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
D20-07	Kemess South		M Rebagliati	Plagioclase micro-porphyry monzodiorite		15% plagioclase, 2-3 mm, with pale green sausserite alteration; <5% hornblende, 1-2 mm; rare quartz, 1 mm microphenos; 75% pink, fine grained matrix that is probably K-feldspar; 5% quartz veins with envelope of K-feldspar and secondary biotite	Add Item
D20-06	Kemess South		M Rebagliati	Monzodiorite with quartz stockwork		plagioclase phyric; strongly altered; 60% quartz veins; pyrite veins cut quartz veins	Add Item
D20-05	Kemess South		M Rebagliati	Monzodiorite, supergene altered		native copper present	Add Item
D20-04	Kemess South		M Rebagliati	Propylitic lapilli tuff		heterolithic; clasts to 2 cm; plagioclase and amphibole crystal fragments in matrix; abundant epidote, pervasive and as veins; pervasive calcite	Add Item
D20-03	Kemess South		M Rebagliati	Chert, tuffaceous		mottled pale pink to white	Add Item
D20-02	Kemess South		M Rebagliati	Basalt		dark green to black; very fine grained; black colour may be partly due to secondary biotite; chalcopyrite irregularly distributed, as scattered clots rather than disseminated; sparse moly associated with cpy; a few pyrite veinlets <1 mm wide	Add Item
D20- 01	Kemess South		M Rebagliati	Plagioclase micro-porphyry monzodiorite, strongly altered and veined	Triassic?	light colour; 20% light green (sausseritized) plagioclase 1-2 mm; 10% primary quartz; 15% secondary biotite as replacement of primary mafic minerals, as envelopes to quartz veins and in quartz veins; 55% white aphanitic groundmass; vein stockwork of quartz-pyrite-chalcopyrite-molybdenite(?); veins are tectonically disrupted and broken quartz fragments are difficult to distinguish from primary quartz	Add Item
D19-09	Kemess North		M Rebagliati	Altered bladed plagioclase porphyry diorite(?)		more altered than D19-08; black zones contain several % disseminated pyrite, plus biotite and magnetite	Add Item
D19-08	Kemess North		M Rebagliati	Altered bladed plagioclase porphyry diorite(?)		similar to D19-06 but matrix is mottled grey to black; black areas are strongly magnetic and likely contain secondary biotite	Add Item
D19-07	Kemess North		M Rebagliati	Porphyritic syenite dike		75% pink feldspar 1-2 mm (crowded porphyry); matrix is greenish, due to chlorite?; no quartz; reported to be post mineralization intrusion	Add Item
D19-06	Kemess North		M Rebagliati	Bladed plagioclase porphyry diorite(?)		30% plagioclase phenocrysts to 1 cm long; 70% dark, very fine grained matrix	Add Item
D19-04	Kemess North		M Rebagliati	Chloritized andesite fragmental		medium to dark green; very strong pervasive chlorite; quartz-anhydrite veins (identified as fluorite)	Add Item
D19-04	Kemess North		M Rebagliati	Hydrothermal breccia		introduced quartz dominates; much lesser pyrite, chalcopyrite, magnetite	Add Item
D19-03	Kemess North		M Rebagliati	Hydrothermal breccia		early quartz-pyrite (ore stage) veins are cut by gypsum and lesser anhydrite	Add Item
D19-02	Kemess North		M Rebagliati	Plagioclase microporphyry monzodiorite		heterogenous alteration; pervasive K-feldspar alteration obliterates intrusive texture; strong pervasive secondary biotite; 3 cm anhydrite-pyrite-chalcopyrite vein; pale purple anhydrite commonly mistaken for fluorite	Add Item
D19-01	Kemess North		M Rebagliati	Altered andesite fragmental	Triassic?	black to dark grey; 7% disseminated pyrite; anastamosing quartz veinlet with trace secondary biotite; black rock colour may be pervasive secondary biotite	Add Item
D18-12	Copper Mountain - Similkameen		T Richards?	Hornfels volcanic breccia		dark grey to black; heterolithic clasts to 3 cm, some plagioclase-phyric, one or two light grey; clast-matrix texture homogenized by contact metamorphism	Add Item
D18-11	Copper Mountain - Similkameen		T Richards?	Stockwork veined hornfels		mottled black, white and orange; hard; relict dark biotite hornfels; intense stockwork of K-feldspar, silica and albite	Add Item
D18-10	Copper Mountain - Similkameen		T Richards?	Altered hornfels argillite(?)		light grey; hard; siliceous; relict breccia texture strongly overprinted by pervasive alteration and indistinct to clear veins of fine grained silica; minor K-spar alteration; some preserved biotite (or chlorite after biotite) remaining of hornfels. Interpreted to be argillite hornfels strongly overprinted by hydrothermal alteration	Add Item
D18-09	Copper Mountain - Similkameen		T Richards?	K-feldspar altered hornfels?		small specimen of dark hornfels (or mafic volcanic) with K-feldspar alteration	Add Item
D18-08	Copper Mountain - Similkameen		T Richards?	K-feldspar-epidote altered mafic volcanic?		similar to D18-06; host rock obscured by strong alteration; K-spar - epidote-albite veins comprise most of sample; white feldspar (2-4 mm) within K-spar areas resemble relict primary plagioclase but are most likely albite alteration; minor biotite and quartz within K-spar; no bornite or other sulphides	Add Item
D18-07	Copper Mountain - Similkameen			Hydrothermal K-feldspar vein		Andesite wallrock to 6 cm wide vein of pink K-feldspar, biotite, quartz, epidote and interstitial calcite	Add Item
D18-06	Copper Mountain - Similkameen		T Richards?	K-feldspar-epidote altered mafic volcanic?		green and pink; pervasive epidote alteration cross-cut by K-feldspar veins with chlorite envelope; minor euhedral biotite within K-feldspar; specularite(?) crystals widely disseminated within K-feldspar	Add Item
D18-05	Copper Mountain - Similkameen		T Richards?	Fractured sericite-altered rhyolite?		light grey; very fine grained; similar to D18-4 but less siliceous due to sericite and possible chlorite; strong cross-cutting fractures; minor py; one speck cpy; 1-2 cm calcite vein	Add Item
D18-04	Copper Mountain - Similkameen		T Richards?	Rhyolite?		light grey; very fine grained; siliceous; hint of breccia texture; narrow (1-2 mm) silica veinlets	Add Item
D18-03	Copper Mountain - Similkameen		T Richards?	Biotite hornfelsed siltstone		dark purply-brown; bedded; very fine grained; chlorite as patches and irregular, discontinuous veinlets with bleached envelopes	Add Item
D18-02	Copper Mountain - Similkameen		T Richards?	Basalt		dark green-black; very fine grained; non-magnetic; 10% coarse (5 mm) pyrite, fracture-controlled accompanied by minor quartz; black colour may be due to secondary biotite	Add Item
D18-01	Copper Mountain - Similkameen		T Richards?	Mafic volcanic		dark green; massive; fragmental texture is weakly visible, possibly due to hornfels overprint	Add Item
D17-08	Silver Standard			Galena vein	late Cretaceous	fine grained, bleached siltstone with disseminated pyrite and arsenopyrite(?); coarse galena fills vein opening	Add Item
D17-07	Silver Standard			Massive sulphide ore breccia	late Cretaceous	siltstone breccia healed by (in sequential order) carbonate that rims fragments, sphalerite and chalcopyrite, and finally galena and arsenopyrite	Add Item
D17-06	Silver Standard			Siltstone hornfels		laminated; indurated; partly baked because fractures predominate over bedding	Add Item
D17-05	Silver Standard			Felsite dike	late Cretaceous	bleached quartz-biotite porphyry; fine sericite alteration; disseminated pyrite	Add Item
D17-04	Silver Standard			Carbonaceous sandstone	Jurassic	black; medium grained; unaltered	Add Item
D17-03	Silver Standard			Quartz-siderite cemented breccia	late Cretaceous	fragments all uniformly bleaced siltstone	Add Item
D17-02	Silver Standard			Bleached siltstone	late Cretaceous	light grey; fine grained; massive	Add Item
D17-01	Silver Standard			Siderite cemented breccia	late Cretaceous	angular breccia fragments uniformly bleached; no reaction between ore fluid and wallrock	Add Item
D16-09	Carlin Gold deposits	Manhattan pit		Siltstone (or volcanic) with quartz stockwork		ore grade	Add Item
D16-08	Carlin Gold deposits	Bald Mountain pit		Siltstone with quartz veins		pink, hematitic siltstone, finely laminated; cut by vuggy quartz veins	Add Item
D16-07	Carlin Gold deposits	Gold Quarry		Jasperoid breccia		open space between breccia clasts	Add Item
D16-06	Carlin Gold deposits	Carlin Mine		Bleached limey siltstone		finely laminated; assays to 1 oz/t Au	Add Item
D16-05	Carlin Gold deposits	Carlin Mine		Bleached limey siltstone		finely laminated; assays 1-2 oz/t Au	Add Item
D16-04	Carlin Gold deposits	Carlin Mine		Jasperoid with fine barite		grey, vuggy silica; barite reported but cannot be identified in sample, too fine grained; assays to 0.2 oz/t Au	Add Item
D16-03	Carlin Gold deposits	Carlin Mine		Brecciated jasperoid vein		angular clasts in dark grey silicic matrix; limonite gossan from surface weathering	Add Item
D16-02	Carlin Gold deposits	Gold Quarry		Chert and limey siltstone		purple-black chert in tectonic contact with light grey limey siltstone; assaysto 0.1 oz/t Au	Add Item
D16-01	Carlin Gold deposits	Carlin Mine		Jasperoid vein in shear zone		grey; fine grained siltstone; hard, siliceous; strongly fractured, crackled; gossan weather surface; assays up to 1 oz/t Au	Add Item
D14-16	Bell Copper					30% coarse grained tarnished pyrite vein with trace qtz + calcite. 60% bleached biotite feldspar porphyry? Strong argillic alteration.	Remove Item
D14-15	Bell Copper			Biotite feldspar porphyry, altered and stockwork veined	Eocene	pervasive hydrothermal biotite in host rock which is poorly visible; stockwork of quartz-pyrite-chalcopyrite veins with K-feldspar envelope and retrograde chlorite-carbonate alteration; calcite on most fracture surfaces	Add Item
D14-14	Bell Copper			Quartz stockwork	Eocene	90% quartz-pyrite veins; 10% fragments with faintly visible intrusive texture but completely altered to powdery kaolinite	Remove Item
D14-13	Bell Copper			Weathered massive chalcopyrite	Eocene		Remove Item
D14-12	Bell Copper			Chalcopyrite vein	Eocene	poor specimen; unrecognizeable wallrock; late coarse calcite	Add Item

Samples in your order cart

Library No.	Suite Name	Location	Collector	Rock Name	Age	Description	Cart
A5 04	Argillic Alteration		T Richards	Argillic spheroidal rhyolite		strong pervasive argillic alteration likely due to steam in a geothermal field; 10% spherules are mostly leached out to voids, some remaining silica and clay; iron oxidized to hematite; strong gossan weathering	Remove Item
D14-13	Bell Copper			Weathered massive chalcopyrite	Eocene		Remove Item
D14-14	Bell Copper			Quartz stockwork	Eocene	90% quartz-pyrite veins; 10% fragments with faintly visible intrusive texture but completely altered to powdery kaolinite	Remove Item
A5 02	Argillic Alteration		T Richards	Bladed feldspar porphyry andesite		30% plagioclase laths, 1-2 cm long, pale green in colour due to sausserite (zoisite / epidote) alteration; microcrystalline groundmass is dark green, likely chlorite altered	Remove Item
D4-07	Afton Mines - Ajax suite	Ajax West	Mine staff	Hybrid diorite (microdiorite)	Up Triassic	fine to medium grained, grey-green; equal proportion of chloritized mafics and plagioclase; minor py and epidote	Remove Item
D2-05	Premier Mine	2-level portal	D Alldrick	Semi-massive sulphide	Jurassic	50% py, 20% sph, 1% cpy; quartz and calcite gangue	Remove Item
D14-16	Bell Copper					30% coarse grained tarnished pyrite vein with trace qtz + calcite. 60% bleached biotite feldspar porphyry? Strong argillic alteration.	Remove Item
A4 11	Copper-Bearing Propylites		T Richards	Actinolite - quartz skarn breccia		dense, medium grained, prismatic actinolite with 10% rounded quartz "pebbles" that are linked by quartz-chalcopyrite stringers	Remove Item

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