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	Description	Cart
A3 05	Propylitic Andesites		T Richards	Quartz porphyry dacite(?), epidote altered	5% quartz phenos; indistinct feldspar phenos suggested; pervasive epidote alteration	Add Item
A3 04	Propylitic Andesites		T Richards	Weathered andesite tuff	poor sample; faint texture; clay altered?	Add Item
A3 03	Propylitic Andesites		T Richards	Andesite ash tuff	clastic texture faintly preserved; light green due to pervasive montmorillonite clay; minor chlorite	Add Item
A3 02	Propylitic Andesites		T Richards	Clay-altered andesite lapilli tuff	10% brown, unaltered clasts; 10% white plagioclase phenocrysts (or clasts?) altered to kaolin; 75-80% pale green matrix rich in montmorillonite (celadonite) clay	Add Item
A3 01	Propylitic Andesites		T Richards	Altered diorite	50% plagioclase; 50% indeterminate mafics altered to chlorite and lesser epidote; epidote-calcite-albite(?) veins	Add Item
missing A2-C	Hotspring Altered Volcanics		T Richards	Silica rock	fine grained silica; throat of a venting system, may have old label A2-13	Add Item
missing A2-B	Hotspring Altered Volcanics		T Richards	Clay-altered rock	intensely altered feldspar and quartz porphyry; every component except quartz altered to chalkly clays; abundant pyrite; advanced argillic alteration, may have old label A2-11	Add Item
missing A2-A	Hotspring Altered Volcanics		T Richards	Volcanic breccia	green matrix; fragments with relict pink hematite; some fragments with light green clay alteration; early propylitic, may have old label A2-08	Add Item
A2-17	Hotspring Altered Volcanics			chalcedony cemented breccia	may be from Specogna deposit on Haida Gwai, a hotspring gold deposit	Add Item
A2-16	Hotspring Altered Volcanics			Sulphidized rhyolite?	very light coloured aphanitic rhyolite(?); there might have been an original texture that has been obliterated by alteration; 8% disseminated, well crystallized pyrite to 1 cm	Add Item
A2-15	Hotspring Altered Volcanics			Altered quartz-feldspar-biotite porphyry	plagioclase cores are pitted while rims remain; presumably calcic cores were replaced by calcite which has weathered out while sodic rims (albite) are preserved; matrix is pale green due to weak chlorite	Add Item
A2-14	Hotspring Altered Volcanics			Andesite, weak propylitic	20% augite, 1-3 mm; lesser 1-3 mm plagioclase laths; plagioclase altered to pale green sausserite (mixture of zoisite, chlorite and carbonate)	Add Item
A2-13	Hotspring Altered Volcanics			Argillic altered rhyolite breccia	buff to white, clay-altered clasts with hematite rims in hard, pale grey, aphanitic rhyolite	Add Item
A2-12	Hotspring Altered Volcanics			Propylitic Andesite lapilli tuff	chlorite alteration of fragments; pervasive carbonate and iron carbonate veining resulting in distinctive orange-brown weathered surface	Add Item
A2-11	Hotspring Altered Volcanics			Propylitic andesite / basalt	vesicular to amygdaloidal; fillings are mainly chlorite, also clear and pink, radiating calcite; pervasive chlorite in matrix	Add Item
A2-10	Hotspring Altered Volcanics		Unknown	Clay-altered bladed feldspar porphyry	complete clay-sericite alteration; advanced argillic alteration; original sample is missing, an unlabelled (similar?) rock has been substitued and description amended, this specimen is not veined or brecciated	Add Item
A2-09	Hotspring Altered Volcanics		T Richards	Silicified lapilli tuff	white; hard; silicified with micro-cavities likely due to loss of alkalis and ferro-magnesium elements; texture obliterated; located near a venting hydrothermal system	Add Item
A2-08	Hotspring Altered Volcanics		T Richards	Stockwork-veined volcanic breccia	very angular fragments of various rhyolite to andesite composition; irregular, drusy quartz vein network that surrounds some fragments showing the rock was not consolidated; matrix is permeated with silica; clasts altered to chlorite, epidote and albite	Add Item
A2-07	Hotspring Altered Volcanics		T Richards	Altered feldspar porphyry andesite	10-15% plagioclase altered to epidote, chlorite and albite; 5% amygdules filled by potash feldspar and epidote; good example of propylitic alteration by regional geothermal	Add Item
A2-06	Hotspring Altered Volcanics		T Richards	Altered mafic volcanic	chlorite-epidote alteration with patchy calcite; original texture preserved; sparse plagioclase and 25% chorite amygdules with a few vesicles; amygdules are oval-shaped and aligned; possible origin - propylitic alteration, weak regional metamorphism or regioanal subaqueous alteration (spilite)	Add Item
A2-05	Hotspring Altered Volcanics		T Richards	Spherulitic rhyolite	first appearance is a chalky reddish, light green to bleached feldspar porphyry; closer inspection shows the bleached material is spherules, not feldspar, in a greenish, aphanitic groundmass; weak steam alteration	Add Item
A2-04	Hotspring Altered Volcanics		T Richards	Vesicular mafic volcanic feldspar porphyry	Calcic feldspar completely replaced by epidote; 1-2 mm vesicles filled by chlorite; non-magnetic; propylite	Add Item
A2-03	Hotspring Altered Volcanics		T Richards	Altered volcanic sandstone / mudstone	alternating beds of fine sandstone and red mudstone; sandy beds altered to epidote; sand beds are permeable to hot geothermal water, mud beds are impermeable	Add Item
A2-02	Hotspring Altered Volcanics		T Richards	Propylitic feldspar porphyry	40-50% feldspar, opaque white, probably albite; 5-10% hornblende altered to chlorite; chlorite (weak) in matrix; weak propylitic alteration	Add Item
A2-01	Hotspring Altered Volcanics		T Richards	Lapilli tuff	unaltered lapilli fragments within ash tuff with patchy pale green epidote; weak propyllitic alteration	Add Item
A1 12	Listwanite Alteration			Listwanite schist	strongly laminated; 65% silica; 20% mica, including mariposite; 15% lamination-controlled pyrite; trace needles of arsenopyrite	Add Item
A1 11 (missing)	Listwanite Alteration	Eileen vein, Ericson (Table Mtn mine)	C Ash	Quartz-pyrite-gold vein		Add Item
A1 10	Listwanite Alteration	Atlin	C Ash	Sheared listwanite	strongly foliated and laminated; 2-3% pyrite in siliceous laminae; arsenopyrite reported by collector	Add Item
A1 09 (missing)	Listwanite Alteration	Atlin	C Ash	Listwanite	quartz-carbonate-mariposite rock; appearance of silica and K-mica alteration is linked to gold deposition	Add Item
A1 08	Listwanite Alteration	Atlin	C Ash	Carbonate-altered serpentine	serpentine-mariposite rock cut by drusy ankerite veins, that appear to have a narrow quartz selvage; alteration is a two-step process, the first is replacement, the second is quartz-carbonate veining	Add Item
A1 07	Listwanite Alteration	Atlin	C Ash	Talc-carbonated altered peridotite	patchy, irregular of light brown carbonate superimposed on earlier mottled light to medium grained pervasive talc	Add Item
A1 06	Listwanite Alteration	Atlin	C Ash	Weathere, intensely carbonatized peridotite	similar to previous specimen but deeply weathered to rusty brown; hard to scratch shows silica is intergrown with ankerite; no reaction to acid	Add Item
A1 05	Listwanite Alteration	Atlin	C Ash	Intensely carbonatized peridotite	greenish-grey blobs were orthopyroxene; abundant green patches of mariposite; most of the rock is intergrowth of iron carbonate (ankerite) and fine silica; minor chromite survived alteration	Add Item
A1 04	Listwanite Alteration	Atlin	C Ash	Carbonatized peridotite	dark grey patches of relict orthopyroxene; light green matrix	Add Item
A1 03	Listwanite Alteration	Atlin	C Ash	Sheared serpentinite	strong fabric; 20-30% relict orthopyroxene, replaced by serpentine; talc reported in thin section	Add Item
A1 02	Listwanite Alteration	Atlin	C Ash	Serpentinized peridotite	near black colour; coarse grained; 20-30% orthopyroxene as rounded fractured grains; rest is olivine and accessory chromite; weakly magnetic	Add Item
A1 01	Listwanite Alteration	Atlin	C Ash	Peridotite (harzburgite)	black-green colour; 70-80% olivine; 20-30% bladed orthopyroxene with bronze tint; unaltered	Add Item
S21-18	Skeena		T Richards	Sandstone	well bedded on 0.5 to 1 cm scale; medium grey with pink shades, due to feldspar?; composed mainly of quartz and feldspar grains	Add Item
S21-17	Skeena		T Richards	Sandstone	light greenish-grey; homogenous	Add Item
S21-16	Skeena		T Richards	Coarse sandstone	light pink-grey; well sorted; massive; uniform; no bedding	Add Item
S21-15	Skeena		T Richards	Conglomerate	heterolithic, one prominent granitic clast; mainly white and black chert from sand size to 4 cm; some angular but most are sub to well rounded; greenish matrix	Add Item
S21-14	Skeena		T Richards	Black argillite	very fine grained shaley silt	Add Item
S21-13	Skeena		T Richards	Chert pebble conglomerate	50% pale chert clasts; 25% dark, black cherty clasts; 25% greenish sandy matrix; pebbles are 0.25 to 1 cm size, fairly well sorted	Add Item
S21-12	Skeena		T Richards	Conglomerate	heterolithic, volcanic and sedimentary cobbles, mainly 1-4 cm size; clast supported in coarse, sandy matrix; angular to rounded shape; immature and lack of flattening suggest fluvial deposit	Add Item
S21-11	Skeena		T Richards	Conglomerate	poorly sorted; clasts from sand to 4 cm; alignment of flattened cobbles shows crude bedding; one prominent cobble of chert pebble conglomerate (reworked); flattening suggests a high-energy beach deposit	Add Item
S21-10	Skeena		T Richards	Red shale or tuff	very well laminated, thin bedded; irregularly distributed angular fragments appear to be pyroclasts, making this a tuff, not a shale	Add Item
S21-09	Skeena		T Richards	Chert pebble conglomerate	clast supported; clasts 0.25 to 1 cm; densely packed, i.e. well washed, well-sorted; beach deposit?	Add Item
S21-08	Skeena		T Richards	Coarse sandstone	20% quartz and feldspar grains; 5% sparse, rounded pebbles to 1 cm; thick bedded; evidence of grading; greenish colour similar to S21-01, 02	Add Item
S21-07	Skeena		T Richards	Red shale	red; thin bedded; shale to silty shale	Add Item
S21-06	Skeena		T Richards	Siltstone	massive; light grey; homogenous; very weakly bedded	Add Item

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