Exploration and mining in the Southeast Region, British Columbia Fiona Katay1, a 1 Regional Geologist, British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, 202-100 Cranbrook Street N, Cranbrook, BC, V1C 3P9 a corresponding author: [email protected] Recommended citation: Katay, F., 2018. Exploration and mining in the Southeast Region, British Columbia. In: Provincial Overview of Exploration and Mining in British Columbia, 2017. British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, British Columbia Geological Survey, Information Circular 2018-1, pp. 57-84. 1. Introduction passive-margin, shelf, and slope carbonate and siliciclastic The Southeast Region, in the southeast corner of the province successions that were deposited on the western fl ank of the (Fig. 1), offers a variety of mining and exploration opportunities ancient continent (Kootenay terrane, and North American accessible by well-developed infrastructure. Five operating platform); and Jurassic to Cretaceous foreland basin deposits. metallurgical coal mines in the Elk Valley account for most of It also contains parts of the Slide Mountain terrane, which Canada’s coal production and exports. Several mines produce records mid- to late- Paleozoic back-arc extension that split industrial minerals including silica, magnesite, gypsum, the western fl ank of ancestral North America to form the Slide graphite, and phosphate. Placer mining occurs throughout the Mountain ocean, and Quesnellia and its basement (Okanagan region, and several small operations produce aggregate, sand subterrane), which are entirely exotic to North America (Nelson and gravel, and dimension stone. The region also hosts the and Colpron, 2007; Nelson et al., 2013). By mid-Jurassic, the historic lead-zinc-silver Sullivan Mine, which operated from emerging Canadian Cordillera had been transformed from 1909 to 2001, and produced more than 7.9 Mt of zinc, 8.4 Mt of a set of loosely connected arc and pericratonic terranes, to a lead, and 298 Moz of silver. The Trail smelter (Teck Resources progressively thickening and complexly structured accretionary Limited) is still in operation, and produces approximately wedge. Some magmatic rocks (Fig. 3) such as those formed in 305,000 t of refi ned zinc, 99,000 t of refi ned lead, and up to the Proterozoic (Moyie intrusions) and Devonian (diatremes 25 Moz of silver annually. and volcanic rocks) represent periods of extension along the As in 2016, estimates for exploration expenditures, drilling margin of ancestral North America, whereas others (Jurassic, programs and other metrics were captured in the British Cretaceous, and Cenozoic), are related to subduction, crustal Columbia Mineral and Coal Exploration Survey, a joint thickening, and post-orogenic extension. initiative of the Province of British Columbia Ministry of Historically, the Canadian Cordillera has been divided into Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, the Association for fi ve northwest-trending physiographic belts. The Southeast Mineral Exploration in British Columbia, and Ernst and Young Region includes two of these belts (Fig. 2): the Rocky Mountain LLP. For the Southeast Region, exploration expenditures Foreland belt, which consists mainly of unmetamorphosed were estimated at $43.4 million and exploration drilling was sedimentary successions that were thrust northeastward in estimated at approximately 69,450 m (Clarke et al., 2018; Ernst thin-skinned sheets; and the Omineca belt, which includes & Young LLP, in press). more deformed and higher grade (greenschist to amphibolite) siliciclastic and volcanic rocks, and basement-cored gneiss 2. Geological overview domes (Monger, 1999). For further details about the geology of The Canadian Cordillera has long been of interest to the the Southeast Region see Katay (2017). exploration industry for the mineral resources it contains. It has witnessed a history spanning more than 1.8 billion years during 3. Mines and quarries which time diverse plate tectonic and metallogenetic processes The Southeast Region produces metallurgical coal from generated the equally diverse deposit types that contribute to fi ve mines in the Elk Valley, and continues to be an important the mineral endowment of British Columbia (Nelson et al., source of industrial minerals such as gypsum, magnesite, silica 2013). sand, phosphate, mineral wool, dolomite, limestone, graphite, The Southeast Region (Figs. 1, 2) contains autochthonous fl agstone, railroad ballast, rip rap, smelter slag and aggregate and parautochthonous elements of ancestral North America (Fig. 1). (Laurentia) including: Archean to Mesoproterozoic basement rocks; Proterozoic rift and intracratonic basin successions (Belt- 3.1. Metal mines Purcell and Windermere supergroups); Paleozoic to Jurassic In 2017, no metal mines operated in the Southeast Region. 57 Provincial Overview of Exploration and Mining in British Columbia, 2017. British Columbia Geological Survey, Information Circular 2018-1 Katay Property status Project type coloured by project type Coal !( Operating Mine* WX ÌÌ Jade !( Mine in Care and WX Industrial minerals Maintenance** !( Mafic and ultramafic associated !( Mine Development !( Porphyry (Cu-Mo, Cu-Au-Ag, Mo) !( Proposed Mine !( Polymetallic base + precious metals !É Exploration Project !( Precious metals (!M Specialty Mill !( Specialty metals *Operated in, or for a portion of 2017 !( Skarn **Operated within the last 3 years ÛÚ Aggregate Geology Post accretionary assemblages Intrusives Supracrustal ALBERTA Neogene to Quaternary volcanics Terranes Quesnellia Slide Mountain Moberley SilicaÌWX Ancestral North America Basinal strata Platformal strata WX ÌHorse Creek Transportation Road Driftwood Magnesite Rail line WX Mount BrussilofÌWX !É Teddy Glacier WX# Frances Creek (!M Spider !É Thor ÌWXElkhorn Duncan Bingay Creek !É Fording River Kootenay West Ì WX Ì Greenhills WX4J Ì Ì Line Creek Crown Mountain SandonÌ Mill Elkview Silvana !É!( Dewdney Trail Ì !É é Michel Creek é !É LH (Loop Ridge) !É Sully Tent Mountain Michel Head é Black Crystal Alpine éÌ ÌWX !É Coal Mountain Coal Creek Zinger é !É !É Vine é !É Elko Toughnut !É Kena Monroe !É !É Irishman Daylight !É !É Jackpot Silverfox !É Swift Katie Sheep Creek Phoenix !É Sweet Spot UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Golden Crown !É !É!É!É Bayonne !É UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Gold Drop!É Winner Ore Hill Mount Attwood !É Ì Lexington Mill !É É!( May Mac!É WX! WX Jersey-Emerald !É Ì Ì Foreland Midway !É Grand Forks Slag Lexington Intermontane Insular Omineca 0 Kilometres 100 Southeast Coast Cordilleran morphogeological Regional belts Districts Fig. 1. Mines and selected exploration projects, Southeast Region, 2017. Terranes from Cui et al. (2017). 58 Provincial Overview of Exploration and Mining in British Columbia, 2017. British Columbia Geological Survey, Information Circular 2018-1 Katay ! & % ! " # $ % ! #"/- +/, "!"/- 7!)&73! % ! " $ % # $ ) ' ' 9 / & " ) ( ' ' , " '0 7 , 8 + % & ' '1 & 2 )!"7)/+ 4- +/, " ( ' 0 ) * + 3 4 ' ' + , ' ' # ' ! & : 2 , + '8 " ( ' ' - 5 ' . + ' 6 '' % " )' ' ) " +5 ) 2 '8 '' ' Fig. 2. Geology and physiographic belts of the Southeast Region. Physiographic belts after Nelson et al. (2013). Bedrock units are after Wheeler and McFeely (1991) and Cui et al. (2013) and generalized to highlight temporal and lithological differences in the region. Vulcan tectonic zone is after McMechan (2012). 59 Provincial Overview of Exploration and Mining in British Columbia, 2017. British Columbia Geological Survey, Information Circular 2018-1 Katay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ig. 3. Generalized stratigraphy Southeast Region. Tectono-stratigraphic events modifi ed from Nelson et al. (2013). Selected stratigraphy and approximate ages derived from Fyles (1967, 1990), Norford (1981), Stott (1984), Monger et al. (1991), Warren and Price (1992), Grieve (1993), Sevigny and Parrish (1993), Höy and Dunne (1997), Logan (2002), Colpron and Nelson (2009), Hein and McMechan (2012), McMechan (2012), Poulton et al. (2012), Price (2012), and Slind et al. (2014). Geological timescale from Walker