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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D14-11 | Bell Copper | Conglomerate | Eocene | heterolithic cobbles 1-10 cm; clast supported; diverse lithologies but no biotite feldspar porphyry | |||
| D14-10 | Bell Copper | Porphyritic rhyodacite | Eocene | 10% feldspar phenocrysts; pink aphanitic matrix; very fine quartz veinlets with pyrite and hematite | |||
| D14-09 | Bell Copper | Tectonic breccia | Eocene | grey, angular, fine grained clasts (volcanic or sedimentary?) cemented mainly by silica but also late, white calcite | |||
| D14-08 | Bell Copper | Altered biotite feldspar porphyry | Eocene | pale grey colour (bleached); no biotite; pervasive carbonate and clay(?) alteration | |||
| D14-07 | Bell Copper | Biotite feldspar porphyry | Eocene | strong potassic alteration; pink plagioclase suggests replacement by K-feldspar; pervasive hydrothermal biotite in groundmass; strongly fractured with fillings of chalcopyrite, bornite(?) and quartz up to 1-2 mm wide | |||
| D14-06 | Bell Copper | Chalcopyrite vein | Eocene | massive chalcopyrite; minor bornite; drusy, pink K-feldspar and quartz are part of the vein; Kspar borders cpy with drusy quartz at vein centre | |||
| D14-05 | Bell Copper | Diorite | Eocene | 60% feldspar (plagioclase); 40% chlorite, likely after hornblende; no biotite; dark green mafic xenoliths; appears to be mafic phase of biotite feldspar porphyry | |||
| D14-04 (missing) | |||||||
| D14-03 | Bell Copper | (Biotite) feldspar porphyry | Eocene | light grey; intrusive texture but no primary minerals preserved; plagioclase is light pink, may be replaced by K-feldspar; no biotite | |||
| D14-02 | Bell Copper | (Biotite) feldspar porphyry | Eocene | propyllitic alteration; 30% plagioclase in grey-green groundmass; 10% mafic component completely altered to chlorite; no biotite | |||
| D14-01 | Bell Copper | Feldspar Hornblende Porphyry | pale brown feldspar phenos in dark grey groundmass, weak ser alt, strongly magnetic (potassic alteration?), mineralized quartz veining with chalcopyrite and bornite. | ||||
| D13-12 | Dome Mtn | Dome adit | T Richards? | Listwanite | mottled grey and green; well foliated; original rock obscured by strong alteration to quartz-mariposite (emerald green)-carbonate; 5% pyrite as euhedral 4-5 mm grains, preferentially on foliation plane but throughout; minor galena. Probably vein wallrock | ||
| D13-11 | Dome Mtn | T Richards? | Sericite shear with minor fold | Jurassic | exceptional example of a fold in hand sample; pale green, fine grained sericite; red-brown carbonate (likely siderite); quartz-carbonate and minor chlorite form foliation bands; minor pyrite and sphalerite preferentially along quartz-rich bands | ||
| D13-10 | Dome Mtn | T Richards? | Sericite phyllite or phyllonite | Jurassic | hangingwall of shear zone hosting the vein | ||
| D13-09 | Dome Mtn | T Richards? | Quartz-sulphide ore vein | Jurassic | sulphides are pyrite, chalcopyrite, 5% tetrahedrite(?) in order of abundance; quartz gangue | ||
| D13-08 | Dome Mtn | T Richards? | Chlorite-sericite phyllite | Jurassic | quartz-carbonate veinlets | ||
| D13-07 | Dome Mtn | T Richards? | Quartz-sulphide ore vein | Jurassic | sulphides are pyrite and galena; vein selvage is sericite and green mica; brown carbonate (siderite or ankerite) alteration | ||
| D13-06 | Dome Mtn | T Richards? | Pyritic sericite phyllite | Jurassic | more advanced alteration from incipient phyllites | ||
| D13-05 | Dome Mtn | T Richards? | Quartz-sulphide ore vein | Jurassic | sulphides are pyrite, chalcopyrite, tetrahedrite in order of abundance; quartz gangue; vein shows evidence of shearing | ||
| D13-04 | Dome Mtn | T Richards? | Chlorite-altered amygdaloidal andesite | Jurassic | incipient development of slaty cleavage; pervasive propyllitic alteration | ||
| D13-03 | Dome Mtn | T Richards? | Chlorite phyllite | Jurassic | well developed lineation; quartz-carbonate veins fill tension cracks | ||
| D13-02 | Dome Mtn | T Richards? | Red amygdaloidal andesite | Jurassic | massive; no foliation development | ||
| D13-01 | Dome Mtn | T Richards? | Tuffaceous mudstone | Jurassic | red; feldspathic; fine parallel fractures indicate early development of slaty cleavage | ||
| D12-16 | Mt Milligan | M Rebagliatti | Feldspar porphyry monzonite, Southern Star stock | 183 Ma | dark spotted, light grey-green and mauve; 20% indistinguishable chloritized mafics; 40% feldspar 3 mm; 25% purple veins and masses of potassic enrichment (K feldspar); 1-2% fine disseminated py and cpy. Assays 0.26 g/t Au, 0.437% Cu | ||
| D12-15 | Mt Milligan | M Rebagliatti | Feldspar porphyry monzonite, Southern Star stock | 183 Ma | light grey to grey-green and purple; 40-50% feldspar 1-5 mm (30% plag, 10-20% Kspar); trachytic texture; <1% mafics; purple colour results from potassic alteration; weak carbonate. Assays 0.06 g/t Au, 0.068% Cu | ||
| D12-14 | Mt Milligan | M Rebagliatti | Feldspar porphyry monzonite | 183 Ma | medium grey with 85% feldspar (30% Kspar, 55% plag); 5% mafics; chlorite and carbonate on hairline fractures; 3% diss py and cpy? Assays 0.41 g/t Au, 0.59% Cu | ||
| D12-13 | Mt Milligan | M Rebagliatti | Feldspar porphyry monzonite | 183 Ma | medium grey with 35% feldspar 1-2 mm; 30% chloritized mafics; pervasive and veinlet carbonate; 5% py and cpy as fracture filling masses. Assays 0.61 g/t Au, 0.59% Cu | ||
| D12-12 | Mt Milligan | M Rebagliatti | Feldspar porphyry monzonite, MBX stock | 183 Ma | medium to dark grey with 25% feldspar 1-4 mm; 20% very fine grained mafics; chlorite and carbonate in matrix; 5% py, cpy and bornite. Assays 0.41 g/t Au, 0.43% Cu | ||
| D12-11 | Mt Milligan | M Rebagliatti | Feldspar porphyry monzonite, MBX stock | 183 Ma | medium grey, black and white spotted; 35% plagioclase 1 mm; 20% chloritized mafics <1 mm; pervasive carbonate; <1% py. Assays 0.04 g/t Au, 0.010% Cu | ||
| D12-10 | Mt Milligan | M Rebagliatti | Trachyte, potassic altered | Up Triassic Takla Group | light grey-brown siliceous matrix with 15% dark green chloritic patches 3 mm to 2 cm; 5% feldspar <1 mm; hairline carbonate fractures; py and minor cpy associated with chloritic areas and as thin fractures. Sample assays 1.64 g/t Au, 0.048% Cu | ||
| D12-09 | Mt Milligan | M Rebagliatti | Trachyte flow, potassic altered | Up Triassic Takla Group | light grey-brown siliceous matrix with 20% dark green chloritic remnants 2 mm to 2 cm size; <1 mm white spots probably feldspar; 10% py rims chloritic patches. Assays 0.02 g/t Au, 0.001% Cu | ||
| D12-08 | Mt Milligan | M Rebagliatti | Hornblende augite porphyritic rhyodacit | Up Triassic Takla Group | light grey, aphanitic; 25% augite 2 mm, 5% hornblende 4 mm both weakly chloritic; minor carbonate; 10% py. Assays 0.01 g/t Au, 0.011% Cu | ||
| D12-07 | Mt Milligan | M Rebagliatti | Augite feldspar porphyry quartz latite | up Triassic Takla Group | dark and light grey mottled; 30% feldspar 2 mm; 5 % augite 1 mm; chlorite in dark areas; light areas due to alteration to silica and K-feldspar?; 15% py as blebs to 1 cm; 5% cpy associated with py. Assays 3.14 g/t Au, 0.39% Cu | ||
| D12-06 | Mt Milligan | M Rebagliatti | Augite feldspar porphyry latite | up Triassic Takla Group | dark grey, 30% feldspar 2 mm (equally plagioclase and K-feldspar) and 10% augite, most 2 mm but some are larger; light and dark matrix; 10% pyrite, 2-10 mm blebs and patches. Assays 2.44 g/t Au, 0.054% Cu | ||
| D12-05 | Mt Milligan | M Rebagliatti | Augite feldspar porphyry latite | up Triassic Takla Group | dark grey with 25% feldspar 1-2 mm and 10% augite 3-4 mm; augite hard to distinguish; green tint to feldspar due to epidote; chlorite and carbonate in matrix; 10% py as blebs and hairline fractures. Assays 0.19 g/t Au, 0.011% Cu | ||
| D12-04 | Mt Milligan | M Rebagliatti | Augite porphyry quartz latite | up Triassic Takla Group | medium to light grey-green, mottled texture; 10% augite 1-2 mm in dark green matrix; 15% light coloured, more siliceous (alteration) patches; 25% pyrite. Assays 0.40 g/t Au, 0.015% Cu | ||
| D12-03 | Mt Milligan | M Rebagliatti | Quartz latite crystal flow tuff | up Triassic Takla Group | mottled light grey-green; 20% feldspar as 1-2 mm grains; 20% py as blebs and disseminations; from Takla Group and assayed 0.26 g/t Au, 0.11% Cu | ||
| D12-02 | Mt Milligan | M Rebagliatti | Latite crystal tuff, altered | up Triassic Takla Group | grey-green, medium grained; feldspar 1 mm is 40% and 1 mm augite is 10%; feldspar altered to epidote and carbonate (sausseritized); chlorite and carbonate are pervasive; epidote is patchy. Grade is 0.19 g/t Au and 0.067% Cu. Takla Group | ||
| D12-01 | Mt Milligan | M Rebagliatti | Latite tuff | up Triassic Takla Group | dark grey, fine grained, rounded clasts 1-5 mm comprise 20% of rock; hairline fractures of quartz-carbonate; 10% py as blebs and fracture fillings; pervasive chlorite and weak carbonate, fracture-controlled epidote | ||
| D11-11 | Cheni Gold mine, AGB zone | Cheni Mine Geologist | Chalcedony breccia vein | Grey-brown chalcedonic quartz with poorly distinguished breccia fragments of andesite. Argentite occurs as a silver-grey 1-2 cm rounded bleb associated with redish hematite. Multiple stages of brecciation. Sample is typical of high-grade ore. | |||
| D11-10 | Cheni Gold mine, AGB zone | Cheni Mine Geologist | Quartz-calcite-argentite vein | White to grey carbonate; light to dark grey quartz; 2% black argentite blebs 2-3 mm. Angular breccia fragments of brown andesite, locally called the Chocolate Brown Tuff (CBT) unit. These veins are uncommon at AGB. | |||
| D11-09 | Cheni Gold mine, AGB zone | Cheni Mine Geologist | Breccia vein ore | Medium grey, mottled, aphanitic with 25% poorly distinguished rounded fragments 2-15mm of trachyte? 1% cpy as fracture fillings and in cavities. Bright red spots are probably paint. Much from this stope grades 29 oz/t Au and >200 oz/t Ag over 1 m. | |||
| D11-08 | Cheni Gold mine, AGB zone | Cheni Mine Geologist | Brecciated andesite ore | 60% grey and brown aphanitic breccia fragments 1 mm to 2 cm, rounded and angular; pinkish-brown aphanitic matrix. Gravelly and limonitic where highly brecciated. Two or more phases of brecciation recognized; matrix includes silicified gouge. | |||
| D11-07 | Cheni Gold mine, AGB zone | Cheni Mine Geologist | Andesite dyke | Light grey-green, aphanitic, massive with 2-3% fine, unknown mafic and 1% fine unknown feldspar phenos; pervasive clay and chlorite indicated by color and softness. Dyke intruded along major fault in the mine, causes dilution of the ore. | |||
| D11-06 | Cheni Gold mine, AGB zone | Cheni Mine Geologist | Trachyte | 40% altered feldspar 2mm in purple-brown aphanitic matrix; feldspar completely altered to clay (illite) and sericite indicates feldspars were potassic; carbonate on some fractures. Thought to be intrusive; some of highest gold-silver grade ore of the mine occurs in this rock type but not known if this is genetic or coincidental. | |||
| D11-05 | Cheni Gold mine, AGB zone | Cheni Mine Geologist | Chalcedonic veins in altered trachyte | Brown and pink with 1-5mm K-feldspar in aphanitic groundmass; 5-10% stockwork of calcedonic quartz fills fractures; clay (argillic alteration) is developed where fracture density is highest; boxwork of iron oxides indicates weathered iron sulphides; diffuse grey color indicates argentite. High grade silver-gold ore. | |||
| D11-04 | Cheni Gold mine, AGB zone | Cheni Mine Geologist | Amethyst veins in limonitic andesite | Orange-brown quartz-feldspar porphyry andesite, pervasively altered to limonite; two amethyst veins 2-4cm wide; purple amethyst in vein core, gry translucent quartz on the margin; calcite between the veins. Limonite is supergene. Amethyst occurs as late stage cavity filling within calcedonic veins and indicates the vein is likely ore-bearing. | |||
| D11-03 | Cheni Gold mine, AGB zone | Cheni Mine Geologist | Hematitic trachyte tuff | Groundmass is aphanitic, brown (hematite) is apparently product of intense alteration of trachyte D11-02; pink feldspars are visible but other original texture is poorly preserved. 10% rounded grey tuff fragments 2-10mm are visible on weathered surface; olive green fragments indicate minor epidote alteration. Epidote is uncommon at Cheni; hematite in this sample is more intense than usual; similar specimens may contain >1 oz/t Au. Sample is 3m from D11-02, a fault separates the two alteration types. | |||
| D11-02 | Cheni Gold mine, AGB zone | Cheni Mine Geologist | Chloritic K-feldspar porphyritic trachyte | 50% pink k-feldspar 1-5mm; groundmass is fairly soft indicative of chlorite alteration; pervasive carbonate and as stringers. Chloritic, weakly veined rocks like this often contain >1 oz/t Au. Represents breccia vein on 1733 South level. | |||
| D11-01 | Cheni Gold mine, AGB zone | Cheni Mine Geologist | Quartz-feldspar porphyry andesite | aphanitic grey-brown groundmass with 40% pink feldspar (plagioclas) 1-4mm and 5% dark grey, semi-translucent quartz crystals 1 mm; calcite in sub-parallel stringers and pods; green tint may indicate epodite. Representative of or footwall. |
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