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	Collector	Rock Name	Age	Description	Cart
S15-27	Taylor Ck Fm Western facies	P Schiarizza	Greywacke / Volcanic sandstone	Up Lower Cretaceous	purple-grey; 5% detrital feldspar to 5 mm in sandy matrix	Add Item
S15-26	Taylor Ck Western facies	P Schiarizza	Sandstone	Up Lower Cretaceous	pale green-grey; difficult to distinguish clasts (2-3 mm size) from matrix	Add Item
S15-25	Taylor Ck Fm Western facies	P Schiarizza	Conglomerate	Up Lower Cretaceous	clasts are round, 1-3 cm, white chert and indeterminate felsics; grey sandy matrix	Add Item
S15-24	Silverquick Fm	P Schiarizza	Conglomerate	Up Cretaceous	as above	Add Item
S15-23	Silverquick Fm	P Schiarizza	Conglomerate	Up Cretaceous	brown; heterolithic; rounded clasts; clast supported	Add Item
S15-22	Powell Ck Fm	P Schiarizza	Volcanic sandstone	Up Cretaceous	grey, greenish due to epidote; well bedded; well sorted	Add Item
S15-21	Powell Ck Fm	P Schiarizza	Volcanic sandstone	Up Cretaceous	graded beds	Add Item
S15-20	Powell Ck Fm	P Schiarizza	Volcanic conglomerate	Up Cretaceous	purple; heterolithic; clasts to 2 cm, similar to 11-16; epidote selectively replaced some clasts	Add Item
S15-19	Powell Ck Fm	P Schiarizza	Andesite	Up Cretaceous	green-grey; 10% feldspar	Add Item
S15-18	Powell Ck Fm	P Schiarizza	Volcanic conglomerate	Up Cretaceous	diverse clasts, some plutonic, most volcanic; clasts to 4 cm; rounded to sub-angular; matrix supported	Add Item
S15-17	Powell Ck Fm	P Schiarizza	Andesite	Up Cretaceous	grey; 10% feldspar; fresh	Add Item
S15-16	Powell Ck Fm	P Schiarizza	Andesite	Up Cretaceous	purple; 6% feldspar phenocrysts; weakly altered	Add Item
S15-15	Red Mountain	P Schiarizza	Obsidian	Paleocene-Eocene	5% plagioclase in glassy matrix	Add Item
S15-14	Red Mountain	P Schiarizza	Andesite	Paleocene-Eocene	grey; 10% plagioclase and 1% acicular hornblende phenocrysts	Add Item
S15-13	Red Mountain	P Schiarizza	Gabbro	Paleocene-Eocene	mafic; pyroxene bearing	Add Item
S15-12	Red Mountain	P Schiarizza	Welded rhyolite tuff	Paleocene-Eocene	pink; well laminated	Add Item
S15-11	Red Mountain	P Schiarizza	Welded rhyolite tuff	Paleocene-Eocene	light grey - white	Add Item
S15-10	Red Mountain	P Schiarizza	Basalt ?	Paleocene-Eocene	aphanitic	Add Item
S15-09	Red Mountain	P Schiarizza	Gabbro	Paleocene-Eocene	pale green olivine megacryst in medium grained, pyroxene bearing groundmass	Add Item
S15-08	Mt Sheba	P Schiarizza	Andesite	Paleocene-Eocene	light grey; 5% plagioclase and 1% pyroxene phenocrysts	Add Item
S15-07	Mt Sheba	P Schiarizza	Andesite	Paleocene-Eocene	grey; 15% plagioclase and 8% pyroxene phenocrysts	Add Item
S15-06	Mt Sheba	P Schiarizza	Basalt breccia	Paleocene-Eocene	pale green; pervasive celadonite clay alteration	Add Item
S15-05	Mt Sheba	P Schiarizza	Basalt	Paleocene-Eocene	5% plagioclase phenocrysts in red aphanitic matrix	Add Item
S15-04	Mt Sheba	P Schiarizza	Basalt	Paleocene-Eocene	5% plagioclase phenocrysts in purple-red aphanitic matrix	Add Item
S15-03	Mt Sheba	P Schiarizza	Basalt	Paleocene-Eocene	1% plagioclase phenocrysts in aphanitic matrix	Add Item
S15-02	Chilcotin Grp	P Schiarizza		Miocene-Pliocene		Add Item
S15-01	Chilcotin Grp	P Schiarizza	Vesicular basalt	Miocene-Pliocene	red; 25% vesicles; 20% plagioclase laths	Add Item
S14-09	Unit Tb	P Schiarizza	Basalt		very fine grained	Add Item
S14-08	Unit Tb	P Schiarizza	Olivine basalt			Add Item
S14-07	Unit eTs	P Schiarizza	Basalt		aphanitic; chocolate brown weathering	Add Item
S14-06	Unit eTs	P Schiarizza	Basalt		aphanitic	Add Item
S14-05	Unit eTs	P Schiarizza	coaly sediment		black, bedded	Add Item
S14-04	Unit qp	P Schiarizza	Aplite dike		few % quartz and feldspar crystals, less than 1 mm	Add Item
S14-03	Unit qp	P Schiarizza	Aplite dike		few % quartz and feldspar crystals, less than 1 mm	Add Item
S14-02	Unit Kg	P Schiarizza	hornblende biotite granodiorite			Add Item
S14-01	Unit Kg	P Schiarizza	Biotite granite		coarse grained; 50% plagioclase; 30% quartz; 15% K-feldspar; 5% biotite	Add Item
S13-25	Fennel Unit uFb	P Schiarizza	Amphibolite (basalt hornfels)		green-black; recrystallized basalt	Add Item
S13-24	Fennel Unit uFb	P Schiarizza	Basalt		pale green; massive; aphanitic	Add Item
S13-23	Fennel Unit uFb	P Schiarizza	Basalt		pale green; massive; aphanitic	Add Item
S13-22	Fennel Unit uFb	P Schiarizza	Basalt		pale green; massive; aphanitic	Add Item
S13-21	Fennel Unit uFb	P Schiarizza	Basalt pillow breccia			Add Item
S13-20	Fennel Unit uFb (upper slab)	P Schiarizza	Basalt		medium green; aphanitic	Add Item
S13-19	Fennel Unit lFg	P Schiarizza	Hornblende (after pyroxene?) diorite			Add Item
S13-18	Fennel Unit lFg	P Schiarizza	Gabbro		primary pyroxene pseudomorphed by secondary hornblende; plagioclase strongly sausseritized	Add Item
S13-17	Fennel Unit lFg	P Schiarizza	Hornblende diorite			Add Item
S13-16	Fennel Unit lFg	P Schiarizza	Gabbro / diorite		fine to medium grained	Add Item
S13-15	Fennel Unit lFcg	P Schiarizza	Chert pebble conglomerate	Permian		Add Item
S13-14	Fennel Unit lFcg	P Schiarizza	Chert pebble conglomerate	Permian		Add Item
S13-13	Fennel Unit lFcg	P Schiarizza	Greywacke	Permian		Add Item
S13-12	Fennel Unit lFcg	P Schiarizza	Chert cobble conglomerate	Permian		Add Item

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