ROCK ROOM
Smithers Exploration Group's Collection of Cordilleran Rock Suites
Welcome to Smithers Exploration Group’s Rock Room, home to our classic collection of Cordilleran rock suites. This extensive collection of rock samples is representative of deposits and rock types from across British Columbia, with a focus on the northwest. It’s an important resource for the development of expertise on the geology of northern BC and the discovery of the next mines.
The collection was begun in the 1970s by local geologists and prospectors, as well as the BC Ministry of Mines, and was updated under the direction of former regional geologist Paul Wojdak. It is designed to give hands-on examples of the rocks that make up the regional geological framework of northern British Columbia. We are working hard to complete our collection: if there is a particular suite you are keen to see but we do not yet have, please let us know and we will prioritize the aquisition of those samples. If you have a suite that you would consider donating to help us fill in the gaps, please contact us.
The Rock Room occupies a spacious classroom at the Smithers Exploration Group office at #101 3423 Fulton Avenue in Smithers. We have almost 2000 rock samples catalogued, clearly labelled and stored in trays that can be removed for handling and close examination. The room is heated, well-lit and spacious .It is equipped with regular and zoom stereomicroscopes for detailed investigation.
The rock suites cover:
- Plutonic
- Volcanic
- Sedimentary
- Metamorphic
- Stratigraphy
- Mineral Deposits and Ore Deposit Types
- Rock-forming and Ore Minerals
Call 250-877-7883 or email rockroom@smithersexplorationgroup.com if you have questions about the Rock Room or the donation requirements for samples.
SEG’s Rock Room with its Cordilleran Rock Suites will make Smithers home to a unique tool for explorationists. It will attract industry and government attention to Smithers as a community committed to the growth of the minerals industry in BC.
Browse the Rock Room Collection
| Library No. | Suite Name | Location | Collector | Rock Name | Age | Description | Cart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V6-22 | Porphyries | T Richards | Granodiorite porphyry | 25% plagioclase, 0.5-1 cm; fine crystalline matrix of quartz, feldspar and 15% hornblende | |||
| V6-21 | Porphyries | T Richards | Feldspar porphyry rhyolite or rhyodacite | 25% K-feldspar; 75% pink, microcrystalline matrix of quartz-feldspar-biotite; probably sub-volcanic | |||
| V6-20 | Porphyries | Ootsa Lake Group | T Richards | Porphyritic rhyolite | 5% K-feldspar, pink, bladed; 5% plagioclase, euhedral, white, equant; 1% quartz, sub-mm size; 1% biotite, sub-mm size; 90% pink matrix; minor patchy kaolinite | ||
| V6-19 | Porphyries | T Richards | Feldspar porphyry andesite or dacite | 25% plagioclase, 3-8 mm; sparse quartz phenos on cut surface (1-2 crystals); possible hornblende; grey matrix; sub-volcanic or extrusive | |||
| V6-18 | Porphyries | T Richards | Quartz-eye rhyolite (felsite) | ivory white colour; 5% quartz eyes; massive; strong limonite developed on weathered surface | |||
| V6-17 | Porphyries | T Richards | Feldspar porphyry andesite | 30% plagioclase, 2-5 mm, grey-white colour; K-feldspar, one pinkish, corroded crystal, 1 cm size; 65% light grey-brown matrix; high-level intrusion or flow | |||
| V6-16 | Porphyries | T Richards | Feldspar porphyry andesite | 30% plagioclase, mm size; 70% brown-grey matrix | |||
| V6-15 | Porphyries | T Richards | Feldspar porphyry andesite | 50% pinkish plagioclase (probably) or K-feldspar, 1-4 mm, moderately flow aligned; 1% hornblende; sparse vesicles indicates extrusive rock | |||
| V6-14 | Porphyries | T Richards | Andesite | 5% euhedral augite to 5 mm; 5% plagioclase,1 mm and smaller; plagioclase crystals are smaller but more abundant than augite; medium green matrix | |||
| V6-13 | Porphyries | T Richards | Feldspar hornblende porphyry | 25% feldspar, 1-5 mm, variably pink but appears to be plagioclase "dusted" with hematite to appear like K-feldspar; 5% euhedral hornblende, 1-2 mm; light grey, microcrystalline matrix indicates a sub-volcanic intrusion | |||
| V6-12 | Porphyries | T Richards | Augite porphyry basalt | 25-30% augite, 2-6 mm, best seen on weathered surface; 70% nearly black matrix | |||
| V6-11 | Porphyries | T Richards | Bladed feldspar porphyry | 25% plagioclase, 0.5-1 cm, strongly trachytic; 1% pyroxene, 1 mm; 75% dark grey matrix, not green indicating no alteration to epidote, this rock is fresh; andesite or basalt flow or dike | |||
| V6-10 | Porphyries | T Richards | Nepheline(?) porphyry | 50% nepheline, 1-3 cm, zoned hexagonal (but not equant shape as in V6-06); 50% grey microcrystalline matrix; probably a high-level intrusion | |||
| V6-09 | Porphyries | T Richards | K-feldspar porphyry granite | 25% K-feldspar, 1-3 cm; 25% quartz; 40% plagioclase; 5-8% hornblende and biotite; distinctive rock from Fourth of July pluton, Atlin | |||
| V6-08 | Porphyries | T Richards | K-feldspar porphyry granite | 10-15% K-feldspar, 1-3 cm; matrix of 40% plagioclase, 35% quartz, 5% biotite | |||
| V6-07 | Porphyries | T Richards | Feldspar biotite porphyry | 25% plagioclase, 2-10 mm; 1% biotite, mm size; very fine grained pink matrix rich in K-feldspar; random crystal alignment suggests it | |||
| V6-06 | Porphyries | T Richards | Pseudoleucite(?) porphyry | 65% hexagonal pseudoleucite, 3-4 mm, closely packed; equant size; 35% grey matrix; intermediate alkalic composition; from Galore Ck? | |||
| V6-05 | Porphyries | T Richards | Bladed feldspar porphyry | 35% plagioclase, 1-2 cm; prominent trachytic texture; strong sausserite (epidote) altereation; 65% dark green matix; basalt or andesite flow or dike | |||
| V6-04 | Porphyries | T Richards | Augite porphyry basalt | dark green; 40% crowded black augite phenocrysts, euhedral; <5% interstitial plagioclase | |||
| V6-03 | Porphyries | T Richards | Bladed feldspar porphyry | 30% plagioclase, euhedral, 1-2 cm, weakly flow aligned; dark green matrix; prominent epidote vein; flow or dike of andesite/basalt composition | |||
| V6-02 | Porphyries | T Richards | Dacite porphyry dike | pink to grey matrix; massive, no crystal alignment; 5% plagioclase to 0.5 cm; 5% K-feldspar 1-2 mm; 5% euhedral hornblende; 0.5% biotite; | |||
| V6-01 | Porphyries | T Richards | Feldspar-quartz porphyry | 20% feldspar (plagioclase) 1-2 cm; 5-7% quartz, 0.5 cm; 1-2% biotite or hornblende, 1-2 mm; 70% light grey matrix; likely a subvolcanic intrusion of rhyodacite composition | |||
| V5-03 | Submarine Basalt | Volcanic siltstone | Dark grey, v. fine grained, x-cut by Fe carb rimmed calcite veining with grey cores, smaller orange calcite-Fe Carb veinlets parallel to bedding, faint phyllic appearance. | ||||
| V5-06 | Submarine Basalt | Basalt breccia | Triassic | scoraceous; amygdaloidal; fine grained; limestone fragments in basalt, complex texture due to chemical reaction of hot basalt with limey mud; a pepperite | |||
| T-362 (missing) | Submarine Basalt | Vesicular microporphyritic basalt | Triassic | ||||
| V5-05 | Submarine Basalt | Terrace area | Scoriacous basalt breccia | Triassic | breccia includes limestone clasts, with poor fossil impressions (collector) | ||
| V5-04 | Submarine Basalt | Pillow basalt | Triassic | pillow is not vesicular, suggesting deep water eruption; chilled rind around the pillow is altered to chlorite on the outer part and inwards to epidote | |||
| S5-05 (missing) | Submarine Basalt | F Ferri | Volcanic sandstone | Triassic | dark reddish grey; similar to QL-1 but finer detrital grains only visible on cut surface and that mainly cannot be identified; 10% rounded volcanic cobbles that are same composition as the matrix | ||
| V5-02 | Submarine Basalt | Horsefly, Quesnel Lake | T Richards | Augite-feldspar basalt/ andesite | Triassic | 25-30% augite; 25-30% augite; reddish colour; even grained chilled matrix suggests this might be subaerial, where Takla/Nicola Group volcanic rocks built up volcanic islands | |
| V5-01 | Submarine Basalt | Horsefly, Quesnel Lake | T Richards | Volcanic sandstone | Triassic | 25% detrital pyroxene; 25% detrital feldspar; 10% rounded amygdaloidal volcanic pebbles up to 4 cm; the remainder is too fine to identify; could easily be mis-identified as volcanic rock | |
| V4-14 | Rhyolite & Dacite | Topaz(?) rhyolite | medium grey; massive; 1% pale amber, vitreous, translucent phenocrysts - topaz(?) to 1 mm; wide-spaced 2 mm vugs, but much more fine open-space visible under hand lens; very fine grained matrix possibly containing feldspar; fine porosity enables interaction between solid and vapour phase, a necessary requirement to fix fluorine from volcanic gas into the rock as topaz | ||||
| V4-13 | Rhyolite & Dacite | Quartz - feldspar porhyry rhyolite | ivory to pale pink; massive; 5% euhedral K-feldspar to 2 cm; 5% rounded, resorbed quartz to 0.5 cm; similar to S1-18A, probably Shingle Creek porphyry | ||||
| V4-12 | Rhyolite & Dacite | Dacite | light grey; massive, no texture; very fine grained except for 2 possible phenocrysts (very sparse); can be scratched, not a rhyolite | ||||
| V4-11 | Rhyolite & Dacite | T Richards | Feldspar porphyry dacite | 25% feldspar phenocrysts; trace-1% biotite; crowded texture; flow banded; absence of quartz suggests this rock is dacite, not rhyolite as submitted | |||
| V4-10 | Rhyolite & Dacite | Chilcotin | T Richards | Porphyritic rhyolite | pale pink; massive; sparse (5%) phenocrysts of quartz, feldspar and biotite; pink matrix; probably a flow rock | ||
| V4-09 | Rhyolite & Dacite | T Richards | Green lapilli lithic tuff | 20% grey, aphanitic rhyolite or dacite fragments; unsorted; <%5 quartz, feldspar and biotite clasts; light green matrix (celadonite?) that is probably devitrified glass | |||
| V4-08 | Rhyolite & Dacite | Ootsa Lake | T Richards | Flow banded rhyolite | Tertiary | zebra appearance caused by anastamosing cream and wine coloured flow bands; small spherules that cross (post-date) primary flow bands; aphanitic matrix with onion-skin perlite cracks | |
| T-419 (missing) | Rhyolite & Dacite | SE Yukon | S Gordey | Flow banded rhyolite | Tertiary | colour banded; irregular bands indicate turbulent flow; small phenocrysts of quartz, biotite and feldspar; layering bends around crystals | |
| T-0020 (missing) | Rhyolite & Dacite | K-feldspar porphyry | bimodal K-feldspar phenocrysts in ultra fine grained matrix | ||||
| V4-07 | Rhyolite & Dacite | Cascade Mtns, USA | Feldspar porphyry dacite | 15% white feldspar (plagioclase), 1-3 mm, subhedral; 2% black, elongated amphibole; trace light brown mica; light grey, fine grained matrix; likely a flow | |||
| V4-06 | Rhyolite & Dacite | Shingle Creek, Penticton | Quartz - feldspar porhyry rhyolite | Tertiary | 5% quartz eyes, terminated and corroded, to 1 cm; 6-8% pink K-feldspar to 1 cm size; minor biotite, <1%; high level rhyolite dike, feeder to eruptives | ||
| V4-05 | Rhyolite & Dacite | Nazko River | T Richards | Flow banded rhyolite | bands of glassy obsidian alternate with reddish, oxidized and devitrified glass and clay altered glass | ||
| V4-04 | Rhyolite & Dacite | SE Yukon | S Gordey | Vesicular rhyolite | Tertiary | hematite-red colour; 20% grey silica-lined vesicles | |
| T-498 (missing) | Rhyolite & Dacite | SE Yukon | S Gordey | Flow layered rhyolite | Tertiary | ||
| V4-03 (2 samples) | Rhyolite & Dacite | Pumice | larger specimen has 2% quartz crystals and abundant minute, crystal-lined cavities that likely are result of volcanic gas; the smaller specimen has sparse quartz crystals and a chalky texture | ||||
| V4-02 | Rhyolite & Dacite | Nevada | Welded ash flow tuff | crystal, lithic and vitric fragments; 5% quartz and K-feldspar crystals; 10% flattened pumice fragments (vitric, fiamme, i.e. welded); 50% lithic (rock) fragments | |||
| V4-01 | Rhyolite & Dacite | Mexico | D Ethier | Obsidian | black, glassy; conchoidal fracture | ||
| V3-14 | Subaerial Basalt | Vessicular basalt | Dark brown, red or grey in color. Vessicular to scoriaceous. 5 samples | ||||
| V3-12 | Subaerial Basalt | Klastline Plateau | J Souther | Palagonite basalt breccia with large olivine nodule | breccia fragments to 1 cm size; 1% broken feldspar crystals; one 5 by 10 cm nodule of medium grained olivine, 5-8% chromite and several grains of emerald-green chrome diopside | ||
| V3-11 | Subaerial Basalt | Calcite amygdule basalt | dark grey; 25% calcite-filled amygdules that are leached to voids on weathered surface; 5% of amygdule filling is green montmorillonite or chlorite |
Samples in your order cart
| Library No. | Suite Name | Location | Collector | Rock Name | Age | Description | Cart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1-04 | Telkwa Volcanics | T Richards | Rhyolite with lithophasae | Jurassic | pink-orange; fine grained. Lithophasae are hollow, bubble-like structures composed of concentric shells of finely crystalline quartz, alkali feldspar and other minerals. They form during eruption as vapour phase separates from the magma and are preserved when it solidifies, and subsequently filled by silica precipitates. | ||
| S4-05 | Toodoggone Volcanics | NTS 94E | H Gabrielse | Hydrothermally altered rhyolite | light grey-pink; heavily altered; granular felsite; less altered area shows chalcedonic matrix with 20-25% K-feldspar (bleached white); pocked surface due to acid leaching with small remnant quartz crystals (devitrification of siliceous matrix?) and clay after feldspar; abundant limonite stain | ||
| T7-06 | Epithermal Gold-Silver veins | Lawyers, Toodoggone | D Lefebure | Brecciated feldspar porphyry with quartz veins | Jurassic | wallrock is crowded feldspar porphyry | |
| T8-09 | Mesothermal gold veins | Raven vein, Dome Mtn | D Lefebure | Sericite altered andesite | Jurassic | ivory colour; sheared; pervasive sericite alteration with 5% wispy streaks of brown iron carbonate | |
| D36-09 | Brucejack Gold Mine | 1170-East | S4 VSF | Volcanic sandstones are generally well-sorted, homogeneous, and typically range from very coarse sand to very fine sand. These sandstones are massive, although contain preserved bedding and cross-bedding textures, which are often highlighted by pyrite alteration along bedding planes. Sandstone units are commonly interbedded with siltstone and oligomictic conglomerate (S3 VSF) major lithologies on small scales and over several tens of meters. This unit is most commonly a pale green-grey colour, speaking to the weak−moderate sericite matrix replacement. This unit is commonly misinterpreted with fine-grained porphyry (P1), where feldspar and amphibole phenocrysts are either sparsely disseminated throughout the groundmass, or small and go unnoticed or unrecognized. Another unit that causes confusion with the VSF sandstone is the V12 ANDX, specifically the coarse grained ash tuff, where chlorite-pyrite altered fragments are not present. | |||
| T8-08 | Mesothermal gold veins | Golden Bear | D Lefebure | Quartz breccia | Paleozoic | pale, very angular chalcedonic quartz fragments in matrix of fine crystalline grey quartz with minor pyrite, arsenopyrite and many tiny vugs lined with quartz crystals | |
| S4-08 | Toodoggone Volcanics | NTS 94E | H Gabrielse | Sanidine hornblende trachyte | orange-pink and medium grey; mottled; 25% pink feldspar (sanidine, 1-2 mm); 15% subhedral hornblende (0.5-2 mm); 50% fine grained matrix; pervasive carbonate in matrix; hairline veinlets of carbonate and chlorite; one mafic xenolith (2 cm) | ||
| S4-15 | Toodoggone Volcanics | NTS 94E | H Gabrielse | Quartz-carbonate vein / silicified volcanic | grey massive, semi-translucent silica with 5% rounded carbonate inclusions (5 mm); cavities on weathered surface are from dissolution of carbonate, leaving a dark grey powder (manganese(?) from rhodochrosite?); Probably a quartz-carbonate vein but possibly intensely silicified felsic volcanic rock | ||
| T6-16 | Epithermal Gold-Silver veins | Premier, Stewart | D Lefebure | K-feldspar porphyry dike (Premier porphyry) | Jurassic | green; weakly foliated; sparse white K-feldspar phenocrysts; 20% plagioclase, obscured by calcite alteration; 5% hornblende, obscured by chlorite alteration; pervasive chlorite-carbonate alteration of groundmass; one post-ore quartz-calcite-chlorite veinlet | |
| S2-03 | Stewart suite | Texas Creek batholith, Riverside prospect, Alaska | D Alldrick | Hornblende granodiorite | Jurassic | medium grained; weakly foliated; 15% quartz; 60% feldspar (white to pale green, epidote altered); 25% aligned hornblende, completely altered to dark green chlorite; disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite | |
| D36-11 | Brucejack Gold Mine | 1140-ACC | S3-VSF | The VSF S3 conglomerate is commonly interbedded with sandstone and siltstone sedimentary horizons within the volcanic sedimentary facies (VSF). This unit is typically clast supported, well sorted, and contains dominant monomictic−oligolmictic, cobble-sized clasts, which are oblate shapped and aligned to a dominant foliation. The matrix is typically composed of well sorted, fine−medium grained siltstone, which is weakly-moderately sericite altered. Clasts range from pebble−boulder size, where they are most commonly stretched and elongated along the foliation axis. Clasts are altered to pyrite-sericite-chlorite and minor silica, from the inside out. This unit is often misinterpreted for the polymictic conglomerate, which is in part from the alteration products of the individual clasts, which appear as heterogeneous clast types. | |||
| S1-01 | Telkwa Volcanics | T Richards | Accretionary lapilli tuff | Jurassic | grey-brown; prominent rounded, dark, concentric spherules of accretionary lapilli; matrix contains small, anhedral mafic crystals; spherules are weakly magnetic; calcite on fractures; concentric lapilli are thought to form in a turbulent ash-cloud by accretion of fine dust particles | ||
| T7-04 | Epithermal Gold-Silver veins | Lawyers, Toodoggone | D Lefebure | Plagioclase phyric tuff | Jurassic | staining indicates pervasive potassic alteration of groundmass; orange plagioclase phenocrysts do not respond to the stain? | |
| T7-01 | Epithermal Gold-Silver veins | Al prospect, Toodoggone | D Lefebure | Clay-alunite alteration | Jurassic | white; massive; fine grained; light density; bladed crystals evident on one weathered surface | |
| S3-06 | Coldfish Volcanics | Cry Lake | H Gabrielse | Polymictic lithic tuff | 60% subrounded to angular fragments of many types; matrix supported; matrix is pale pink, soft, fine to medium grained with small, bright to dull green irregular shaped fragments. Small dull green fragments are montmorillonite altered pumice(?). Bright green glassy fragments may be less altered pumice, secondary epidote or primary olivine. Fragments consist of reddish fine grained hematitic tuff, light to dark grey crystal tuff, light brown siliceous rhyolite and one fragment of orange K-feldspar. Pumice indicates this rock was once a glassy vitric tuff | ||
| D36-10 | Brucejack Gold Mine | 1320-27 | Domain 20 - ANDX | Domain 20 is a stockwork of epithermal veining. Stockwork veins are macroscopically observed as deformed silica-flooded, quartz-calcite ± dolomite veins, and are typically several meters in width. Stockwork veins commonly show good vertical continuity and along strike, with one of the veins traceable over a strike length of more than 100 m in a combination of underground workings and diamond drill hole intersections. Interpretation is still on-going and theres potential that D20 represents late stage relaxation and consequent normal movement along the long lived, reactivated structure. | |||
| T7-05 | Epithermal Gold-Silver veins | Lawyers, Toodoggone | D Lefebure | Banded quartz vein in tuff | Jurassic | symmetrically banded, 1.5 cm chalcedonic quartz vein in pinkish-brown tuff | |
| S3-04 | Coldfish Volcanics | Spatsizi | H Gabrielse | Banded rhyolitic ash tuff | light brown; fine grained; banded (bedded); siliceous (hard); minor dendritic manganese (pyrolusite) on weathered surface; very fine layering suggests subaqueous deposition | ||
| T9-03 | Mesothermal gold veins | Troutline zone, Vollaug vein, Table Mtn mine | D Lefebure | Quartz vein with carbon stylolites | Paleozoic | similar to above | |
| S2-06 | Stewart suite | Unuk River Fm, upper andesite unit | D Alldrick | Hornblende andesite tuff | Jurassic | dark green; fine grained; foliated; 20% small hornblende phenos roughly aligned; trace feldspar specks; pervasive chlorite; wispy, discontinuous quartz veinlets parallel to foliation; 5% pyrite as blebs to 2 mm | |
| T7-08 | Epithermal Gold-Silver veins | Lawyers, Toodoggone | D Lefebure | Brecciated rhyolite with quartz veins | Jurassic | massive, brittle, aphanitic pink rhyolite | |
| S1-11 | Telkwa Volcanics | T Richards | Volcanic pebble wacke | Jurassic | orangish-grey pebbly greywacke to conglomerate; moderately sorted; polymictic; crystal clasts of glassy quartz, minor feldspar and trace magnetite; laumontite cement, slightly crumbly, pink-orange | ||
| S2-17 | Stewart suite | D Alldrick | Crystal lithic lapilli tuff | Jurassic | dark grey and brown; fine to medium grained; 50% dark fragments to 3 cm which contain 20% small plagioclase phenocrysts; 35% aphanitic dark brown matrix; intensely fractured with quartz and siderite along sub-parallel fractures and pervasive carbonate fractures in matrix |