BRITISH COLUMBIA DEPARTMENT OF MINES Hon. W. J. ASSELSTINE, Minister JOHN F. WALKER, Deputy Minister BULLETIN No. 4 Saline and Hydromagnesite Depos ‘itso British Columbia by J.M. CUMMINGS CONTENTS . Page INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I . OCCURRENCES OF SODIUM AND MAGNESILIM SP.LTS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA SALINE DEPOSITSSALINE ............................................................................ ....... 1 Sodium CarbonateLakes ........................................................................................................ ................................. 1 Green Timber Plateau ............................................................................................................................................. 1 General i'jescription of Soda Lakes ............................. 3 Eighty-Three Mile Lake ................................................................................................................... 5 Goodenough and Safety Lake 6 Lake No . 6 ._ ............................................................................................................ 10 Liberty Lake 11 Snow White Lake .................................................................................................................................................... 12 Rob and Nan Lake ............................................................................................................................ 13 Last Chance Lake ............................................................................................................................................. 14 Margaret Lake ................................................................................................................................................................ 17 Anita and Lela Lakes ............................................................................................................................. 18 ;Y hite Elephant ;Yhite Lake ........... 20 Rose Lake ............................................................................................................................................................................ 21 Hutchison Lake lllll.llll :." ....._....--lll-l__ ". 22 Other Lakes Other ............................................................ 24 Page . CHAF'TER I (Cont'd.) Su lphate LakesMagnesium Sulphate 40 CHAPTER 2 . TECHNOLOGY AND USES~OF SODIUM AND MAGNESIUEBSALTS Commercial Possibi1ikfe.s ...................... ...-.- ..- 72 Sources and Uses ................................... ............-.- .. 72 (ii) Page . 'CHAPTER 2 (Cont'd.) Sodium Carbonate ................................................................................................................................... 72 Natural ................................................................................................................................................................ 73 Manufactured 76 Sodium Sulphate ................................................................ :: 77 Natural ............................................................................................................................................................... 77 FJanufactured ............................................................................................... ............................ 85 Epsom Salts ".................................................................................................................. 87 Prices ............................................................. ................................................................................................................ 88 Production and Consumption ............................................................................................... 90 British Columbiaand Alberta 90 Canada 91 United States 92 Exploitation of British Columbia Deposits:............................. 95 References ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 99 CHAPTER 3 . OCCURRENCES OF HYDROMAGNESITE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA Occurrencesin: Caribooand Kamloops Districts .............. 102 Meadow Lake ....................................................................................................................................................... 102 ?matson Lake .................................................................................................................................................... 108 R is ke Creek Riske .............................................. 110 .. Clinton ......: ........................ 1: .......L ._........................................................................ 112 S ix ty -o n e Mile CreekSixty-oneMile L: 113 , .. West Cariboo Block .................................................................................... ...................................... 114 .............. .......* ....... ........ SpringhouseArea ..........: ". ......... 114 ..I .. ~ Other Deposits .............._..I_...............I.......................-.......................... 115 .......... ............... Atlin Deposits ................................................... .... 115 M inin g andMining Transportation ............................................... 119 /i. .) ... Summary ...................................................... 122 (iii) . Page . CHAPTER 3 (Cont'd.) Mineralogy 123 Microscopic Examination 123 Chemical Examination............................................ :.. ..............._I..............-...-..........-.-..... 124 Origin of Deposits .....__.I....._..._._............_._.._._...-................. 126 ... ... Beneflclatlon -- 127 References ~ ._ II ..... 129 CHAPTER 4. TECHNOLOGY AND USES OF MAGNESITE. HYDRO- MAGNESITE. AND OTHER MAGNESIUM COM-S ... Comercial Posslblllties .............................-.............-.----...--.-....I 131 -Refractories 131 .. .. Production and Markets 134 Markets and Production Canada - : ... 134 United States.. 135 'World................................................................................ 137 Refractory Possibilitiesof Hydromagnesite- 140 Cements and Insulating Materials Caustic Magnesite Caustic . 144 ProductionMarkets and .-- 146 Oxychloride Cement 146 Cement Oxychloride Possibilities for manufacture of Plastic Magnesiafrom Hydromagnesite ......... ~ 149 Basic . Magnesium Carbonate........._...l.....__.._L____.____ 150 Metallic MagnesiumMetallic .. -. 151 Chemical and Other UsesOther Chemicaland . 155 References ... Technology and Markets...: .-. 157 I General ................ ............................ .............. I__I,.___I_ 158 Introduction Deposits of sodium and magnesium salts occur in varj.- ous parts of the interior of British Columbia. Most of them have been knownfor many years and some commercially exploited on a small scale. The more importantof these deposits were investigated by the writer during the summer and autumnof' 1937. The present report brings togetherinfomation based on this field work as wellas previously published report$;.. The deposits discussed herein are restrictedto those of sodium carbonate; sodium sulphate, magnesium sulphate,and hydromagnesite. The last, although not commonly considered in the same category as the others, is sufficiently allied in origin to merit its inclusion in the present work. Many compounds, related to the above are found in nature. Most important are common salt, potassium salts, salts of boron, marl, and gypsite: The first three are not knownto occur in commercial quantities in British Columbia; the last two, although relatively abundant, have insufficientcomer- cia1 value at present to merit their separate inclusion. Occurrences of Sodium and Magnesiun Salts in aritish Colurnbia Saline Deposits Smallundrained lakes containing concentrated solutions of sodium andmagnesium salts, are found inthe Clinton, Chilcotin,Ashcrcft, Kamloops andOkanagan areas. Three fair- lydistinct types of brine occur inthese: the first is com- posed largely of sodium carbonate, the second contains both magnesium and sodium carbonate, and thethird is composed pre- dominantlyof sodium sulphate. Lakes in whichsodium carbon- ate is theimportant constituent rarely contain appreciable amounts of otherconstituents; the others, however, are more variablein composition. Sod.ium Carbonate Lakes The best kn0.m sodium carbonate lakes in British Colum- bia are those of the Green T'imber Plateau, north of Clinton. Several of thesehave yielded sal soda commercially for a num- ber of years, and plants were erected at three in unsuccess- ful attemptsto produce soda ash. Shipments of sal soda have likewisebeen made from a lakenear Cherry Creek, 12 miles west of Kamloops. Unexploitedlakes containing sodium car- bonate brine lie along the Kamloops-Vernon road, east of the Thompson Riverand 7 milessouth of SpencesBridge, and near the Nemaia.valley roadsouth of Hanceville. Green Timber Pl.ateau- (See Map 2) The GreenTimber Plateau is bounded by the Marble Moun- tains on thesouth-west, the Praser Iliver on thewest, Lac La Hache valley on the north-east, and theBonaparte River'on thesouth-east. It is flat or gently-rollingwith an average elevationof 3700 feet, mantled with glacial drift, and fores- tedlargely with jackpine. Basaltic lava flows underliethe areabut outcrops are rare, the type exposure being in the Chasm. The climate of the region is severewith a rangeof tem- perature from 90 degrees or more in summer to a minimum of 30