims owned by M e s s r s . P h i l l i p s and Lorntzsen i n t h e v i c i n i t y
of MercuryCreek,
a smell w e s t e r l y - f l o w i n g t r i b u t a r y o f Tyaught o n Creek'.
EMPIRE MERCURY
MINES, LIMITED
(X.
P . L. )
.
.
This company w i t ho f f i c e s
i n 1021Hall
Building,Vancouver,
B. C,:
f o r m e r l y known
a s t h e ManitouMining Company,owns
the f o l Nos. 1 t o 5
lowingmineralclaims:Rose
i n c l u s i v e , m g Nos. 1 t o
i n c l u s i v e , and B r i e r Nos. 1 t o
I]., i n c l u s i v e . T h e s e c l a i m s s t a k e d i n
1932by Ben Cromer, l i e
between Nud Creek on the eas-t and Relay Creek on the west,
c l o s e t o t h e j u n c t i o n o f t h e s e c r e e k s w i t h TyaughtonCreek.
The camp i s on a bench a t a n e l e v a t i o n of 3 , 8 8 0 f e e t o n t h e
s o u t h - e a s t e r l y s i d e of anaapproximately 100 f e e t above Mud
Creek.
E,
I
Most of t h e workings a r e on. a s t e e p open h i l l s i d e on t h e
A.
Old S c o t t furnace at Copper Creek
cinnabar property.
B.
Empire Mercury Mines, Limited, showing mill
building, ground-sluiced trenches Nos. 3
and 3A (middle foreground) and p o r t a l s
of edits Nos. 7 and 2 (left c e n t r e ) .
PLATE IV
A.
Small D-retort at Tunkwa Lakecinnabar property,
showing flues from condensers (outer stacks)
and flues from fire-box (inner stacks).
5
B.
ill building of Empire Mercury Mines Limited,
housing 10-ton Gould rotary.kiln.
o p p o s i t e o r n o r t h - w e s t e r l y s i d e of Mud Creekbetweenelevat i o n s of 3,780 f e e t and4,300
f e e t .( F i g .
7 and P l a t e I11 B )
T h i s h i l l s i d e which i s g r a s s y and i n s t e e p e r p l a c e s p a r t l y
covered by talus, slopes westward and south-westward into
Mud
Crreek. Rock-formations areonlymoderately
exposedand
the
depth of t h e o v e r b u r d e n i s as much a s 15 f e e t i n p l a c e s .
The p r o p e r t y i s reached by a recently-constructed motorroad, 1 6 m i l e s l o n g , t h a t l e a v e s t h e B r i d g e R i v e r r o a d a t
a
point1.7mileseast
of Mint0 C i t y .
The w o r k i n g s c o m p r i s e f o u r m a i n a d i t s , s e v e r a l s h o r t e r
ones, a 180-footraiseandseverallongground-sluiced
t r e n c h e s ( F i g . '7): t h e l a t t e r havelargelysloughedandrockexposureshavebeencovered
by sandandgravel.
In additiontotheusualmine-buildingsand
commodate approximately t h i r t y men, t h e p r e s e n t
s t r u c t e d a 10-ton Gould r o t a r y - k i l n i n 1938.
a camp t o aocompany con-
The d e p o s i t c o n s i s t s of m i n e r a l i z e d s h e a r - z o n e s w i t h i n
purpleamygdaloidalandgreeneven-grainedlavas.
The b e s t
m i n e r a l i z a t i o n i s confined t o two main shear-zones which strike
n o r t h - w e s t e r l y a n d ' r a n g e f r o m a few i n c h e s t o 10 f e e t between
main s l i p - w a l l s .A s s a y sa r e
shown .on Fig. 7.
The r o c k sc o n s i s t of i n t e r b e d d e dr i b b o n - c h e r t s ,s l a t e s
and l a v a s ,i n t r u s i v es e r p e n t i n e ,m a s s i v ea r k o s i cs a n d s t o n . e ,
and f e l s i t e dykes o r s i l l s . The c h e r t s ,s l a t e s and l a v a s
have been intensely folded
and t h e beds a r e v e r y c o n t o r t e d
and u s u a l l y h a v e v e r y s t e e p d i p s , t h e m a s s i v e s a n d s t o n e
and
interbedded shaly material have
a more u n i f o r m a t t i t u d e and
usually gentler d i p s .
Ribbon-chert i s t h e most prevalentrock-type,occurring
i n a l l theivorkingsandoutcroppinginvariousplaces.
I t is
interbedded with lava in
many p l a c e s and w i t h a bed of s l a t e
t h a t o c c u r s i n No. 2 a d i t and a l s o o u t c r o p s a b o v e t h e a d i . t .
The r o c k c o n s i s t s of bands of w h i t e t o grey cher-t or o h e r t y
f r o m . 1 i n c h t o 3 inches in w i d t h ; t h e s e
quartzitethatrange
bands a r e o c c a s i o n a l l y s e p a r a t e d from e8.ch o t h e r by a p a r t i n g
of greenish-grey o r b l a c k a r g i l l a c e o u s s c h i s t r a n g i n g
from
1/16 t o 1/4-inch i n t h i c k n e s s .
The beds a r e r a r e l y u n i f c r m
i n s t r i k e and d i p ; t h e y a r e more commonly oontorted o r curved
so t h a t t h e s t r i k e and d i p r e c o r d s t e n d t o b e c o n f u s i n g .
3
-
Concerning t h e o r i g i n o f t h e c h e r t , C a i r n e s ( s e e B i b l i o g r a p h y ) ,b e l i e v e st h a t
it i s a c h e m i c a lp r e c i p i t a t et h a t .
was
depositedfromsiliceoussolutionswhich
emanatedfromtk.e
as-
- 73 .
.
i n partfromsubmarinesiliceous
sociatedvolcanicrocksand
springs.
~
S l a t e o u t c r o p s i n a s m a l la r e at h a tl i e si m m e d i a t e l y
of t h e s h a f t andoccursundernorth-westerly from the collar
ground i n No. 2 a d i t near s t a t i o n 216.Althoughoverburden
o b s c u r e sa c t u a lc o n t a c t sa tt h es u r f a c e ,
and o n l yf a u l t - c o n of chert-outcropson
t a c t sa p p e a ru n d e r g r o u n d ,t h eo c c u r r e n c e
e i t h e r s i d e of t h e s l a t e - a r e a and of a 4-fOOt band of c h e r t i n
that the slate
c o n t a c t with s l a t e on e i t h e r s i d e , i n d i c a t e s
i s i n t e r b e d d e dw i t ht h ec h e r t .
The i n d i c a t e dt h i c k n e s s of t h e
s l a t e i s a p p r o x i m a t e l y8 0f e e t .
The slate i s dark-grey,fine-grained,andbreakswith
a
of r o c k . I t probably
g l o s s y ,s l a t yc l e a v a g ei n t ot a b u l a rs , l a b s
r e p r e s e n t s a r g i l l a c e o u s material d e p o s i t e d more o r l e s s contemporaneouslywiththeribbon-chertandlava.
Both p u r p l e a n d g r e e n l a v a s a r e w i d e l y d i s t r i b u t e d t h r o u g h .outthe.workings;they
a r e second i n o r d e r of abundance t o t h e
c h e r t , andinasmuch
as t h e y form t h e h o s t - r o c k for t h e c i n n a b a r ,
perhaps f i r s t i n importance.
The l a v a s a r e i n t e r b e d d e d w i t h t h e r i b b o n - c h e r t a n d t o o k
p a r ti nt h e
same i n t e n s ef o l d i n g .I n d i v i d u a l
beds of lava
range from 3 f e e t t o p o s s i b l y 1 0 0 f e e t i n t h i c k n e s s .
T h e r e a r e twomain rock-types, a p u r p l e l a v a t h a t
i s amygd a l o i d a l and a na p p l e - g r e e nl a v at h a t
i s f i n e , e v e n - g r a i n e d and
c o n t a i n s small b l a c k i n c l u s i o n s o f . c h i l l e d l a v a a p p r o x i m a t e l y
'1/16-inch in maximum d i m e n s i o n ; b o t h t y p e s a r e a n d e s i t i c
in
composition.
These two t y p e s h a v e b e e n s e p a r a t e l y
mapped, b u t t h e i r
contacts are very irregular, and often times
one l a v a c o n t a i n s
The s t r a t i g r a p h i c r e l a t i o n of t h e
f a u l t e dl e n s e s of t h e o t h e r .
one l a v a t o the o t h e r i s t h e r e f o r e n o t c l e a r .
Incontrasttothegreenlava,thepurplelava
i s hard
andmassive,both
on t h es u r f a c ea n du n d e r g r o u n d .
I t is usuall y f i n e - g r a i n e d andcontainsconspicuousamygdules
of c a l c i t e
rangingfrom 1/16- t o 1/32-inch i n diameter. The matrix f o r
t h e amygdules c o n s i s t s of a f e l t e d mass of a b u n d a n t f e l d s p a r
microlites with an interstitial
groundmass of decomposition
products,. of which m a g n e t i t e .is t h e most abundant .mineral.
an outcrop near t h e "Old.Tunne1,"tend t o
Some p h a s e s , s e e n i n
be extremely dense and where sheared, quite shaly;.this probablyrepresentstherapidly-cooledpart
of a flow.
-
74
-
The g r e e n l a v a i s u s u a l i y c o a r s e r - g r a i n e d , less massive
and more f r e q u e n t l y s h e a r e d t h a n t h e a m y g d a l o i d a l .
As a ret o b e r o t t e n and t o decoms u l t , o u t c r o p s of t h i s r o c k t e n d
p o s er e a d i l y .
The unweatheredrock
i s a p p l e - g r e e ni nc o l c u r ,
particularlyunderground,and'containsconspicuous.blackangul a rf r a g m e n t s of c h i l l e dl a v a .
I t i s h i g h l ya l t e r e d so t h a t
thin-sections usually consist
of a n i n d e f i n i t e a g g r e g a t e
of
leucoxene
c h l o r i t e , carbonate and c l i n o z o i s i t e ;c o n s i d e r a b l e
of i n c l u d was s e e n i n one s l i d e . The angular black fragments
of a v e r y f i n e l y - f e l t e d mass o f c h l o r i t i c
edlavaconsist
amygl a t h s . The g r e e n l a v a ' i s more h i g h l y s h e a r e d t h a n t h e
d a l o i d a l and f o r t h a t r e a s o n s e r v e d t o
a greaterextentas
a
host-rock f o r ' t h e c i n n a b a r .
Both l a v a s p r o b a b l y r e p r e s e n t f l o w s p o u r e d o u t i n p e r i o d s
t h a t a l t e r n a t e d w i t h those during which the beds of ribbon.chert were being deposited.
S e r p e n t i n eo c c u r s in Nos. 2 , 7 and 3A a d i t s , and a l s oo u t c r o p so u t s i d et h ep r e s e n tm a p - a r e a .W i d t h s
of s e r p e n t i n e as
i n t e r s e c t e d by these workings range from
20 f e e t t o 125 f e e t .
The s e r p e n t i n e a p p e a r s t o be i n t r u s i v e i n t o t h e surroundi n gc h e r t and l a v a . The c o n t a c t sa r ea l w a y ss t r o n g l y - f a u l t e d
and c r u s h i n g and s h e a r i n ga r ev e r ya b u n d a n t .
1n.No. 2 a d i t
beds of c h e r t w e r e s e e n t h a t ' w e r e b e n t
upwardstowards t h e serp e n t i n e , as i f i n r e s p o n s e t o u p t h r u s t i n g d u r i n g
emplacement
of t h e ' s e r p e n t i n e mass. Emplacement by i n t r u s i o n h a s been asc r i b e dt ot h es e r p e n t i v e dr o c k s ,P r e s i d e n ti n t r u s i v e s ,
of t h e
BridgeRiverarea,
by C a i r n e s : Walker and C o c k f i e l d ,a l s o sug' g e s t e d t h a t some of t h e s e r p e n t i n e s may be i n t r u s i v e (E
Bibliography). As e x p l a i n e da b o v e ,t h ep r e s e n tw r i t e rb e l i e v e st h a t
t h e s e r p e n t i n e on t h i s property i s anintrusive.body.
The s e r p e n t i n e i s -glossy, greenish-black i n colour and
massive, ht b a d l y f r a c t u r e d a n d w h e r e n o t t i m b e r e d , t h e w a l l s
of t h ew o r k i n g ss l o u g h - b a d l y .
The r o o k i s completely serp e n t i n i z e d and all t r a c e s of i t s original nature have been
destroyed.
'
F e l s i t eo c c u r si n . a n do u t c r o p sa b o v e
No. 3 A a d i t , a n d
alsooutcrops i n a l a r g e a r e a i n t h e v i c i n i t y
of No. 9 a d i t .
of a t l e a s t t h r e e
The v a r i o u s ' o c c u r r e n c e s i n d i c a t e t h e p r e s e n c e
d i f f e r e n tb o d i e si nt h e
map-area, one, i n No. 3 A a d i t , a second, immediatelysouth-west of t h e "Old Tunnel"and a t h i r d
n o r t h and .eastfrom No. 9 a d i t .
. T h e g e n e r a l d i s t r i b u t i o n of t h e o u t c r o p s and n a t u r e o:?
theoccurrencesin
No. .3 A a d i t s u g g e s t s i l l - l i k e r e l a t i o n s
-
77 -
t ot h ee n c l o s i n gr o c k s .
However, i n t h e v i c i n i t y of No. 3
t r e n c h f e l s i t e i s inslip-contactwithbeds
of c h e r t which
s t r i k ed i r e c t l yt o w a r d st h ef e l s i t e .
The o u t c r o p s o f f e l s i t e
thatliebothimmediatelynorth
from and e a s t from No. 9 a d i t
a r e hummocky and occasionally have adhering fragments
of dense
r o c ks i m i l a rt ol a v a .T h e s eo u t c r o p sa r eb e l i e v e dt or e p r e of a n i n t r u s i v e s i l l .
s e n tt h eu p p e rs u r f a c e
The o n l y e s t i m a t e of t h i c k n e s s e s of t h e s i l l s t h a t c o u l d
be made i s i n No. 3 A a d i t , where t h e f e l s i t e o c c u r r e n c e s i n d i c a t e a t h i c k n e s s of approximately 5 f e e t .
The f e l s i t e i s l i g h t - g r e y andt,hoseoccurrenceswithin
t h e map-area a r e f i n e , e v e n - g r a i n e d i n t e x t u r e ; p o r p h y r i t i c
f e l s i t e was s e e n i n o u t c r o p s s o u t h - e a s t e r l y a c r o s s
Mud Creek.
A c o m p a r a t i v e l yf r e s h - l o o k i n ga n d e s i t ed y k e ,
or s i l l , 4
feetthick,occursadjacenttothenortherlycontact
of t h e
. s e r p e n t i n ei n No. 2 a d i t . The rock i s c h a r a c t e r i z e d by andes i n e p h e n o c r y s t s , a few g l i s t e n i n g p h e n o c r y s t s o f b i o t i t e a n d
hornblendesetin
a fine-grainedgroundmass.
two mainareas.,one
area,
A r k o s i cs a n d s t o n eo c c u r si n
comprising a n o r t h - w e s t e r l y - t r e n d i n g "hogback"immediately
south-westerly f r o m a n d p a r a l l e l t o No. 4 c u t , and a second
a r e a , i n N o . , 2 c u t andimmediatelynorth-easterlyfrom
it.
The o u t c r o p s i n d i c a t e a p o s s i b l e s t r a t i g r a p h i c t h i c k n e s s
of approximately 30 f e e t f o r t h e f i r s t a r e a , and a minimum of
a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1 2 0 f e e t for t h e s e c o n d .
Tlie sandstone i s g r e y i n c o l o u r and medium t o evenI t c o n s i s t s of a n g u l a rg r a i n s
of quartz
g r a i n e di nt e x t u r e .
a l l c l o s e l y packed i n a brown,
and a n d e s i t i c l a v a - f r a g m e n t s
decomposed, t e x t u r e l e s s m a t r i x ; it may be a t u f f r a t h e r t h a n
a sandstone.
of f i n e l y Some of thesandstone-outcropscontainbands
laininatedshale,whichrangefrom
1 i n c h t o 25 f e e t i n w i d t h
w i t h i nt h em a s s i v et u f f .. T h es a n d . s t o n e
i s t o om a s s i v et o
show
for d i p and s t r i k e
b e d d i n g - p l a n e ss u f f i c i e n t l yw e l l - d e f i n e d
d e t e r m i n a t i o n s ,b u tt h ef i n e l y - l a m i n a t e ds h a l es e r v e sv e r y
w e l l for t h i s p u r p o s e .
Drag-foldsandbedding-planefaultsoccasionallyoccur
withintheshalebands.
The r e l a t i o n s h i p of t h e a r k o s i c s a n d s t o n e t o t h e o t h e r
rocks i s u n c e r t a i n . The abundance of s h e a r i n g i n t h e v i c i n i t y
-
78
-
of t h e c o n t a c t s b e t w e e w l a v a
and t h e n o r t h - e a s t e r l y a r e a of
sandstone, Suggests a f a u l t - c o n t a c t between t h e s e tworock-.
t y p e s .S c a r c i t y
of outcropsandlack
of bedding i n t h e v i - .
c i n i t y of t h e s o u t h - w e s t e r l y body prevents a d e t e r m i n a t i o n
of t h e r e l a t i o n of t h i s body of s a n d s t o n e t o t h e o t h e r r o c k types.
The r o c k s i n t h e map-areahavebeen
intensely folded,
p a r t i c u l a r l y . t h e c h e r t s , a n d l a v a s whichhavebeen
partly folded i n t os t e e p l y - o p p r e s s e di s o c l i n a lf o l d s .S t e e pd i p s
and
o v e r t u r n i n g of f o l d s p r e v a i l , b u t t h e e x t r e m e c o m p l e x i t y
of
t h ef o l d i n g ,l a c k
of d e f i n i t e s t r a t i g r a p h i c m a r k e r s , a n d p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e w i d e s p r e a d f a u l t i n g t o which t h e a r e a h a s b e e n
subject-d, have prevented thecomplete i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of t h e
f o l d i n g and t h e p r o j e c t i o n of f o l d s for a n y d i s t a n c e .
The rocks have been displaced and sheared by minor
beclding-plane faults within the lavas
and t h e c h e r t s and by major
f a u l t s which follow the lavas,
and may o r may not f o l l o w bedding-planes.
The b e d d i n g - p l a n e f a u l t s o c c u r c h i e f l y
at the contacts
between t h e l a v a and c h e r t and g i v e r i s e t o s i n g l e - s l i p cont a c t s or t o c o n t a c t s of crushed and sheared rock between the
two. The f a u l t - m a t e r i a l i s seldomverythick,ranging
from
a mere f i l m of gouge t o crush-zones 6 i n c h e s t h i c k .
'Zhere t h e
chertcontainsanyquantity
of a r g i l l a c e o u s m a t e r i a l a s p a r t ings, folding has resulted in considerable slippage within the
of c h e r t &.nd
a r g i l l i t e , so t h a t s e c t i o n s of s u c h r o c k c o n s i s t
slickensjdedcarbonaceousmaterial.
Two zones of m a j o r f a u l t i n g t r a v e r s e t h e r o c k s w i t h i n
t h e map-area.
The f i r s t i s i n No. 2 a d i t where a zone of i n t e n s e f a u l t i n g and c r u s h i n g e x t e n d s a l o n g t h e d r i f t a d j a c e n t
t o t h e r a i s e , and c o n t i n u e s a c r o s s i n t o t h e
main d r i f t f r o m
218.This
s t a t i o n 2 1 2 p a s t 214 and i n t o t h e w a l l n e a r s t a t i o n
faultbranchesatstation
212 ( F i g . 7 ) t h e mainbranchcontinuing as first described and the minor branch going northw e s t e r l yp a s ts t a t i o n s ~ 213, 215 and 216 ( P i g . 7). The secc,nd
f a u l t - z o n eo c c u r si n
numbers 5 and 3 A a d i t s . I n No. 5 a d i t
it c r o s s e s t h e d r i f t n e a r t h e w i n z e a t s t a t i o n
504 ( F i g . 7 ) ,
and i t s a p p a r e n t c o n t i n u a t i o n i s found i n No. 3 A a d i te x t e n d ingeasterlyandsouth-easterly
from s t a t i o n 305 p a s t 308 t:o
31.1 (Fig. 7 ) . A p a r a l l e lf a u l te x t e n d s
from s t a t i o n 306 t o
310(Fig.
7 ) i n t h e same working.
The f a u l t s a r e zones of extreme shearing which range from
6 i n c h e st o ' 10 f e e t i n t n i c k n e s s .
The zones of c r u s h i n ga r e
localized in green lava rather than in the ribbon-chert.
-
79
-
Zones of faulting' and of s h e a r e d r o c k , n o t n e c e s s a r i l y
related,tothepreviously-describedfaults,occurintherockt y p e s ,a d j a c e n t' t ot h es e r p e n t i n e ' o c c u r r e n c e s .
Thesezones
of f a u l t i n g wereprobablyformed
a s a r e s u l t of t h e i n t r u s i o n
of t h e . s e r p e n t i n e . .
A raisehasbeehdriven'fromnearstation
209 ( F i g . 7 )
i n No. 2 a d i t t h r o u g h t o t h e s u r f a c e , a d i s t a n c e o f approximately 1 8 0 f e e t from t h e f l o o r of t h e a d i' tN. e l l - m i n e r a l i z e d
l a v a canbe s e e n i n t h e r a i s e a t 10 f e e t and 3 5 f e e t f r o m
NO. 2
adit; timbers prevented thorough examination
of t h e walls of
t h e r a i s e , but it i s r e p o r t e d t h a t w e l l - m i n e r a l i z e d r o c k
Bxt e n d s from No. 2 a d i t f o r 78 f e e t up t h e r a i s e : a small amount
of cinnabar was s e e n a t 1 0 0 f e e t
up.Takingintoconsi.deration
t h e south-westward dip of t h e main s l i p - p l a n e s i n t h e r t i n e r a l i z e df a u l t - z o n et h a te x t e n d sn o r t h - w e s t e r l y
i n No. 2 a d i t f r o m
s t a t i o n 209,. it i s p r o b a b l e t h a t a t e l e v a t i o n s i n t h e r a i s e
above35 f e e t f r o m t h e f l o o r
of t h e a d i t , t h e main f a u l t - z o n e
and t h e r e f o r e t h e m a i n m i n e r a l i z e d z o n e , l i e s t o t h e n o r t h - e a s t
of t h e r a i s e ; t h e
l a s t i n t e n s e f a u l t i n g was seen on the 35-foot
landing. On t h i sl a n d i n gt h ew e l l - m i n e r a l i z e dr o c kr a n g e sf r o m
a width of 10 f e e t between f a u l t - w a l l s on t h e n o r t h - w e s t e r l y
end t o . 1 8 i n c h e s i n t h e s o u t h - w e s t e r l y r a c e a p p r o x i m a t e l y
25
f e e td i s t a n t .
Bad groundpreventedsampling
t h i sm a t e r i a l .
A t t h e6 0 - f o o tl a n d i n g
no cinnabar was v i s i b l e .
C i n n a b a ro c c u r s( 1 )c h i e f l yi nt h es h e a r - p l a n e s
of t h e
l a v aa s s o c i a t e dw i t ht h ef a u l t - z o n e s ,
( 2 ) l e s sa b u n d a n t l ya s
3/8 t o 1/2-inchkidneys
o f m i n e r a l i n t h e m i d d l e of c a l c i t e
v e i n s 1/4 t o 1 i n c h i n t h i c k n e s s , ( 3 ) o n l y o c c a s i o n a l l y a s
discrete grains within the rock-mass.
B o t h p y r i t e and c a l c i t e a r e commonly a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e
cinnabar;butin
most c a s e s t h e c i n n a b a r
i s laterthanboth
t h e s e m i n e r a l s . . A small amount o f native mercury was found by
thewriterinthewinzein
No. 5 a d i t . . I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e c i n n a b a r - c , a l c i t ev e i n l e t s .q u a r t z - c a l c i t e ,a n dc h l o r i t e - c a l c i t e
veinletsoccasionallyoccurinthelavas.
The a b o v e m i n e r a l s a r e a b s e n t i n a l l t h e o t h e r r o c k types,none
of which,exceptingtheserpentine,havingbeen
shearedsufficiently t o providethe.fracture-planesapparently necessary f o r the mineralizing solutions.
T h e . o r e - b o d i e s a r e t h e more h e a v i l y m i n e r a l i z e d p a r t s
of t h e s h e a r - z o n e s w i t h i n t h e l a v a s ,
and i n some instances,
s e c t i o n s of l a v a sa d j a c e n tt ot h e s e ' .A p a r tf r o mt h el o c a l i z a t i o n of t h e g e n e r a l c i n n a b a r - m i n e r a l i z a t i o n
by the shear-zones,
t h e r e d o e s n o t appear t o b e a n y l o c a l s t r u c t u r a l c o n t r o l o v e r
-
80
-
t h eo c c u r r e n c e of t h eh i g h e r - g r a d es e c t i o n s .. D e l i m i t a t i o n
of t h e s e for mining purposes can only be done by extensive
sampling and then only approximately.
Cinnabar i s found. i n a l l theundergroundworkings.
The
a r e a s of m i n e r a l i z a t i o n and , r e p r e s e n t a t i v e a s s a y s a r e shown
on Fig. 7. The a r e a s o r zones o f b e s tm i n e r a l i z a t i o no c c u r
( 1 ) i n No. 2 a d i t e x t e n d i n g n o r t h - . w e s t e r l y f r o m t h e r a i s e
to
s t a t i o n 218, a d i s t a n c e o f ' 200 f e e t , and extending upfard:; t o
and ranging i n width from
t h e 3 5 - f o o t l a n d i n g i n t h er a i s e ,
1 8i n c h e st o1 0f e e t ,
( 2 ) i n No. 5 a d i te x t e n d i n g f r o m s t a t i o n
501 n o r t h - w e s t e r l y f o r approximately 70 f e e t t o s t a t i o n 503
and approximating 6 f e e t i n w i d t h , ( 3 ) i n
No. 3 a d i f , two para l l e l zonesextendingeasterlyfromstations
306and305
t o
n e a r s t a t i o n 310, a d i s t a n c e of E O f e e t and approximating 5
f e e te a c hi nw i d t h .A r e a so u t s i d et h e s e
main m i n e r a l i z e d
s h e a r - z o n e sc o n t a i nc i n n a b a r ,b u ti nw i d e l y - s c a t t e r e d
and
very small amounts.
The samples taken by the
w r i t e r and extensivesampling
done by t h e company, i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e amount of m a t e r i a l
o r more i n mercury, i n t h e s e s h e a r a v e r a g i n g0 . 5p e rc e n t .
by t h e
zones i s small. The o n l yb e t t e r - g r a d em a t e r i a ls e e n
writer was. in the raise
on t h e 3 5 - f o o t l e v e l ,
where it ex-.
tendedalongthebackfor
25 f e e t andrangedfrom18inches
t o1 0f e e ti nt h i c k n e s s .
I t i s u n d e r s t o o dt h a t mostof
the
m a t e r i a l which was run t h r o u g h t h e f u r n a c e came f r o m t h i s v i
oinity.
Productionhasconsisted
of 1 0 f l a s k s of mercury from a
Gould 1 0 - t o n , o i l - f i r e d r o t a r y - k i l n e r e c t e d i n t h e
autumn of
autumnand
1938. The p l a n t( P l a t e I V B ) o p e r a t e dd u r i n gt h e
closed down i n February, 1939. F i f t y ' t o n s
w i n t e r of 1938,but
of? brokenore i s r e p o r t e d t o b e a v a i l a b l e i n t h e o r e - b i n s
and
o r e - c h u t e sa s of June 23, 1939.
The p r o p e r t y h a s b e e n i n a c t i v e
man sinceFebruary,
1939.
CONARDON MERCURY
MINES.
claims.
and i n c h a r g e of a watch-
The Conardon
Mercury
Mines ( o f f i c e al;
615 'West P e n d e r S t r e e t , Vancouver) owns
t h eL i l l o m e r Nos. 1 t o 6 group o f mineral
The 'property i s s i t u a t e d (see F r o n t i s p i e c e ) on t h e s o u t h westwardslopes of t h e d i v i d e betweenPearson and TaylorCreeks,
a t elevations ranging from approximately
6,000 f e e t t o 7,000
f e e t . The workingsarereached
by approximately 6 m i l e s of
good pack-horse t r a i l t h a t l e a v e s t h e
Tyaughton Lake road
-
EL
-
.
close to the southerly
end o f t h a t l a k e andproceedsnorthw e s t e r l y on a good g r a d e t o t h e p r o p e r t y .
The workingsthems e l v e s a r e r e a c h e d by a t r a i l t h a t b r a n c h e s from t h i s main
t r a i l ,a ta p p r o x i m a t e l y
5 m i l e s ,a ta no l dc a b i nt h a t
is
s i t u a t e d a d j a c e n t t o and on t h e s o u t h e r l y s i d e of t h e t r a i l .
The b r a n c h - t r a i l l e a d s n o r t h - e a s t e r l y
up a s e r i e s of good
switchbacks for a d i s t a n c e of approximately 1 m i l e i n t h e
open; a l p i n e c o u n t r y t o t h e w o r k i n g s ; t h e
main t r a i l goes
westerly and north-westerly past the cabin
and e v e n t u a l l y t o
thenorthernslope
of Taylor basin.
’
The w o r k i n g s a r e on andabovetimber-line;open,alpine
meadows, & a l l clumps of dwarf-balsam and s p r u c e and rocky
r i d g e sc h a r a c t e r i z i n gt h es l o p e s .
The w o r k i n g sc o n s i s t of
severalopen-cutsinand
on t h e n o r t h - e a s t e r l y s i d e of a southe a s t e r l y - t r e n d i n g draw,which
l e a d s i n t o a much l a r g e r s o u t h w e s t e r l y - t r e n d i n gv a l l e y .
An a d i t , now caved,hasalsobeen
d r i v e n n o r t h e r l y from a p o i n t i n t h e bottom of t h e draw.
’
.
A t t h e t i m e of t h e w r i t e r ’ s v i s i t t o t h e p r o p e r t y ( J u n e
25, 1 9 3 9 ) ,t h e draur was a l m o s tf i l l e dw i t hd e e p ,p a c k e d
snow
and t h e s u r r o u n d i n g a r e a w i t h
5 inches of f r e s h l y - f a l l e n snow.
The f o l l o w i n g d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e w o r k i n g s i s , t h e r e f o r e , t a k e n
from a r e p o r t made by V. Eardley-Wilmot for t h e Department of
Mines,Ottawa,datedOctober3,1938;
t h e d a t e of t h e examinat i o nb e i n g August 19, 1938:
“The rocks a r e m a i n l y q u a r t z i t e , greenstone, and
a r g i l l i t e . The main workings are o n one s i d e of a s h a l l o w ’ d r y r a v i n e and c o n s i s t of four c u t s i n a zone of
greenstonewhichoverlaysquartzite.Thesecutscover
a l e n g t h o f about100feetand
a v e r t i c a l d i s t a n c e of
about 20 f e e t .
“No cinnabar was n o t e d i n t h e t o p t h r e e c u t s , t h e
h i g h e s t . o f w h i c h i s p a r t l y in a r g i l l i t e , but i n t h e lowe s t and most s o u t h e r l y . c u t t r a c e s and v e i n l e t s c a r r y i n g
A few t o n s of s e l e c t e d o r e f r o m
themine’ralwereseen.
up t o one s i d e . A s i s
t h el a t t e rc u th s v eb e e np i l e d
evidencedfromthis’dump,
a c a l c i t e v e i n of high grade
o r e , i n p l a c e s up t o l/Z-inch of s o l i dc i n n a b a r ,m u s t
havebeenencountered.and
goodhand
specimenscanbesea local
l e c t e d . However, it a p p e a r sa s if t h i s wereonly
concentration since ‘the veinlets actually
no1.v i n p l a c e
a r e v e r y t h i n andlean:Also;
on t h i s dump t h e r e ‘ i s a
c o n s i d e r a b l e amount of reddish-brown and streaked rock.
as
This appears as i f it h a d b e e n e r r o n e o u s l y s e t a s i d e
beingcinnabar.
-
82
-
"Justbelow, an a d i t h a s b e e n d r i v e n
for a d i s t a n c e
of about 90 f e e t under t h e above c u t . A l i t t l e c r o s s a t t h e end o f t h i s a d i t .
c u t t i n g and r a i s i n g h a s b e e n d o n e
Only t h e f a i n t e s t t r a c e of mercury was n o t e d i n t h e u n derground workings, but in any case this
work i s i n
q u a r t z i t e and below the greenstone which appears
to dip
fairly flatly to the south-west.
"On t h e g e n t l y s l o p i n g s o i l
andgrass-coveredground
t o t h e e a s t of t h e aboveworkings,
a number of s c a t t e r e d
trench'es and small p i t s havebeen made, e x p o s i n g a l t e r e d
examgreenstone and a r g i l l i t e . A l l t h e s eo p e n i n g sw e r e
ined,butcinnabar
was n o t found i n a n y of them.
"Nine o r t e n y e a r s a g o ,
a s m a l l r e t o r t was e r e c t e d
about 1,000 f e e t below theworkings.
Very l i t t l e o r e was
putthrough.Thereare
a c o n s i d e r a b l e number of unassembled t i l e s and p i p e s s t i l l l y i n g a b o u t .
"The developmentwork t o d a t e i n d i c a t e s t h a t c i n nabaroccursincalciteveinletstowardsthelowercont,act
of a comparatively small zone of f l a t l y d i p p i n g a l t e r e d
o r shearedgreenstone, and t h a t t h e s e v e i n l e t s a r e e r r a t i c a s t h e y may b e s t r o n g i n
oneround of d r i f t i n g and
almostcompletelydisappearinthenext.
t r a i l a f&l hund" S e v e r a ls m a l lc r e e k sc r o s st h e
r e d f e e t below t h e aboveworkings.Gravels
from these
of cinnabar
werepanned
and a l m o s t i n e v e r y c a s e c o l o u r s
were found
.
" I t i s l i k e l y ,t h e r e f o r e ,t h a tc i n n a b a r - b e a r i n g
zon'es occur somewhere t o t h e s o u t h and s o u t h - e a s t of t h e
f r o m them. Such o r e
presentworkings,
and n o t v e r y f a r
p r o b a b l yo c c u r sw i t h i ng r e e n s t o n eb o d i e s ,p a r t i c u l a r l y
near their contact with quartzite.
"Intensive panning and following
up t h e above i s
recommended rather than continued development
of t h e
s m a l l o r e zone of t h e p r e s e n t w o r k i n g s . "
PHILLIPS' CINNABAR
SHOWINGS.
Edwin P h i l l i p s of Minto C i t yh a s t a k s d
and owns ( a s of October, 1939) t h e Ci:?nabar Nos. 1 t o 4, t h e Tyax Nos. 11 a:?d
1 2 and t h e Sandy Nos. 2 t o 8 m i n e r a l c l a i m s i n Tyaughton Crb3ek
Valley.
"
"
The c l a i m s c o v e r g r o u n d t h a t l i e s
on t h e e a s t e r l y s i d e
of Tyaughton Creek and extends southerly from Mercury Creek,,
- 83
-
a t r i b u t a r y f l o w i n g w e s t e r l y i n t o TyaughtonCreek (see Fronti s p i e c e j . The F h i l l i p s c a b i n i s a t a ne l e v a t i o n of 3 , 0 8 5f e e t
on t h e u p p e r o r e a s t e r l y s i d e of t h e r o a d a t a point approxiMercuryCreek-crossing.
mately 2,000 f e e t s o u t h e r l y f r o m t h e
The p r o p e r t y may be reached by motor-road f r o m Mintc C i t y by
f o l l o w i n g t h e Tyaughton Lake road up TaughtonCreek;
the dist a n c e f r o m Minto C i t y t o P h i l l i p s ' c a b i n
i s approximately14.5
miles..
The h i l l s i d e i n t h e v i c i n i t y of t h e showings i s s t e e p
b u tt h es l o p e sa r e
open, g r a s s y or talus-coveredandexcept
f o r a few outcrops, are covered with
a t h i n m a n t l e o f overburden.
by E.
Severalsmall,open-cutsandoneshortadithavebeen
dug
P h i l l i p si np r o s p e c t i n gf o rc i n n a b a r
on h i sc l a i m s .
A t a place1,500feetsoutherly
from t h e c a b i n , P h i l l i p s
a directionnorth15degreeseast
hasdrivenanopen-cutin
f o r 25 f e e ti nf i n e - g r a i n e d ,d i a b a s i cg r e e n s t o n e .
Towards t h e
f a c e of t h e c u t t h e r o c k
i s c u t by t h r e e n o r t h - e a s t e r l y - s t r i k i n g and northrard-dipping crush-zones, which range from
1/2 t o
2 i n c h e s i n w i d t h and c o n t a i n a l i t t l e c a r b o n a t e a n d s t i b n i t e ,
b u t no c i n n a b a r . Iiowever, g r a i n s of c i n n a b a r and r e a l g a ro c c u rd i s s e m i n a t e dt h r o u g ht h em a s s i v eg r e e n s t o n e .
A sample
nil;
t a k e na c r o s s 1 f o o t o f suchmaterialassayed:Mercury,
a r s e n i c , nil.
Several cuts have been
P h i l l i p s c' a b i n .
dugabove
or north-easterlyfrom
A t a p o i n t 100 f e e t aboveand n o r t h 75 d e g r e e s e a s t from
thecabin, a cuthasbeendrivennorth-easterly
for 5 feet into
feldspar-porphyry.
No cinnabar was s e e ni nt h i sc u t .
A t a p o i n t1 8 5f e e ta b o v ea n dn o r t h
75 degrees east from
the cabin a cut has been driven in
a d i r e c t i o n n o r t h 80 deg r e e s e a s t f o r 18 f e e t , m o s t l y t h r o u g h
a m i x t u r e of s o i l and
t a l u s .S h e a r e da r g i l l i t e
and r i b b o n - c h e r to c c u ri nt h ef a c e .
No cinnabar was s e e n i n t h i s c u t .
A t a p o i n t 360 f e e t aboveandnorth
75 d e g r e e s e a s t f r o m
t h e c a b i n , a c u t , 6 f e e t t o 10 f e e t i n width,hasbeendriven
i n a d i r e c t i o n n o r t h 75 d e g r e e se a s t f o r 18 f e e t . For a d i s t a n c e o f 1 4 , f e e t f r o m t h e rrouth, t h ec u te x p o s e ss h e a r e d ,d e composed l a v a , and f o r t h e r e m a i n i n g
4 f e e tt ot h ef a c e ,s h e a r e d
A l l t h er o c k sa r eb a d l y
a r g i l l i t e andbrokenribbon-chert.
shearedandcontorted.
The c o n t a c tb e t w e e nt h el a v aa n dt h e
60
a r g i l l i t e and c h e r t s t r i k e s n o r t h 1 0 d e y e e s w e s t a n d d i p s
-
84 -
-- ..
degreeseastward.
Of t h er o c k s ,o n l yt h el a v ac o n t a i n sa n y
c i n n a b a r .T h i so c c u r sa st h i ns h e e t sa l o n gt h es h e a r - p l a n e s
and asrimming-materialaround1/4-inchcarbonate-quartz
amygof l a v a
d u l e s i n u c s h e a r s d p a r t s o f t h e l a v a . A 3-footsample
t a k e n outward from t h ec o n t a c t assayed: Meroury, n i l , and a
5-fOOt sample t a k e n a s a c o n t i n u a t i o n from t h i s , outward,assayed:Mercury,0.03percent.
A sample of high-gradeore
from t h e dump assayed: Mercury,0.47percent.
A t a p o i n t on t h e e a s t e r l y s i d e of t h e r o a d 8 0 0 f e e t
northerly from Phillips’ cabin an adit has been driven in
a
d i r e c t i o n s o u t h 82 d e g r e e se a s t f o r 20 f e e t . The a d i t - s e c t i o n
of t h e working i s a c r o s s s h e a r e d a r g i l l i t e and r i b b o n - c h e r t :
t h e g e n e r a l s t r i k e of b o t h t h e s h e a r i n g and bedding being north
30 d e g r e e s w e s t a n d t h e d i p v e r t i c a l .
Theopen-cutleadingup
totheportal
o f t h ea d i te x p o s e sp u r p l e ,a m y g d a l o i d a ll a v a .
No cinnabar was seen i n any of t h e s e r o c k s .
LORNTZSEN MERCURY
SHOJfINGS.
EgilLorntzsenhasprospected
ground i n
t hvei c i n i t y
of t hr oe a d
and t h e bed of
MercuryCreek (for l o c a t i o n r e f e r t o desc r i p t i o n of P h i l l i p s ’c i n n a b a rs h o w i n g s )
f o r c i n n a b a r . In
only one cut
has he found more than t h e odd speck of cinnabar.
T h i s c u t i s on t h e e a s t s i d e of t h e r o a d a t a p o i n t 330 f e e t
southerlyfromtheMercuryCreek-crossing.
The cuthasbeen
driven 5 feetnorth-easterlyacrossshearedpurplevolcanics;
t h i s sheared rock contains
a few t h i n f i l m s of cinnabar along
t h e s h e a r - p l a n e s , a sampletakenalong
5 f e e t on t h e s o u t h e a s ts i d e of t h ec u ta s s a y e d :
Mercury,
&.
AlberniCanal
The only occurrence near Alberni Canal
s i d e and known a s t h e S e c h a r t p r o p e r t y .
i s on t h e n o r t h
SECHART MERCURY
PROPERTY.
of t h e S e c h a r t
Thispropertyconsists
Crown-granted mineral claim
known as Lot
No. 3, i n t h e ClayoquotMiningDivision,
A l b e r n id i s t r i c t .
The a s s e s s e d owners a r e : MercuryMines,
Limited, 212 BelmontHouse,
V i c t o r i a ;C a n a d i a na u i c k s i l v e r
Company, Limited, 2551 Alma Road, Vancouver:Caples
and Shannon,RogersBuilding,
470 G r a n v i l l eS t r e e t , Vancouver.
The e x i s t e n c e of mercury a t Sechart seems t o havebeen
for t h e Annual Report,Geological Sur,known a s e a r l y a s 1 8 9 0
veyCanada,
1890, p. 65-R, c o n t a i n st h ef o l l o w i n gs t a t e m e n t :
“Nativemercuryhasbeen
met w i t h , i n s i t u , i n t h e f o r m
of
minute globules scattered through
a t h i n seam of cinnabar
traversing a greenishfelsite,occurringattheentranceto
-
85
-
SeshartChannel,Barclay
Columbia. "
Sound, Vancouver I s l a n d ,B r i t i s h
A 'claim covering the ground
was Crown-grantedunder t h e
name Secharton March 30, 1892. By 1911considerabledevelopment-workhad
beendone on t h e showings,staked a t t h a t t i m e
a s t h e Balmoralgroup..
The groundappears t o have been reCrown-granted i n 1 9 2 1 u n d e r t h e name Sechart,and it h a s r e mained s o u n t i l t h e p r e s e n t .
The p r o p e r t y seems t o have l a i n more or l e s s i d l e until
1 9 2 7 , when it was a c q u i r e d by t h e MercuryMines,Limited,incorporatedinOctober
of t h a t y e a r .
I n 1928, t h e h o l d i n g s of MercuryMines,Limited,wereacq u i r e d by t h e CanadianQuicksilverMines,Limited,incorporated
i n August of t h a t y e a r . I n
1929, some deveiopmentwork was
of J. Boss.There
i s no o f f i c i a l r e d o n eu n d e rt h ed i r e c t i o n
cord,butthepresentshaftappearstohavebeen
sunk e i t h e r
i n 1929 or shortly thereafter.
The remains o f what appears t o have been the foundation
of a n o l d r e t o r t
and a c o n s i d e r a b l e q u a n t i t y of carbonate rock
by t h e w r i t e r .
However, no
aroundtheseremains,wereseen
o f f i c i a lr e c o r d so fp r o d u c t i o nc a nb ef o u n d .
The p r o p e r t y i.s on t h e n o r t h e r n s h o r e
of Barclay Sound
on t h ew e s t e r nc o a s t
or" Vancouver I s l a n d . An o l d camp, cons i s t i n g oftwo
b u i l d i n g s i n a bad s t a t e o f r e p a i r ,
s t i l l exists a t a point on the shore on the easterly side
of t h e mouth
o f a s m a l ls t r e a m .T h i ss t r e a me m p t i e si n t oB a r c l a y
Sound app r o x i m a t e l y t h r e e - q u a r t e r s o f a m i l e s o u t h - e a s t e r l y from t h e
oldwhaling-stationthatcomprisesSechart;thewhaling
stat i o n andaccompanyingbuildingshavelongsincebeenabandoned.
on Mondays or r'ridays by a mailS e c h a r t may b e r e a c h e d e i t h e r
boatthatruns
between P o r t A l b e r n i and E c l u e l e t ; o r bylaunch
fromBamfield on t h e s o u t h e r l y s i d e
of Barclay Sound.
The w o r k i n g s a r e a p p r o x i m a t e l y t h r e e - e i g h t h s
of a m i l e
.back f r o m t h e camp, and a r e on t h e e a s t e r n s i d e o f t h e same
stream. They may bereached by f o l l o w i n ga no l ds h i n g l e - b o l t
road from the
camp for approximately a q u a r t e r o f a m i l e back
from t h e beach and t h e n c e by a b r a n c h ' o f t h i s r o a d t h a t
foll o w s t h e main stream for t h e r e m a i n i n gd i s t a n c e .
Near t h e
beach t h i s o l d road i s .very badlyovergrown by r a s p b e r r y and
l a r g e s a l a l bushesand t m a r d t h e w o r k i n g s by a densegrowth
of t h i m b l e b e r r y b u s h e s ; t h e
way i s n o t o n l y d i f f i c u l t t o
follow, b u t t h e r o a d h a r d t o f i n d .
- $6 -
The ground i s r e l a t i v e l y f l a t betweenthebeach
and t h e
workings;butbehind
o r n o r t h e r l y f r o m them, it begins t o
r i s e s t e e p l y towardthehilltopsapproximately
1 112 miles
inland.Immediatelydown-stream
from t h es h a f t - w o r k i n gt h e
l o w and c o n s i s t e n t i r e l y o f sand and
banks of t h e . c r e e k a r e
s i l t , b u t up-stream the c r e e k - v a l l e y i s deep,rocky
and cany o n - l i k e . Down'-stream from t h es h a f to n l ys i n k i n g
i s possible,
but.up-stream,aditscanbedrivenintothecreekbanks,
a:.though the amount of backswouldbebut
l i t t l e more t h a n 100
f e e t f o r a d i s t a n c e of a t l e a s t 1,000 f e e t u p - s t r e a m .
The w o r k i n g s c o n s i s t of s e v e r a l a d i t s and a s h a f t a s
from No. ,5 adfit,
shown on Fig. 8 . h s h o r td i s t a n c eu p - s t r e a m
two s h o r t a d i t s and oneopen-outhavebeendriven;theadits
wereinaccessibleatthetime
of t h e w r i t e r ' s e x a m i n a t i o n .
.
.
I n t h e immediate v i c i n i t y o f t h e w o r k i n g s t h e r o c k s c o n s i s t o f andesitic.greenstone,gabbroandbothcarbonatized
and
of t h eg r e e n s t o n e .Q u a r t z s i l i c i f i e dp h a s e s ,p r e s u m a b l y ,
d i o r i t e l i e s , n o r t h - w e s t e r l y of t h e g r e e n s t o n e ; t h e c o n t a c t
between t h e two rocks lying approximately
400 f e e t n o r t h - w e s t e r l y of No, 5 a d i t and s t r i k i n g i n a g e n e r a l n o r t h - e a s t e r l y Clire c t i o n . T r a v e r s e s n o r t h - w e s t e r l y i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e w i d t h of
t h e q u a r t z - d i o r i t e mass i n t h e v i c i n i t y of t h i s p r o p e r t y is
approximately 1 m i l e . Where o b s e r v a b l e ,t h ea r e a
of c o n t a c t
between t h e q u a r t z - d i o r i t e and g r e e n s t o n e c o n s i s t s of badlybrecciated
greenstone,
veined
by g r a n i t i cm a t e r i a lT. h i s
i'eat u r e is particularly noticeable along the
beachbetween t h e
c r e e k t h a t f l o w s i n t o t h e ocean a t t h e o l d c a m p - s i t e and t h e
old whaling-station, up the creek-bottom up-stream
from t h e
f o r approximatelyhalf a m i l e , I t
workingsandnorth-easterly
may b e n o t e d t h a t t h e q u a r t z - d i o r i t e - g r e e n s t o n e c o n t a c t c r o s s e s
t h e c r e e k i n a north-easterly direction approximately a quart e r of a m i l e u p - s t r e a m f r o m t h e w o r k i n g s .
The a n d e s i t i c g r e e n s t o n e , i n t h e v i c i n i t y o f . t h e w o r k h g s
i s a massive, dark-green rock possessing
andwhereunsltered,
a u n i f o r m ,f i n e - g r a i n e dt e x t u r e .
The gabbro i s a s i m i l a r l y m a s s i v e , d a r k - g r e e n r o c k
but
it possesses a v e r yc o a r s e - g r a i n e dt e x t u r e .
Under t h em i c r o s cope t h eg a b b r o i s s e e n t o c o n s i s t o f coarse,calcicplagiclc l a s e and coarse hornblende; both minerals have been badly-.
s e r i c i t i z e d and c a r b o n a t i z e d .
The q u a r t z - d i o r i t e , a s s e e n u p - ' s t r e a m
from t h e workings
and f o r 1 m i l e n o r t h e r l y i s l i g h t i n c o l o u r and f i n e - g r a i n e d ;
t o a relatively
thequartz-dioriteoutcropsprobablybelong
small.intrusion rather than to
one o f b a t h o l i t h i c p r o p o r t i o n s
-
87
-
5
6
7
8
9
iEGEND
Andesitic greenstone
Gabbro
Lmmo
rn
Fig. 8. Plan of workings at Sechart cinnabar property.
Ankeritized greenstone, which
w i l l b e r e f e r r e d t o as
carbonate-rock, i s a m a s s i v e , f i n e - t o
medium-grainedrock
t h a t p o s s e s s e s on t h e w e a t h e r e d s u r f a c e a conspicuous buffbrown c o l o u r , b u t on f r e s h s u r f a c e s a l i g h t - g r e y c o l o u r ; t h e
brown c o l o u r on weathered surfaces i s due t o o x i d a t i o n of i r o n
i n t h ea n k e r i t i cc a r b o n a k e C
. a r b o n a t e - r o c ko c c u r s :i n
Nos. 2,
3 and 5 a d i t s , i n o u t c r o p s a l o n g
and i n t h e bed of t h e c r e e k ,
300 f e e t beyond No. 5 a d i t ,
andextendsnorth-easterlyabout
then apparently dies out.
S i l i c i f i e dg r e e n s t o n eo c c u r s
i n No. 2 a d i t . I t i s a
massive,dense,chertyrock,consisting
of a b u n d a n tf i n e grained quartz and c a r b o n a t e and a l i t t l e c h l o r i t e a s r e l i c t
material from the original greenstone.
The r o c k i n No. 1 a d i t i s badlyshearedanddecomposed.
The r o c k i s f i n e - g r a i n e d , and shaly,because of olosely-spaced
shear-planes.
I t c o n s i s t s o f abundant yellow-green to colourl e s sc h l o r i t e and k a o l i n , and l i m o n i t e . The decomposition i s
dueonly i n p a r t t o a l t e r a t i o n by s u r f a c e w a t e r s . A l t e r a t i o n
by m i n e r a l i z i n g s o l u t i o n s p r o c e e d i n g f r o m t h e
numerous shearmass i s c o n s i d e r e d l a r g e l y r e s p o n s i b l e
?lanesinthissheared
f o r t h e decomposed n a t u r e of t h i s rock.
The r o c k s a r e c u t
by f o u r main f a u l t - z o n e s , one i n No. 1
a d i t , a second i n No. 2 a d i t , a t h i r d i n No. 4 and a f o u r t h i n
No. 5. The l o c a t i o n s and a t t i t u d e s of t h e s e f a u l t s a r e
shown
-
88
-
.
on Fig. . 8 .
The f a u l t - z o n e i n ,No. 1 a d i t i s t h e f u l l l e n g t h of t h e
a d i ti nw i d t h .
The m a t e r i a l i s notbadlycrushed,but
it has
beenshearedintomaterial
of f l a k y o r s h a l y h a b i t by t h e many
closely-spacedshear-planes.Cinnabar
was s e e nt oo c c u ra l o n g
t h e s es h e a r - p l a n e s . '
The rock i s sheared, and although gouge
i s absent,theshearedrock
is consideredtobepart
of a f a u l t zone.
The f a u l t - z o n e i n No. 2 a d i t rangesfrom 1 f o o t t o 4 f e e t
i n w i d t h , and l i e s between t h e s i l i c i f i e d g r e e n s t o n e andpres u m a b l y , l a t e r . g a b b r o . A small amount of cinnabar was s e e n
it
along the shear-planes within this fault-zone, otherwise
had not been mineralized
by s o l u t i o n s .
The f a u l t - z o n e i n No. 4 a d i t i s 1 2 f e e t i n w i d t h and
l i e se n t i r e l yw i t h i ng a b b r o .
No cinnabar was s e e n i n t h i s
fault-zone.
The f a u l t - z o n e i n No. 5 a d i t is only 1 footwide,but
within this width the rock has been intensely crushed to
mat e r i a l o f n e a r l yg o u g e d i k ef i n e n e s s .
A small amountof
cinnabar was s e e n a l o n g t h e s h e a r - s l i p s i n t h i s f a u l t .
Mineralizing solutions have effected the widespread ankeri t i z a t i o n , and l e s s w i d e s p r e a d s i l i c i f i c a t i o n , s e r i c i t i z a t i o n
and o h l o r i t i z a t i o n o f r o c k s i n t h e g e n e r a l v i c i n i t y
of t h e
northerly-strikingshear-zones;therocksalteredintheabove
ways havealreadybeendescribed.Subsequent
t o theseproc e s s e s and'subsequent t o mostof t h e f a u l t i n g , o i n n a b a r - b e a r i n g s o l u t i o n s h a v ed e p o s i t e dc i n n a b a ra l o n gt h es h e a r - p l a n e s
of some of t h e f a u l t s .
Cinnabarappears t o havebeen m o s t
abundantlydepositedintheshear-planesof.the
zone i n No* 1
a d i t and i n theoutcropbetween
No. 1 and No. 2 a d i t s a t a
placewheretheshear-zone
i s a d j a c e n t t o , or i n c o n t a c t w i t h ,
of No. 1. The s t r i k e of t h i s c o n t a c t i s
' t h es i l i c i f i e dr o c k
n o r t h 35 degrees w e s t and t h e d i p 50 degrees south-westward.
Eighteensamples,ranginginweight
f r o m 5 l b s . t o 15
lbs.,each,weretakenfrom.theshowings.
The l o c a t i o n ,w i d t h ,
natureandassay-results
of t h e s e a r e shown i n t h e tab1.e on
F i g . 6.. The s h a f t , f u l l o f w a t e ra tt h et i m e
of examination,
and t h e dump, were' notsampled.
Judgingonlyfromoccurrence
of c i n n a b a r , t h e v i c i n i t y
of No. 1 a d i t and t h e
o f No. 2 a d i t , would c o n s t i t u t e t h e
The s h a f t was a p p a r e n t l y sunk w i t h
of t h e c o n t a c t b e t w e e n t h e s h e a r e d ' r o c k
massivesilicifiedrock
b e s tp r o s p e c t i n gg r o u n d .
* 8 9 -
,
thisideain
mind.Inasmuch
a s no f u r t h e r work seems t o have
of t h e s h a f t , it i s t o b e i n f e r r e d
beendone s i n c e t h e s i n k i n g
t h a t commercial o r e was notfound i n t h e shai't.
Furtherprospectingcouldbe
done w i t h t h e hope t h a t d i s c o v e r i e sc o n s i d e r a b l yb e t t e rt h a ne x i s t i n gs h o w i n g s ,
would be
made. The i n d i c a t e dl o c a t i o n o f suchprospecting i s i n t h e
l a s t paragraph.
v i c ' i n i t y of t h e s h a f t , a s d e s c r i b e d i n t h e
-
90
-
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Extensive use has been
made of t h e i n f o r m a t i o n on cinnab a r and m e r c u r y c o n t a i n e d i n t h e p u b l i c a t i o n s a n d a r t i c l e s
l i s t e d i n the following bibliography and due
acknowledgement
i s made t o t h e a u t h o r s of t h e s e p u b l i c a t i o n s and a r t i c l e s .
IT.
Bradley,Walter
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'IT.M.
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RiverMining
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Camsell,Charles(1918)MercuryDeposits
GeologicalSurvey,
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Cockfield,
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J. F. (1932)Cadwallader
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(1933)AnnualReport,Minister
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'