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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M2-16 | Meta-volcanic | T Richards | Vesicular to amygdaloidal basalt | black; very fine grained; vesicles and amygdules, 1 mm to several cm in size; some with banded agate filling (known as waterline agate due to original horizontal orientation); partly bleached halo around groups of cavities, indicates alteration; manganese dendrites on weathered fractures | |||
| M2-15 | Meta-volcanic | T Richards | Chlorite schist | medium green; fine grained; soft; no primary texture; near 100% chlorite | |||
| M2-14 | Meta-volcanic | T Richards | Andesite/basalt lapilli tuff | 40% angular, pale green fragments; dark green matrix; no phenocrysts; weakly foliated; fragments are somewhat aligned | |||
| M2-13 | Meta-volcanic | T Richards | Meta-andesite(?) | light green; very fine grained; nondescript; no phenocrysts; composed of chlorite and sericite? | |||
| M2-12 | Meta-volcanic | T Richards | Andesite-basalt | medium to dark green; 20% plagioclase 1-2 mm, weakly altered to pale green epidote or sericite; quartz-calcite vein with one speck of cpy | |||
| M2-11 | Meta-volcanic | T Richards | Andesite schist (chlorite-sericite schist) | pale green; foliated; mainly chlorite but biotite on foliation surfaces, early stage of biotite development | |||
| M2-10 | Meta-volcanic | T Richards | Amphibolite (meta-peridotite?) | dark green-black; fine to medium grained; foliated; essentially 100% mafic minerals; soft, due to chlorite alteration | |||
| M2-09 | Meta-volcanic | T Richards | Quartz diorite gneiss | black and white; very strong "pencil" lineation; 70% plagioclase; 5% quartz; 24% hornblende; 1% biotite; | |||
| M2-08 | Meta-volcanic | P Wojdak | Hornblende quartz diorite (not biotite quartz gneiss listed) | black and white, salt and pepper texture; medium grained; massive; non-foliated (NOT metamorphosed); 70% plagioclase; 5% quartz; 24% hornblende; 1% biotite | |||
| M2-07 | Meta-volcanic | T Richards | Meta-quartz diorite | black and white; medium grained; 45% quartz; 25% plagioclase; 10% biotite; 20% hornblende, chloritic and anhedral; moderately magnetic | |||
| M2-06 | Meta-volcanic | T Richards | Hornblende metadiorite | dark green and white; medium grained; weakly foliated; hornblende (sub to anhedral) range from very small to 1 cm; large hornblendes completely chloritized; biotite on foliation planes | |||
| M2-06 | Meta-volcanic | T Richards | Biotite quartz hornblende gneiss | dark green and white; medium grained; moderately foliated; hornblende is chloritic; minor pyrite along foliation | |||
| M2-05 | Meta-volcanic | T Richards | Chlorite sericite (or muscovite) schist | medium to dark green; fine grained; moderately foliated; mica sheen; few bands of light coloured silica indicate metamorphis is nearly gneissic | |||
| M2-04 | Meta-volcanic | T Richards | Chlorite schist | medium green; fine grained; moderately foliated; white and pale orange carbonate on fracture surfaces | |||
| M2-03 | Meta-volcanic | T Richards | Slaty phyllite | pale green; fine grained; thin cleavage layers; carbonaceous material as black wisps parallel to cleavage; sheen on surfaces indicates fine grained mica (chlorite / sericite?) | |||
| M2-02 | Meta-volcanic | T Richards | Meta-andesite tuff | green; fine grained; weakly foliated; mafic phenocrysts locally visible; pyrite as small blebs; weathered rind is pale orange and clayey | |||
| M2-01 | Meta-volcanic | T Richards | Augite porphyritic meta-andesite (missing) | green; medium grained; augite phenos are chloritic; feldspars altered to epidote; some augite rimmed and partly replaced by epidote; carbonate alteration | |||
| M1-15 | Meta-Pelites | T Richards | Staurolite-muscovite schist | light grey; micaceous; 70% muscovite; 20% biotite; 10% staurolite | |||
| M1-14 | Meta-Pelites | T Richards | Garnet-staurolite-muscovite schist | very similar to M1-09 with garnet and staurolite porphyroblasts | |||
| M1-13 | Meta-Pelites | Kalum Lake | T Richards | Andalusite (semi-)schist | dark grey-black; 20% pink andalusite as 1-2 cm porphyroblasts; andalusite exhibits a black cross (in cross section), these are inclusions that are zoned along crystallographic planes (chiastolite variety); 5% staurolite mm size | ||
| M1-12 | Meta-Pelites | T Richards | Graphitic sericite phyllite | medium grey; no discernible minerals; micaceous sheen | |||
| M1-10 | Meta-Pelites | T Richards | Garnet-biotite-muscovite schist | 10% garnet, 2 mm; 5% staurolite(?) mm size; 20% biotite; 65% muscovite | |||
| M1-09 | Meta-Pelites | T Richards | Garnet-staurolite-muscovite schist | 25% garnet and 20% staurolite (vitreous, brown) as 1-2 cm porphyroblasts; 55% muscovite; recessive; resistant garnet and staurolite produce knobby outcrop | |||
| M1-08 | Meta-Pelites | T Richards | Sericite schist (missing, substitute used) | light brown; fine grained; moderately schistose; clay altered | |||
| M1-07 | Meta-Pelites | Kutcho Creek | T Schroeter | Sericite schist | pale beige; strongly schistose and thinly laminated; limonite coating on outer surfaces due to weathered pyrite; boxworks after pyrite | ||
| M1-06 | Meta-Pelites | T Richards | Weakly foliated quartz monzonite (missing) | very weakly foliated; 35% quartz; 50% feldspar; 15% biotite; minor small garnets (spessartine) | |||
| M1-05 | Meta-Pelites | T Richards | Quartz biotite kyanite schist (missing) | coarse grained; bluish kyanite has differing hardness in two directions; minor quartz with kyanite; couple reddish-brown garnets (almandine) | |||
| M1-04 | Meta-Pelites | T Richards | Muscovite schist | silver-orange; medium grained; strongly schistose; orange colour due to limonite(?); bowed shape is nose of a small scale fold | |||
| M1-03 | Meta-Pelites | T Richards | Sericite schist | silvery grey; fine grained; not strongly schistose; pyrite to 1 cm, partially weathered away; dark bands and small specks of strongly magnetic material; minor pyrrhotite, possible cpy | |||
| M1-02 | Meta-Pelites | T Richards | Slate | dark grey; fine grained; fissile cleavage | |||
| M1-01 | Meta-Pelites | T Richards | Argillite / Siltstone (missing) | dark grey; fine grained; massive; cigar-shaped belemnite fossil; weakly magnetic | |||
| D39 14 | Toodoggone Prospects | Moosehorn | D Lefebure | Dacite hydrothermal breccia | Jurassic | pink; siliceous; very fine grained; possible sulphide in breccia matrix | |
| D39 13 | Toodoggone Prospects | Metsantan | D Lefebure | Rhyolite | Jurassic | white; aphanitic; sparse relict phenos | |
| D39 12 | Toodoggone Prospects | Metsantan | D Lefebure | Altered dacite | Jurassic | pervasive pink colour due to strong alteration; argillic alteration superimposed on potassic?; 10% (?) feldspar phenocrysts are indistinct; 5% biotite and possible hornblende; biotite is least altered | |
| D39 11 (2 specimens) | Toodoggone Prospects | Golden Stranger DDH8823-507' | D Lefebure | Rhyolite | Jurassic | pink to pale green; mottled or brecciated; 2-3% sub millimetre quartz phenos | |
| D39 10 | Toodoggone Prospects | Golden Stranger | D Lefebure | Propylitic andesite | Jurassic | 20% feldspar (plagioclase) altered orange; 5% amphibole altered to chlorite and epidote; 1% quartz phenocrysts | |
| D39 09 | Toodoggone Prospects | Bingo | D Lefebure | Rhyolite tuff | Jurassic | light tan brown; massive; 5% fine vesicles; mainly aphanitic; 2% quartz and twinned feldspar phenocrysts | |
| D39 08 | Toodoggone Prospects | Little Belle | D Lefebure | Propylitic andesite | Jurassic | grey-green; fractured; patchy chlorite; fracture-controlled sulphides, galena, pyrite, others? with quartz and K-feldspar | |
| D39 07 (2 specimens) | Toodoggone Prospects | Little Belle | D Lefebure | Andesite | Jurassic | purple; 5% white to pink feldspar; 2% dark green hornblende | |
| D39 06 | Toodoggone Prospects | as above, 1700 North Drift | D Lefebure | Trachyte with quartz vein | Jurassic | pink; 10-20% K-feldspar phenocrysts to 1 cm; banded quartz vein (not amythest) with very sparse sulphides | |
| D39 05 (2 specimens) | Toodoggone Prospects | Cheni, AGB (Amythest-Gold Breccia), 1700 Dr N | D Lefebure | "Chocolate brown tuff" | Jurassic | crackle-brecciated aphanitic dacite; breccia healed by mm wide quartz veinlets | |
| D39 04 | Toodoggone Prospects | Al - Ring (or King?) | D Lefebure | Argillized andesite breccia | Jurassic | pale pinkish and white; very strongly altered, primary texture destroyed; 25% soft, white alunite(?) | |
| D39 03 | Toodoggone Prospects | Al | D Lefebure | Altered andesite-dacite | Jurassic | red; fine grained to aphanitic; faintly visible feldspar, amphibole and patchy groundmass silica; alteration likely includes subaerial oxidation | |
| D39 02 | Toodoggone Prospects | JD, trench east of ridge | D Lefebure | Amythest-adularia(?) vein | Jurassic | propylitic andesite host rock with pink, altered feldspar; 8 cm wide vein; pockets of amythest, 80% adularia(?); sparse grey sulphides (galena, tetrahedrite(?) along both vein selvages | |
| D39 01 | Toodoggone Prospects | Baker Mine | D Lefebure | Quartz-sulphide vein | Jurassic | medium grained quartz with possible adularia (flesh colour); 5-10% sulphides, pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena and undetermined grey sulphides | |
| D38-14 | Tom lead-zinc, Yukon | D Lefebure | Black siltstone | Devono-Mississippian Earn Group | thin bedded; minor, very thin pyrite laminae (beds); crumpled by weak folding | ||
| D38-13 | Tom lead-zinc, Yukon | D Lefebure | Slump breccia or Diamictite ? | heterogenous, clast-supported; polylithic but mainly chert clasts; very little to no transport or sorting of material by water | |||
| D38-12 | Tom lead-zinc, Yukon | D Lefebure | Ferricrete | iron (hematite) cemented surficial rubble | |||
| D38-11 | Tom lead-zinc, Yukon | D Lefebure | Exhalite | Devono-Mississippian Earn Group | 80% grey chert with narrow, calcite-filled tension gashes; 10% pale white barite; 5% galena on fractures | ||
| D38-10 | Tom lead-zinc, Yukon | D Lefebure | Chert pebble conglomerate | grey; round and angular clasts; most clasts are 0.5 cm, some to 2 cm |
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