2. GEOLOGICAL FIELDWORK 2010
A Summary of Field Activities and Current Research
Ministry of Forests, Mines
and Lands
British Columbia Geological Survey
Paper 2011-1
3. Ministry of Forests, Mines and Lands
Mines and Mineral Resources Division
British Columbia Geological Survey
Parts of this publication may be quoted or reproduced if source and authorship are acknowledged.
The following is the recommended format for referencing individual works contained in this publication:
Logan, J.M., Mihalynuk, M.G., Friedman, R.M. and Creaser, R.A. (2011): Age Constraints of Mineralization at
the Brenda and Woodjam Cu-Mo±Au Porphyry Deposits – An Early Jurassic Calcalkaline Event, South-central
British Columbia; in Geological Fieldwork 2010, BC Ministry of Forests, Mines and Lands, Paper 2011-1, pages
129–144.
COVER PHOTO: Left – Ray Lett soil sampling at the Watson Bar property 40 kilometres north of
Lillooet; Emeritus Geochemist, British Columbia Geological Survey
Right – Nick Massey looking at diorite and pyroxenite intrusive into Nicola Group
sediments in the Lawless Creek area northwest of Princeton; Emeritus Geoscientist,
British Columbia Geological Survey
BACK PHOTO: Scott Caldwell (L) and Paul Schiarizza (R) (British Columbia Geological Survey)
mapping structure and stratigraphy in the Kutcho Creek volcanogenic massive sulphide
district.
This publication is also available, free of charge, as colour digital files, in Adobe Acrobat® PDF format, from the
BC Ministry of Forests, Mines and Lands website at:
http://www.empr.gov.bc.ca/Mining/Geoscience/PublicationsCatalogue/Fieldwork
British Columbia Cataloguing in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Geological Fieldwork: - 1974 -
Annual.
Issuing body varies
Vols. For 1978-1996 issued in series: Paper / British Columbia.
Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources; vols for 1997-
1998, Paper / British Columbia. Ministry of Employment and
Investment; vols for 1999-2004, Paper / British Columbia Ministry of
Energy and Mines; vols for 2005- , Paper / British Columbia Ministry of
Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources.
Includes Bibliographical references.
ISSN 0381-243X=Geological Fieldwork
1. Geology - British Columbia - Periodicals. 2. Mines and mineral
resources - British Columbia - Periodicals. 3. Geology - Fieldwork -
Periodicals. 4. Geology, Economic - British Columbia - Periodicals. 5.
British Columbia. Geological Survey Branch - Periodicals. I. British
Columbia. Geological Division. II. British Columbia. Geological
Survey Branch. III. British Columbia. Geological Survey Branch. IV.
British Columbia. Dept. of Mines and Petroleum Resources. V. British
Columbia. Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. VI.
British Columbia. Ministry of Employment and Investment. VII. British
Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines. VIII. Series: Paper (British
Columbia. Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources). IX.
Series: Paper (British Columbia. Ministry of Employment and VICTORIA
Investment). X. Series: Paper (British Columbia Ministry of Energy and BRITISH COLUMBIA
Mines). XI. Series: Paper (British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines
and Petroleum Resources). CANADA
QE187.46 622.1’09711 C76-083084-3 (Rev.) JANUARY 2011
ii British Columbia Geological Survey
4. FOREWORD
Geological Fieldwork 2010
The British Columbia Geological Survey (BCGS) presents here the results of 2010 field surveys and
geoscience research in the thirty-sixth edition of Geological Fieldwork. The articles profile some of the
considerable staff expertise housed in the Survey. The provision of new geoscience data about British Columbia is a
key activity of the BCGS that leads to mineral tenure acquisition and increased mineral exploration activity in the
Province. Most articles are contributions by Survey staff to the understanding of the geology, geochemistry, and
mineral deposits of the Province. The volume also includes contributions from the Geoscience and Natural Gas
Development Branch of the Ministry of Energy and other professional geoscientists.
Late in 2010, the government of British Columbia reorganized the natural resource sector ministries. The
BCGS moved to the new Ministry of Forests, Mines and Lands along with the Mineral Policy Branch, while the
regional geologists and the remaining Mines and Minerals Division staff of the former Ministry of Energy, Mines
and Petroleum Resources moved to the new Ministry of Natural Resource Operations.
British Columbia Geological Survey Successes
• The BCGS, in partnership with Geoscience BC, continued with the second year of a surficial geology and
till geochemistry sampling program in the Colleymount map area southeast of Houston. The aim of the
fieldwork is two-fold: to reconstruct the region’s glacial and ice-flow history and assess the economic
potential of covered bedrock.
• The second season of the North Coast project, jointly delivered with the Geological Survey of Canada
(GSC), covered a map area of 30 by 50 kilometres. Mapping in 2010 focused on the southern end of the
Alexander terrane near Klemtu. One highlight of this work is that the Grenville Channel fault is a mid-
Cretaceous sinistral fault of regional extent (>150 km).
• The Iskut River project followed up on the 2009 summer program with mapping in the Hoodoo Mountain
area north of the Rock and Roll volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit. This project is a partnership
between Pacific North West Capital Corp., the University of Victoria, the GSC, and the BCGS.
• The new Kutcho Creek project is a two-year bedrock mapping program initiated by the BCGS in 2010 in
partnership with the Geological Survey of Canada and Kutcho Mining Corp.
• The BCGS and the GSC began collaborating on a multi-year province-wide study of rare metals. This
project falls under the renewed Targeted Geoscience Initiative program (TGI-4) of the GSC.
• Our online interface MapPlace and its supporting site now exceed 11,000 web pages. This interface is used
24 hours a day, 7 days a week by the exploration community world wide and plays an essential and
growing role in attracting investment to the province.
• Sixteen mineral resource assessments were completed to facilitate treaty negotiations and government land
use planning.
• The Property File database now features more than 25,000 documents online.
• MINFILE continues to improve with 171 MINFILE occurrences updated and 20 new ones identified.
• Staff of the BC Mineral Development Office in Vancouver hosted international investor delegations and
led the mining Asia Investment Mission in November.
• The BCGS initiated a new Emeritus Scientist program with two new members in 2010.
• In 2010, the BCGS restarted its 8 member Advisory Subcommittee after a 6-year hiatus. The subcommittee
includes 4 industry representatives from Geoscience’s BC Technical Advisory Committee and 4
independent industry members that together provide advice on the technical activities of the Survey.
• Survey geologists were key presenters at conferences and workshops around the province including
Roundup, KEG, Minerals South, Minerals North, Smither’s Rock Talk, and led multiple industry field trips
to the North Vancouver Island, Nechako, and Merritt areas.
• The BCGS hosted a sold-out International Workshop on the Geology of Rare Metals in Victoria on Nov. 9th
and 10th. The workshop was held in lieu of a fall BCGS Open House.
D.V. Lefebure
Chief Geologist
British Columbia Geological Survey
Geological Fieldwork 2010, Paper 2011-1 iii
5. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Rowins, S.M., Jones, L., Lefebure, D.V. and Fredericks, CENTRAL BRITISH COLUMBIA
J.: British Columbia Geological Survey Activities
Ferbey, T.: Quaternary Geology and Till Geochemistry of
in 2010 ........................................................................... 1
the Colleymount Map Area (NTS 093L/01), West-
Central British Columbia............................................119
NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA Logan, J.M., Mihalynuk, M.G., Friedman, R.M. and
Ferri, F., Hickin, A. and Huntley, D.: Bedded Barite-Pyrite Creaser, R.A.: Age Constraints of Mineralization at the
Occurrences in upper Besa River Formation, western Brenda and Woodjam Cu-Mo±Au Porphyry Deposits –
Liard Basin, British Columbia and Regional An Early Jurassic Calcalkaline Event, South-Central
Correlations with Devonian to Mississippian Sub- British Columbia ........................................................129
surface Formations....................................................... 13
Hora, Z.D., Langrová, A. and Pivec, E.: Nickeliferous SOUTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA
Minerals in the Cassiar Asbestos Deposit, Northern Massey, N.W.D.: Southern Nicola Project: Geochemistry of
British Columbia (NTS 104P/05) - Relevance for Nickel Volcanic Rocks of the Nicola Group West of the
Exploration .................................................................. 31 Boundary Fault (Parts of NTS 092H/02, 07
Mihalynuk, M.G., Logan, J.M., Zagorevski, A. and Joyce, and 10)........................................................................145
N.: Geology and Mineralization of the Hoodoo
Mountain Area (NTS 104B/14E) ................................. 37
PROVINCE-WIDE
Mihalynuk, M.G., Ambrose, T.K., Devine, F.A.M. and
Cui, Y.: Improving the Efficiency in the Maintenance of the
Johnston, S.T.: Atlin Placer Gold Nuggets Containing
Provincial Geological Database .................................159
Mineral and Rock Matter: Implications for Lode Gold
Exploration .................................................................. 65 Cui, Y: Regional Geochemical Survey: Validation and
Refitting of Stream Sample Locations .......................169
Nelson, J.L., Diakow, L.J., Karl, S., Mahoney, J.B.,
Gehrels, G.E., Pecha, M. and van Staal, C.: Geology Lett, R.E. and Paterson, K: A Comparison of Several
and Mineral Potential of the Southern Alexander Commercially Available Methods for the Geochemical
Terrane and western Coast Plutonic Complex near Analysis of Rare Earth, Rare Metal and High Field
Klemtu, Northwestern British Columbia ..................... 73 Strength Elements in Geological Samples................ 181
Schiarizza, P.: Geology of the Kutcho Assemblage between Paradis, S. and Simandl, G.J.: Carbonate-hosted,
Kutcho Creek and the Tucho River, Northern British Nonsulphide Zn–Pb (supergene) Mineral Deposit
Columbia (NTS 104I/01) ............................................. 99 Profile B09 ............................................................. 189
iv British Columbia Geological Survey
6. MINISTRY OF FORESTS, MINES AND LANDS
MINISTRY OF ENERGY
www.empr.gov.bc.ca/geology
