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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S9-06 | Bridge River Complex | Fault breccia? | chert fragments in matrix with strong fabric and/or flowage; chert is light grey, some fragments are round and look sedimentary, others appear strongly deformed | ||||
| S9-05 | Bridge River Complex | Greywacke | 30% subangular to subrounded clasts; 70% black, argillaceous matrix; layered (bedded) | ||||
| S9-04 | Bridge River Complex | Jasper chert nodule ? | dark red, hematitic; no internal structure; origin unknown with no field context; cross-cutting fracture veins | ||||
| S9-03 | Bridge River Complex | Limestone | recrystallized, tectonized; associated with argillite and possibly serpentinite | ||||
| S9-02 | Bridge River Complex | Grey Chert | dark grey; very strong brittle fracture with numerous remobilized quartz veinlets that are cross-cutting and white in colour | ||||
| S9-01 | Bridge River Complex | Red Chert | red hematitic chert (jasper) and interbedded red siltstone; tectonically disrupted | ||||
| S8-17 | Rossland Group | Nelson area | T Hoy & K Dunne | Lamprophyre dyke | Tertiary | black; fine to medium grained; 20% biotite; 80% hornblende or pyroxene | |
| S8-16 | Rossland Group | T Hoy & K Dunne | Diabase dyke | fine grained; chloritic; 10-20% fine gas cavities consist of chlorite rimmed by fine grained feldspar | |||
| S8-15 | Rossland Group | Nelson area | T Hoy & K Dunne | Hall Fm pyritic band in argillite | Jurassic | near-black; very well bedded; pyrite lamination | |
| S8-14 | Rossland Group | T Hoy & K Dunne | Elise Fm pyritic silica-sericite-carbonate altered mafic tuff | Jurassic | pale grey; very fine grained; well layered; brown weathered surface indicates iron carbonate; 2-3% pyrite | ||
| S8-13 | Rossland Group | Nelson area | T Hoy & K Dunne | Upper Elise Fm Plagioclase lapilli tuff | Jurassic | 15% plagioclase 1-3 mm in clasts and matrix, i.e. same composition but variable alteration, colour variation suggests uneven epidote development | |
| S8-12 | Rossland Group | T Hoy & K Dunne | Upper Elise Fm plagioclase (Silver King) porphyry | Jurassic | massive texture; 25% plagioclase 2-5 mm in size, non-aligned | ||
| S8-11 | Rossland Group | Salmo area | T Hoy & K Dunne | Upper Elise Fm Plagioclase lapilli tuff | Jurassic | massive texture; 20% plagioclase uniformly 2 mm in size, non-aligned; tuffaceous origin is not evident | |
| S8-10 | Rossland Group | Nelson area | T Hoy & K Dunne | Lower Elise Fm augite porphyry flow breccia | Jurassic | 10-15% augite are resistant forming stubby high-relief crystals on weathered surface | |
| S8-09 | Rossland Group | T Hoy & K Dunne | Lower Elise Fm calcite amygdaloidal augite porphyry flow | Jurassic | dark green, weathers light green; 10% augite to 1 cm; 15% calcite filled amygdules | ||
| S8-08 | Rossland Group | Nelson area | T Hoy & K Dunne | Lower Elise Fm augite pyroclastic breccia | Jurassic | angular clasts to 5 cm; augite to 1 cm | |
| S8-07 | Rossland Group | T Hoy & K Dunne | Lower Elise Fm augite porphyry basalt | Jurassic | medium green; 10% augite; 15% vesicles partially filled by calcite, i.e. amygdules | ||
| S8-06 | Rossland Group | Nelson area | T Hoy & K Dunne | Lower Elise Fm pyritic augite porphyry basalt | Jurassic | 10% augite to 4 mm; 10% secondary epidote; 3-5% vesicles | |
| S8-05 | Rossland Group | Beaver Creek area | T Hoy & K Dunne | Archibald Fm pebble conglomerate | Jurassic | dark grey; high argillaceous content, greywacke composition; well rounded clasts to 0.5 cm | |
| S8-04 | Rossland Group | Beaver Creek area | T Hoy & K Dunne | Archibald Fm turbidite wacke | Jurassic | similar to above but thinner bedding, greater argillaceous content and good graded bedding | |
| S8-03 | Rossland Group | Salmo area | T Hoy & K Dunne | Archibald Fm turbidite wacke | Jurassic | very well bedded; 1 cm thick, alternating sand and shaley silt beds (AE turbidite); no grading | |
| S8-02 | Rossland Group | Rossland area | T Hoy & K Dunne | Monzonite | Jurassic | grey; fine grained; 75% feldspar; 25% mafic (hornblende?); 1% pyrite; Elise age(?) pluton similar to Silver King porphyry | |
| S8-01 | Rossland Group | Nelson area | T Hoy & K Dunne | K-feldspar megacrystic hornblende granodiorite | Jurassic | coarse, even grained; 70% feldspar; 25% quartz; 5% hornblende | |
| S7-21 | Kutcho Creek | T-213 | H Gabrielse | Rhyolite lithic tuff | Kutcho Fm | light colour; sericitic; mafic lithic clasts deformed to chloritic lenses; large disseminated pyrite cubes to 1 cm | |
| S7-20 | Kutcho Creek | T-212 | H Gabrielse | Distal turbidite | Kutcho Fm | thin alternating beds or argillite and siltstone; slatey cleavage (in slate beds) is at angle of 30 degrees to bedding | |
| S7-19 | Kutcho Creek | T-211 | H Gabrielse | Sericite phyllite (meta-ash tuff or rhyolite) | Kutcho Fm | crenulated | |
| S7-17 | Kutcho Creek | DDH 90-256 @ 435 ft | D Lefebure | Bedded massive sulphide | 95% fine to medium grained pyrite; <1% chalcopyrite; 4-5% unknown, black, hard, interstitial, non-metallic, non-magnetic mineral | ||
| S7-16 | Kutcho Creek | NTS 104I/7 | A Panteleyev | Quartz feldspar porphyry rhyolite dike | light green and buff patchy; aphanitic matrix; 20% round, fractured quartz phenocrysts (1-5 mm); 5% anhedral K-feldspar phenos (1 mm); phenocrysts are roughly aligned; few hairline fractures also aligned with phenos; minor dolomite on some fractures | ||
| S7-15 | Kutcho Creek | NTS 104I/7 | A Panteleyev | Trondhjemite | Synvolcanic intrusive unit | light grey-green; spotted; subhedral quartz and feldspar crystals (1 mm) are hard to distinguish; chloritic matrix; 2% oxidized pyrite | |
| S7-14 | Kutcho Creek | NTS 104I/7 | A Panteleyev | Cherty banded tuff | Kutcho Fm, undivided footwall | light and dark green; 0.5-1 cm beds of aphanitic silica, may be sedimentary origin; blocky fracture; green colour may be chlorite; weak undulations and offsets may be due to regional folding and faulting | |
| S7-13 | Kutcho Creek | NTS 104I/7 | A Panteleyev | Andesite crystal tuff | Kutcho Fm, undivided footwall | green-grey; fine grained; massive; 40% feldspar and quartz, 1-2 mm; minor epidote indicated by greenish feldspars; weakly foliated; chloritic slickensides | |
| S7-12 | Kutcho Creek | NTS 104I/7 | A Panteleyev | Amygdaloidal andesite/basalt flow | Kutcho Fm, undivided footwall | dark grey; fine grained matrix; weakly chloritic; 50% amygdules 2-10m m filled with green, radiating epidote; minor pink areas (feldspar?) and quartz occassionally occur near epidote | |
| S7-11 | Kutcho Creek | NTS 104I/7 | A Panteleyev | Chlorite sericite dolomite tuff | Kutcho Fm, Felsic Lapilli Tuff unit | drill core; light grey to buff and orange weathering; moderate to highly foliated; cleaves along foliation planes ("paper schist"); very fine grained; 5% elongate ithic fragments ringed by dolomite; 10% py as large cubes and up to 2% py and very minor cpy finely disseminated throughout; local marker horizon to mineralized zone | |
| S7-10 | Kutcho Creek | NTS 104I/7 | A Panteleyev | Quartz sericite lithic rhyolite tuff | Kutcho Fm, Felsic Lapilli Tuff unit | light grey to buff weathered; moderately foliated; very fine grained matrix; 30% lithic fragments (1-3 mm, grey, fine grained); 5% quartz (porphyroblasts or phenocrysts?); 1-2% fine disseminated pyrite; rusty weathered surface | |
| S7-09 | Kutcho Creek | NTS 104I/7 | A Panteleyev | Dolomite sericite quartz schist | Kutcho Fm, Footwall Disseminated Pyrite unit | medium to light grey; moderately foliated; sericite along poorly developed schistosity planes; 30% mainly disseminated sulphides (py and cpy ratio of 5:1 to 10:1); matrix of quartz and dolomite (1-2 mm), spotty texture; abundant dolomite along some fractures | |
| S7-08 | Kutcho Creek | NTS 104I/7 | A Panteleyev | Oxidized leached sulphides | Lower Triassic Kutcho Fm | yellow to red; granular; weakly banded with 60% cavities (boxworks); weathered tuff fragments 1-3 mm are slightly elongate and oriented in roughly parallel bands; limonite and minor hematite; sample from surface gossan of leached VMS | |
| S7-07 | Kutcho Creek | NTS 104I/7 | A Panteleyev | Massive sulphides | Lower Triassic Kutcho Fm | weakly banded; fine grained; 60% pyrite; 5% chalcopyrite; 1% bornite; 5% sphalerite; minor tetrahedrite; siliceous gangue | |
| S7-06 | Kutcho Creek | NTS 104I/7 | A Panteleyev | Quartz feldspar porphyry rhyolite crystal tuff | L Triassic Kutcho Fm (regional VMS marker horizon) | medium green to light grey-green matrix; 10-50% rounded, bluish quartz crystals 2-10 mm (porphyroblasts or phenocrysts?), commonly fractured; 10% anhedral feldspar (1-3 mm) in choritic, weakly foliated matrix; few large, fine grained andesite fragments; sericite evident on foliation planes. This horizon is immediate hanging wall to massive sulphide horizon, formerly known as "grit unit". | |
| S7-05 | Kutcho Creek | NTS 104I/7 | A Panteleyev | Chloritic andesite lapilli crystal tuff | L Triassic Kutcho Fm (felsic tuff, hangingwall) | dark to grey-green; weakly foliated; 5% rounded quartz eyes; 20% subhedral feldspar crystals (light green clusters on cut surface) are altered to epidote and carbonate; 30% small andesite fragments altered to chlorite (hard to distinguish); epidote-chlorite-carbonate along fractures (weak pervasive alteration) | |
| S7-04 | Kutcho Creek | NTS 104I/7 | A Panteleyev | Foliated mafic tuff | L Triassic Kutcho Fm (mafic unit) | dark grey-green; foliated; pocky weathering; 60% weakly distinguishable lithic volcanic fragments (1-4 mm, rounded, elongate, altered to chlorite and minor biotite); 10% feldspar (1 mm, plagioclase) in groundmass; minor epidote alteration throughout; chlorite alteration obscures primary textures; magnetite visible on weathered surface as triangular crystals | |
| S7-03 | Kutcho Creek | NTS 104I/7 | A Panteleyev | Quartz andesite pebble conglomerate | Lower Triassic Kutcho Fm (upper unit) | medium grey-green; 70% lineated quartz (white) and andesite (dark green) pebbles; pebbles are subround to subangular 0.2-10 mm; elongate parallel to each other. Light grey-green, fine groundmass, limey and sericitic along foliation planes; minor rusty vugs, after py(?); minor pale brown carbonate; siliceous clasts stand out on weathered surface | |
| S7-02 | Kutcho Creek | NTS 104I/7 | A Panteleyev | Limey rhyolite pebble conglomerate | Up Triassic (Sinwa Fm) | light to dark grey and brown; calcite matrix predominates; several igneous (rhyolite) pebbles; preferential weathering with 1-3 mm parallel quartz bands (beds); yellow-brown colour on conchoidal fractures is oxidized siderite | |
| S7-01 | Kutcho Creek | NTS 104I/7 | A Panteleyev | Calcareous carbonaceous slate | Jurassic (Inklin Fm) | dark grey to black; weakly foliated; prominent platy cleavage; crystalline calcite evident on breaks perpendicular to cleavage, comprising <1 mm crystals; graphite along cleavage plane may be slickensides | |
| S6-07 | Cache Creek | NTS 104I | H Gabrielse | Black argillite | dark grey to black; fine grained; thinly laminated; limonite and jarosite stain weathered surfaces; minor boxworks after pyrite | ||
| S6-06 | Cache Creek | NTS 104I | H Gabrielse | Shaly argillite | dark grey; fine grained; thinly laminated shale-argillite with minor light-coloured, coarser grained bands; limonite on planes between some layers especially in the area of coarser grained bands | ||
| S6-05 | Cache Creek | NTS 104I | H Gabrielse | Foliated chert/argillite | foliated; light grey-white and dark grey bands; light bands are chert; dark bands are more argillaceous; grey-brown sheen on foliation surfaces due to sericite; minor bronze-coloured pyrite; iron oxide rust on surface | ||
| S6-04 | Cache Creek | NTS 104I | H Gabrielse | Serpentinized peridotite | dark green; fine grained; massive; weakly serpentinized, likely from peridotite; orange weathered rind due to iron/magnesium carbonate | ||
| S6-03 | Cache Creek | NTS 104I | H Gabrielse | Recrystallized chert/argillite | foliated; light and dark bands; fine grained; light bands are 2 mm thick quartz; dark bands are <1 mm thick silicified argillite; silvery grey and light brown mica (muscovite/sericite?) on foliation planes; minor boxworks after pyrite associated with quartz-rich bands | ||
| S6-02 | Cache Creek | NTS 104I | H Gabrielse | Steatized (talcose) ultramafic | light to dark green; fine grained; greasy feel; powdery talc surfaces; likely strongly serpentinized peridotite altered (metamorphosed) to near soapstone-quatlity massive talc; light green band may be compositional change or more intense alteration | ||
| S6-01 | Cache Creek | NTS 104I | H Gabrielse | Massive limestone | light grey-white; fine to medium grained; massive |
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