The Need

There has been significant mineral prospecting, exploration and mining across southeastern BC, especially in the East Kootenays, for many years. Storing and protecting drill core samples from these properties provides long-term access to information about mineral potential in the region – a valuable tool for the future.

The Fort Steele Drill Core Library is home to more than 9,000 boxes of drill core from sites including:

• Sullivan Mine, Kimberley, BC
• Vulcan project, 35 km northwest of Kimberley BC
• Estella Mine, Wasa, BC
• Eugene Mine, Moyie, BC
• Sully project, 15 km east of Fort Steele, BC

In addition, there are also 40 boxes of drill core samples from Kingsgate, Boundary Country, Idaho.

What are Drill Core Samples?

Drill core samples are cylinders of rock with a diameter up to 8.5 cm that are drilled hundreds or even thousands of metres beneath the surface. They are commonly stored in approximately 1.5 metre-long rows with three or four rows to a box. Drill core samples are used in laboratory analysis and to record the geology below the surface, providing invaluable insight into the geologic and mineral potential of an area.

Goals

This project works towards Geoscience BC’s Advancing Science & Innovative Geoscience Technologies Strategic Objective and the goal to:

• Support the preservation and curation of significant geological rock suites, core samples, archived government and museum samples, data and other important materials that form reference or historical records to complement efforts of other organizations.

Specifically, this project aims to:

• Salvage and transport abandoned drill core from participating sites throughout the East Kootenay region to the Fort Steele Drill Core Library.

Project Benefits

This project is protecting drill core samples from weathering, storing them in one location and making them available to the public. Geoscience BC is providing funding for the Fort Steele Drill Core Library to salvage and transport drill core samples currently stored privately to the library. This includes drill core from the Sullivan zinc and lead mine, one of British Columbia’s most prolific mines. Although it closed in 2001, there is significant interest in new mineral potential at and close to Sullivan.

Accessing the Library

To visit the Fort Steele Drill Core Library, contact the East Kootenay Chamber of Mines:

Jason Jacob
Tel: (250) 464-9559
Email: ekcm2@shaw.ca

Survey Area

Drill core samples for this project are primarily from mines, mineral exploration sites and mineral claims in the Regional District of East Kootenay.