Geological Heritage Project
In June 2019, Below BC received funding from Geoscience BC under their “Capturing, Preserving and Capitalizing our Heritage of Geoscience” grant. The scope encompassed proposals to “preserve, grow, and empower the use of vast collections of publicly available data, reports, information, and physical samples within the province, for the benefit of future generations”.
Our proposal was to get on the road with our camera and digital technology and visit as many sites as we could. This includes areas of visible geology, as well as collaborating with museums, government and private collections to capture information. By hosting these specimens online in an interactive, digital format, we help to not only preserve collections, but also to allow a broader accessibility by those across the province, and perhaps further.
The project will be split into several phases, with the first covering southern British Columbia. Future trips are planned to include northern British Columbia (in conjunction with Smithers Exploration Group) and Vancouver Island.
Phase Two of the B.C. Geological Heritage Project is underway! On Tuesday, our Below BC team set off for Whitehorse, Yukon. Over the next 20-ish days, they will be traveling southward throughout northern B.C. to visit active mine sites, local museums and provincial parks to learn about the geology and digitize geological collections (rock, mineral and fossils).
Eventually, all the digitized samples – including the work done in Phase One (through Southern B.C.) – will be added to the Below BC Minerals online database. This will allow anyone, anywhere, at any time to have access to high quality images of geological samples from British Columbia!
All the material from the B.C. Geological Heritage and B.C. Minerals Collection projects will be used to communicate B.C’s geology with “geoscientists” and “non-geoscientist” alike. For example, geologists and earth science students would be able to use the digital collections for education and research. Whereas, K-12 students and rock could use it for school projects and to feed their curiosity. The material can also be used to orientate new workers at active mining camps and to attract investors.
Phase Two has a jam-packed itinerary filled with exciting geological stops, which include visits to active exploration sites within the Golden Triangle – Cassiar Gold Project (Margaux Resources Ltd.) and Newmont Lake Property (Crystal Lake Mining) – to digitize specimens and the active sites. These images will be used to educate and share the experience with the local public, stakeholders and employees onsite. The Below BC team will also be making a visit with the Smithers Exploration Group, the other recipients of the Geoscience BC “Capturing, Preserving and Capitalizing our Heritage of Geoscience” grant, to digitize specimens in their Rock Room
