Going out to survey a few of BC's Uranium deposits

[Seoul_lasers]

Hello, its been a long time since I have posted on LPF,
its been a hell of a summer for a variety of reasons which I will explain in another post. I needed a break, so I decided to take a 3 day trip to the interior of BC. Our trip takes us through Oliver BC, and Skaha lake which just so happens to have a number of Uranium deposits around it, including a significant Thorium occurrence at the North end of Skaha lake.

I am going to go looking with my survey meter to see if I can't find any samples to disseminated uraninite or secondary Th/U minerals. Also mentioned in Minfile is uraniferous coal in Oliver.

I will keep everyone who is an avid geogeek in the loop as to what I find.

I have attached a minfile publications talking about the surficial deposits in the areas I am targeting. I will also leave my detector on in the car with a plastic scintillation detector attached to locate anomalous hot zones/spots when in these areas. Will take pics too! :can:

 

[paul1598419]

Great. I've been following your detector iterations over the years here. Used to be a rock hound as a kid, so I am interested in the samples you find also.

 

[Seoul_lasers]

Well, I have had a rather interesting time going to find the deposits.
I tried 3 deposits over the last 3 days. One was found at Idabel lake, at 4050ft elevation. Pictures coming shortly. The deposits are spread all over the kettle valley regional district but many appear to surficial. I had my GM detector LND7317 measuring the background as we neared the deposit. The background at our hotel in Kelowna (60-85CPM) for reference, whereas it was over 400CPM on the road near the side of the road. Approaching the rubble from a recent road expansion sent the survey meter up to 1000-1500 CPM. Switching over to my plastic scintillation detector showed even more hotspots. I managed to obtain a few low activity samples that match the description in the minfile database.

 

[paul1598419]

Cool! Sounds like you had a very productive hunt for radioactive samples. I'm looking forward to some photos. :thanks:

 

[Seoul_lasers]

Cool! Sounds like you had a very productive hunt for radioactive samples. I'm looking forward to some photos. :thanks:

I will post a picture of the deposit.. nothing amazing... but I will get a picture of the samples as well.

Also, hit Brenda mines on the way to Burnaby, about 22Km west outside of Peachland. I managed to find a band of the old deposit on the side of the highway near to the turnoff to the open pit. Lots of Chalcopyrite, bornite and Molybdenite. One quartz rich vein had what I believe to be stibnite, with what appears to be massive carrolite (CuCo₂S₄) and possibly disseminated Tenorite (CuO) as well.

while not radioactive, I wanted something more showy.



The pictures attached are of the Idabel Lake camp turnoff, which is the location of one of the Uranium deposits.

Just a note that Zircon is also plentiful in the area as well and is usually found in the granite from this region. Zircon quite often is found with U and Th, so this makes sense for much of the granite in the area to be also be weakly - moderately radioactive. The area is underlain by Jurassic Nelson plutonic rocks and a partially unroofed Cretaceous Valhalla
stock. The Nelson rocks are medium-grained foliated biotite granodiorites, cut by smaller bodies of related quartz diorite and quartz monzonite. The Valhalla intrusion is a leucocratic muscovite-biotite quartz monzonite
with several late-stage derivatives, including feldspar porphyry dikes and the cement of the mineralized breccia zones.

 

[paul1598419]

Your photos and your story are reminiscent of my rock hound days when we would all go on vacation somewhere and I would be out with my rock hammer and specimen cases spending all day hunting for the nicest minerals and crystals I could find. From the time I was about nine years old until I was in college, I would hunt for rocks and minerals. Even as an adult, I couldn't pass up the chance to do some rock hunting in Colorado Springs. Sadly, my daughter never took to it like I did. I gave her my entire collection many years ago in hopes that she would carry on where I had left off. sigh.

 

[Seoul_lasers]

Here is a group of photos that are related to each other. This happens to be from my rest stop near the Brenda Mines property.

The samples shown here are of Quartz molybdenite veins showing. Inside the black grey vein are what I think might be some mackinawite, along with marcasite, pyrite and chalcopyrite (often found together)

The picture from the car is of the highway rest stop accessible ore vein.

 

[paul1598419]

Interesting samples. Do any of them fluoresce? I always liked quartz with veins of something else in it.

 

[Seoul_lasers]

Interesting samples. Do any of them fluoresce? I always liked quartz with veins of something else in it.

I'm reasonably certain that none of these samples would fluoresce under SW/LW UV. The only minerals in the area that would fluoresce would be scheelite, this being found much further east. (80Km -100Km E from Brenda mines)

 

[paul1598419]

Thanks for the information. Are you planning to go back or do any more rock and mineral hunting again soon? I would be interested in photos of any samples you acquire. :yh:

 

[Seoul_lasers]

Thanks for the information. Are you planning to go back or do any more rock and mineral hunting again soon? I would be interested in photos of any samples you acquire. :yh:

perhaps.. Not sure when I will get more time as I am just starting work at a new school. I am teaching MPY design this year and Env.Sci 12. It's going to be busy. I do however plan at some point to do, if permitted, a roundhounding trip with my grade 12 students, if I can squeeze it in at some point> :thinking:

 

[paul1598419]

Sounds like a fun field trip. Especially if you take them where they will surely find some interesting specimens.