Ag-Au ore

Specimen Summary

Silver is an important precious metal. It is still highly valued today and has many important uses, as well as being used for jewellery. Silver has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity and reflectivity of all metals and is widely used in electronics and industrial chemistry. It is also used to make mirrors, photographic and x-ray film and collectible coins. Silver has natural antiseptic properties, therefore, has many different medical applications. Silver can occur in its elemental form as metallic silver, or in compounds and minerals with other elements like gold and lead. Silver has a distinct silver-grey colour and is soft and malleable, meaning it can be easily worked and shaped.

Gold is a valuable, highly prized mineral used in everything from jewellery to electronics and dentistry. Gold is desirable due to its special properties, such as malleability and resistance to tarnishing. Gold is commonly microscopic or embedded within or around sulphide grains. Free visible gold occurs as disseminated grains, or rarely as crystals. Crystals of gold commonly form within or around quartz. In its natural mineral form, gold is commonly alloyed with silver. Gold is distinguishable by its characteristic golden yellow colour and extreme heaviness.

Specimen Data

 

The information listed below relates to the current holding location or collection that the sample is from, and whether the item is viewable at that location or is part of a private collection. Coordinates are given as guides, and we remind you that collecting specimens from these locations is not allowed. Caution is advised visiting such sites and Below BC assumes no responsibility for any injuries or trespassing charges that may occur as a result of the viewer entering these sites.

Collection Details

Original Collection:

Greenwood Museum (GM)

Sub Collection:

-

Collection ID:

GM_10

Virtual Museum ID:

19-GM10

Accessibility:

Date Added to VM:

2019-06-06

Location Information

Sample Origin:

NW of Salmo, British Columbia

Specific Site:

Spotted Horse Mine

UTM Easting:

476828

UTM Northing:

5463727

Datum:

11 (NAD 83)

Coordinate Accuracy:

Approximate

Specimen Details

VM Category:

Ore Sample

Primary Features:

Ag-Au ore

Primary Mineral Formula:

Ag, Au

Primary Category:

native element

Secondary Features:

Advanced Geological Information

 

The following section provides geological data relating to the specimen or the site it was collected from, when available. Information has been obtained from various sources including private and government datasets but may not be up to date. Any geological time periods or ages listed often relate to the primary geology of the area, and may not be the actual date of an event such as mineral formation.

Geological Formation:

Elise Formation

Geological Period:

Lower Jurassic

Stratigraphic Age:

174.1 to 201.3 Million Years

Geological Belt:

Omineca

Geological Terrane:

Quesnel, Plutonic Rocks

Minfile ID:

082FSW190

Minfile Link:

https://minfile.gov.bc.ca/Summary.aspx?minfilno=082FSW190

Site Details:

The Spotted Horse deposit is located on the headwaters of a west flowing tributary of Barrett Creek about 17 kilometres north- northeast of Salmo. Workings comprise an open cut, a short adit and trenches. The workings are just northeast of the Porto Rico mine (082FSW189).

The area is underlain by basaltic lapilli tuff (Je2) and basalt flows and flow breccias (Je4) of the Lower Jurassic Elise Formation, Rossland Group (Open File 1989-11).

The adit exposes quartz and calcite veinlets and stringers in a shear zone, 0.91 to 1.2 metres wide, which generally strikes 110 degrees and dips 55 to 60 degrees north. The 0.15-metre wide quartz vein at the portal pinches out within a short distance. Native gold has been reported from the stringers and tungsten has also been reported from this occurrence. The vein hosts pyrite and gold. The vein is probably a continuation of the Porto Rico (082FSW189) main vein. The host rock is an augite porphyry sill which intrudes the volcanics.

Production from 1901, 1903 and 1937 totalled 47 tonnes which produced 1649 grams of gold and 2083 grams of silver.

Additional Images