Alex Indigo, via Flickr Indigo, Alex indmin.com

Australian lithium Australian market? Asian battery on the dibs First minerals Fertiliser suppliers for Niche opportunities Processing in ceramics methods New soda ash Russian nepheline syenite from Sourcing 2016 March mineral

Has been, or will be? industry

Canada’s

See IM at: 2016 PDAC Toronto, 6-9 March

March 2016 No. 581 INDUSTRIAL MINERALS BC industrial minerals

For example, total production capacity at BC’s three cement plants is 2.62m tonnes. Assuming Industrial minerals these plants operated at 90% of capacity and the price of cement was C$170/tonne, the estimated value of cement produced in BC was over C$400m last year. This is equivalent to the total worth of in BC’s industrial mineral production for 2015 and illustrates the importance of value-added processing. Canada’s most southwesterly province is one of its most Similar to coal and metals markets, demand for industrial minerals and aggregates is cyclic. active in terms of industrial minerals. George Simandl and However, the maxima and minima of the industrial Michaela Neetz of the British Columbia Geological Survey mineral and aggregate cycles are commonly less at the BC Ministry of Energy and Mines give a detailed over pronounced and are not coincidental with the metals cycle. Thus, during global economic view of its non-metallic mineral activity and potential. downturns, companies that normally explore for metals consider non-metallic mineral targets. ituated on the west coast of accounted for the largest share of revenue, the Recent changes in markets present opportunities Canada, British Columbia (BC) is contributions of industrial minerals (6%, or for newcomers to industrial minerals. Reduced served by several deepwater ports, a C$414m) and aggregates (5%, or C$345m) are availability of fly ash and synthetic gypsum, related modern highway system and a also significant. The value of sulphur, recovered to lower use of coal for electricity generation in the network of rail lines, linking the as a by-product of oil and natural gas processing, US and Canada, may create new opportunities for Sprovince’s industrial centres to the rest of North is estimated at C$135m (FOB ). pozzolanic materials and natural gypsum. It remains America and the Pacific Rim countries. Metals, metal ore concentrates and coal to be seen if BC will benefit from increased demand The main industrial minerals produced in BC produced in BC are largely exported; however, a for materials required for reduction of greenhouse (see Figure 1) are magnesite, limestone, gypsum, substantial portion of industrial minerals are gas emissions (e.g., solar grade silicon, rare earths crushed rock, silica, dimension stone and white processed locally and incorporated or and graphite). Additionally, the effects of the calcium carbonate. Industrial minerals produced transformed into finished products, such as proposed infrastructure programme announced by in lesser quantities include jade (nephrite), cement, lime, wallboard, paper, paint, the Canadian federal government may benefit BC magnetite, dolomite, barite, pumice, flagstone, absorbents, soil conditioners, fertilisers and producers of cement and construction materials. clay, tufa, bentonite, fuller’s earth and zeolites. refractory materials. Consequently, industrial The value of solid mineral production in 2015 minerals and aggregates have a much larger Review of industrial mineral activity is estimated at Canadian dollar (C$) 7bn economic importance for BC than is suggested More than 30 industrial mineral mines or quarries ($5.11bn*) (see Figure 2). Although coal (43%) by Figure 2. (Figure 1), at least 20 major sites where industrial minerals were upgraded into value-added products Figure 1: Selected industrial mineral mines, quarries and projects in British Columbia. and over 1,000 aggregate mining operations were active in BC in 2015.

Minerals produced in 2015 Fireside (Ba) Status Cassiar Jade (Jd) Operating Barite British Showings, prospects, past producers Columbia Industrial Minerals Fireside Minerals Ltd was the only barite (barytes) Polar Jade (Jd) Provencher (Jd) Aggregate (Agg) Marble (Mr) producer in BC last year, with output of less than Kutcho Creek (Jd) Barite (Ba) Canada Natural clinker (Nc) Gataga District Basalt (Bs) Niobium (Nb) 30,000 tonnes barite. This came mostly from the Zn-Pb-Ba Bentonite (Bn) Olivine (Ol) Diatomaceous earth (De) Opal (Op) Bear pit and is expected to shift to the Moose pit in USA Dimension stone (Ds) Perlite (Pr) Diorite (Di) Phosphate (Ph) 2016, both located in northern BC. Aley (Nb) Dolomite (Do) Pumice (Pu) Fluorite (Fl) Rare earth elements Besides Fireside, more than 200 barite Garnet (Gn) (REE) Ogden Mtn (Jd) Glacial clay (Gc) Sandstone (Ss) Graphite (Gr) Shale (Sh) occurrences have been reported in BC, the largest of Swamp Point North (Agg) Gypsum (Gp) Silica (Si) Anyox (Sg) Jade (Jd) Slag (Sg) which are linked with undeveloped zinc-lead Limestone (Lm) Talc (Tc) Wapiti East (Ph) Magnesite (Mg) White Ca-carbonate (Ca) deposits in the Gataga district (Figure 3). Pacific Ocean Zeolite (Ze) Wicheeda Magnetite (Mag) Giscome Ballast (Bs) Lake (REE) Burning Francois Giscome (Lm) Daylight (Bs) Lake (Pr) Carbonates Ahbau (Bs) Magnesite, limestone, white calcium carbonate Nazko (Pu) Yellowjacket (Ds) Moberly Silica (Si) Clayburn (De) Horse Creek Silica (Si) (including filler-grade high calcium carbonate) and Crownite (De) Mount Polley (Mag) Driftwood Creek (Mg) Upper Fir (Nb) dolostone, represent an important portion of BC’s Hat Creek (Bn) Mount Brussilof (Mg) DeCosmos (Gc) Mt Meager (Pu) Pavilion (Lm) Stitt Creek (Gn) Kootenay industrial mineral production. Garibaldi (Pu) Decor (Nc) Fernier (Pr) West (Gp) Red Lake (De) HK (Bn) Bute Inlet (Gc) Harper Rock Canyon Apple Bay (Si) Ranch (Lm) Elkhorn (Gp) Creek (REE) Orca (Agg) Magnesite BC Sugar (Gr) 4J (Gp) Benson Lake (Ca, Mr) Ashcroft (Bs) Falkland (Gp) Black Crystal (Gr) Lady King (Bs) BC hosts more than 60 known occurrences and Monteith Bay (Si) Klinker (Op) Berto Bertoya (Ds) Kettle Valley (Ds) Swansea resources of magnesite. The Mount Brussilof Vancouver Rock Candy (Fl) Ridge (Agg) Texada Island Trail (Sg) Crow (Ph) deposit in southeast BC is owned by Baymag Inc., (Do, Lm) Lang Bay (Sh) Bridesville (Tc) Marten (Ph) Van Anda (Ca, Lm) (Ds) Black Crystal Peak (Gn) Friday (Bs) and was the only deposit in production in 2015 Gillies Bay (Lm) Earle Creek (Agg) Carmanah (Ds) Winner (Di) K2 (Ds) Tulameen (Ol) Grand Forks (Sg) (Figure 4). Over the past few years, the production Burnco (Agg) Greenwood (Sg) Valdes (Ds) Cogburn (Ol) Sechelt (Agg) Bud (Bn) rate has been about 220,000 tpa magnesite. Most 0 125 250 Pipeline Road (Agg) Cox Station (Agg) Bromley Creek (Ze) Kilometres Pitt River (Agg) Sumas Mountain (Ss, Sh) Sunday Creek (Ze) of the ore is transported to the company’s processing plant in Exshaw, Alberta, where it is

26 INDUSTRIAL MINERALS March 2016 BC industrial minerals

converted into calcined magnesia. The Driftwood Creek deposit, owned by MGX minerals Inc., also Figure 2: Estimated solid mineral production in southeast BC, is currently the most active in BC for the year 2015 (estimates do not magnesite exploration project in the province. reflect value-added processing).

Limestone and lime There are more than 400 limestone and calcium carbonate occurrences in BC. The Gillies Bay (Texada Quarrying Ltd), Blubber Bay (Ash Grove Copper Suzanne Paradis (Geological Survey of Canada) Coal 34% Cement Co.) and Van Anda (Imperial Limestone 43% Co. Ltd), are the main quarries on Texada Island (see Figure 1). Production is traditionally shipped to the lower mainland of BC, and to the US (to State, and California), for cement, chemical and, more recently, agricultural and construction use. In 2015, 3.9m tonnes were shipped from Gillies Bay and 360,000 tonnes from Silver 1% Industrial minerals 6% Gold 7% Aggregates 5% Van Anda. Others 2% Sulphur 2% In addition to pulp mills, which produce lime internally, three cement plants and two lime plants Source: Modified from Clarke, 2016 Figure 3: A thick zone of zinc-lead mineralisa- process limestone. Graymont Western Canada tion containing >40% barite, in northern BC. Inc.’s Pavilion Lake limestone quarry and lime plant near Cache Creek has a production capacity Bentonite and fuller’s earth clays 4J quarry of Georgia-Pacific Canada Inc. was of about 190,000 tpa lime. The companyis also Absorbent Products Ltd produced domestic and inactive in 2015, but shipped material from proposing to quarry limestone and operate a lime industrial absorbents at its processing plant in stockpiles to its wallboard plant near Edmonton, plant, near Giscome, with an extraction rate of Kamloops. Raw materials were sourced principally Alberta. Lafarge Canada typically mines up to 600,000-1.2 m tpa limestone. Lhoist North from the Red Lake fuller’s earth deposit north of 6,000 tpa gypsum from the Falkland deposit for its America of Canada Inc. operates a lime plant in Kamloops and from the Bud bentonite deposit Kamloops cement plant. Langley, near Vancouver and owns a limestone near Princeton. Several of the 34 other bentonite quarry 5km southeast of Giscome. occurrences, such as deposits owned by Pacific Magnetite Bentonite near Hat Creek (Figure 6), and the HK More than 300 occurrences of magnetite are White calcium carbonate deposit, owned by Tillava Mining Corp., are known in BC. M-Seven Industries Inc. has White, ground calcium carbonate, used as a filler technically promising. historically produced 40,000-70,000 tpa magnetite and extender, is produced by Imperial Limestone annually from old mine tailings for dense media Co. Ltd. (Van Anda quarry) and IMASCO Clays for brick and medical uses separation (coal processing) and water treatment Minerals Inc. (Benson Lake quarry). In 2015, The province has over 100 clay deposits and plants. In 2014, Craigmont Industries opened a Benson Lake produced 56,000 tonnes white occurrences. Some of these were historically used in magnetite plant at Imperial Metal’s Mount Polley calcium carbonate and 250,000 tonnes were brick making, but BC currently does not have any (Cu-Au-Ag) mine near Likely. Dormant in 2015, extracted from Van Anda. brick production. Most products marketed as the operation resumed in 2016. medical and cosmetic clays in BC are low Dolostone (dolomite) crystallinity glacial clays. The Ironwood Clay Phosphate More than 40 dolomite occurrences are known in Company Inc. is the best established producer in BC has 80 known phosphate occurrences. BC. Most are in the Rocky Mountains, but a few BC. It seasonally extracts clay from the De Cosmos HighBrix Manufacturing Inc. shipped phosphate are near the coast. In 2015, Ash Grove Cement Lagoon on Hunter Island, west of Bella Coola, and for agricultural spreading from its Crow deposit in shipped approximately 10,000 tonnes of limy in 2015 also produced similar material from the 2015. Currently, Fertoz Ltd is trying to develop dolostone from an area adjacent to its dormant Bute Inlet area. some deposits previously explored by Pacific Ridge Blubber Bay limestone quarry. Exploration Ltd. The company recently applied for Gypsum a small mine permit for its Wapiti East project and Clay, shale and related raw materials BC contains over 40 gypsum occurrences. conducted environmental baseline studies at the Cement materials Certainteed Gypsum Canada’s operation, based in Marten deposit. The three cement plants in BC producing Portland Windermere, produced more than 340,000 tonnes cement have a combined production capacity of from the Elkhorn mine complex last year. The Pumice, scoria, tephra and 2.62m tpa. Limestone from Texada island is used at company also continued environmental and design expanding shale the Lafarge Canada Inc. plant in Richmond and studies at the Kootenay West gypsum deposit. The The Mount Meager operation, owned by Great the Lehigh Cement, a Division of Lehigh Hanson Pacific Pumice Ltd, north of Pemberton in Materials Ltd, plant in Delta. Sumas Shale Ltd southwest BC, provided approximately 1,000 produces about 500,000 tpa raw materials cubic metres of pumice last year. The material from (including clay/shale, conglomerate and sandstone) this deposit was tested as a pozzolanic additive by a from its Sumas Mountain quarries for lower major cement producer. Garibaldi Pumice Ltd mainland cement plants. produced approximately 18,000 cubic metres of The Decor pit Figure( 5), in the Hat Creek area, pumice from the nearby Garibaldi deposit. owned by Pacific Bentonite Ltd. produced over Lightweight Advanced Volcanic Aggregates Inc. and 170,000 tonnes burnt shale for Lafarge’s cement its predecessor companies typically produced about plant in Kamloops, south central BC in 2015. Figure 4: Mount Brussilof magnesite mine. 20,000 cubic metres per year of tephra from the

March 2016 INDUSTRIAL MINERALS 27 BC industrial minerals

Source: Laura Simandl, University of Victoria lesser known Rock Canyon Creek REE-fluorspar prospect is another deposit with significant rare earths intersections. Fifty five other REE occurrences are known in the province.

Kyanite and andalusite More than 50 kyanite, andalusite and sillimanite occurrences are known in BC.

Figure 5: Decor deposit from where Pacific Figure 6: Typical “popcorn” texture of Hat Leonardite Bentonite Ltd ships burnt shale (natural clinker). Creek bentonite. Leonardite was documented at the Red Lake fuller’s earth deposit, however, oxidised coal seams Nazko quarry, located 100km west of Quesnel. The Heemskirk Canada Ltd. A few other zeolite deposits elsewhere in BC may contain higher concentrations operation ceased a few years ago, with significant are under consideration for development by junior of humic acid and be more extensive. resources remaining. Five occurrences of expanding exploration companies. shale, including two past producers, are on Nepheline syenite and feldspar Vancouver, Salt Spring and Saturna islands. Minerals available, but not mined There are at least 10 significant feldspar and Brucite and hydromagnesite nepheline syenite occurrences in BC, several of

Silica Brucite (Mg(OH)2) has a number of industrial and which have been investigated by metallurgical There are more than 30 significant silica occurrences environmental applications, while hydromagnesite studies.

in BC, but only a few are currently in production. (Mg5(CO3)4(OH)2·4(H2O) is used largely as a Heemskirk Canada Ltd historically extracted and flame retardant. Olivine processed friable quartzite from the Moberly mine An unserpentinised portion of the Tulameen near Golden, mainly for the glass industry. This Diatomite ultramafic complex is a potential source of foundry operation is under reconstruction to supply frac There are at least 45 known diatomaceous earth sand. A fresh dunite deposit near Hope, referred to sand for BC’s shale gas industry. At the Horse Creek occurrences in BC. Examples of past producers are as the Cogburn magnesium project, may also Silica mine (HiTest Sand Inc.), quartzite is the Crownite deposit and Clayburn excavation near contain foundry sand grade olivine. intermittently mined from the same geological unit Quesnel. for construction purposes. Historically, both Perlite and vermiculite operations also supplied silica for metallurgical grade Fluorite (fluorspar) There are 25 perlite and five vermiculite occurrences silicon and ferrosilicon. The province has at least 67 known fluorite known in BC. Frenier and Francois Lake are the Clay-bearing siliceous materials, historically occurrences. The Rock Candy mine, north of best known perlite deposits in BC. mined at Monteith Bay and currently at Apple Bay, Grand Forks, is the only past producer of fluorite. It are in high demand for cement production in the supplied ore to the Trail smelter and small historical Talc US . In 2015, Electra Stone reserves remain underground. Most of the 60 known talc occurrences in BC are shipped over 60,000 tonnes silica-rich material from either carbonate- or ultramafic rock-hosted. The Apple Bay. Garnet most recent carbonate-hosted talc showing was There are 40 known garnet occurrences in BC, of identified in the Bridesville area. Slag which the Stitt Creek placer deposit near Revelstoke There are three active slag operations in BC. Pacific and the Crystal Peak deposit near Penticton have Wollastonite Abrasives & Supply Inc. is producing and received the most attention. Eleven wollastonite occurrences are known in BC. processing slag from the historical Granby smelter Historically, exploration was aimed at deposits to (Grand Forks). Slag was shipped from Anyox by Graphite supply a high-quality acicular filler for the plastic Tru-Grit for use as cement raw material, roofing There are 44 known occurrences of graphite in the industry and concentrates used in ceramics. It can granules and abrasive applications. Teck is the major province. Regions of BC underlain by amphibolite also be used as a source of silica and calcium in

slag producer at its Trail smelter, where it produces or granulite grade metasedimentary rocks, have cement production to reduce CO2 emissions. approximately 250,000 tpa. potential to host crystalline flake or vein type graphite deposits. Some coal beds may have been For further information on BC minerals, please consult Sulphur converted to amorphous graphite by low grade or BC MINFILE, accessible free of charge at http:// Sulphur recovery as a by-product of oil and gas contact metamorphism. minfile.gov.bc.ca/. Information on industrial processing debuted in the 1950s and satisfies more minerals and specialty metals in the province and the than 70% of the global market. The remainder is “High-tech” minerals complete list of references can be obtained from George. covered by native-, frash well-, or roasting of iron The Aley carbonatite is the largest and most [email protected]. An overview of exploration and sulphides and base metal ores-derived sulphur. developed niobium (Nb) deposit in BC. Current mining in BC for 2015 is available at http://www. Although12 occurrences of sulphur are known in resources are estimated at 285.8m tonnes at 0.37% empr.gov.bc.ca/Mining/Geoscience/

BC, all sulphur produced in the province is a niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5) measured and PublicationsCatalogue/InformationCirculars/ by-product of natural gas processing. indicated. The Upper Fir carbonatite near Blue Pages/IC2016-1.aspx River contains an indicated resource of 48.4m

Zeolite group minerals tonnes at 197 ppm tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) Acknowledgments

Most of the 26 known BC zeolite occurrences and 1,610 ppm Nb2O5 and an inferred resource of Manuscript reviews by Gordon Clarke and BC

consist of clinoptilolite. Recently, Canadian Mining 5.4m tonnes at 191 ppm Ta2O5 and 1760 ppm regional geologists Jeff Kyba, Bruce Northcote,

Inc. signed an agreement with Absorbent Products Nb2O5. The Wicheeda Lake carbonatite (Spectrum Fiona Katay and Jim Britton are appreciated. Ltd, which may pave the way to mining the Minerals Corp.) was drilled in 2008 and 2009, and Bromley Creek zeolite quarry, originally operated by is the most developed rare earths project in BC. The *Conversion made February 2016

28 INDUSTRIAL MINERALS March 2016