The PACIFIC PEARL dimension stone prospect is located approximately 36 kilometres southeast of Kelowna. The Pacific Pearl quarry is located on the west side of Affleck creek. Two Idabel Lake quarries are located 2 to 3 kilometres to the east, on the west side of Stirling Creek (D. Hora, personal communication, 1996).
This stone forms a north-trending ridge with many large rock outcrops and scattered boulders below it. Available exposures and boulder sizes indicate low fracture density in the bedrock. The rock is homogeneous with no dark inclusions observed.
The PACIFIC PEARL stone is a coarse-grained cream-yellow-grey quartz syenite, which is part of by the Cretaceous-Tertiary Okanagan Batholith. The Okanagan Batholith is primarily composed of granite and biotite granodiorite. The PACIFIC PEARL quartz syenite may be an alkalic phase of the Okanagan Batholith, or it may be an unmapped later intrusion within the Okanagan Batholith.
Large, prominent, 1 to 2 centimetre, yellow orthoclase crystals form a uniform coarse texture in the rock. The medium-grained groundmass is made up of grey quartz, white plagioclase and black biotite. Minor constituents, less than 1 per cent each, are apatite, chlorite after biotite, zircon, sphene and magnetite. The rock appears fresh and shows no iron staining.
In thin section, there is a small amount of chlorite after biotite. Microperthitic texture is well developed in the orthoclase phenocrysts and may account for some pearly yellow-white schiller seen on the polished rock face. All grains are interlocked with no developed fabric. The rock takes a good polish (7/10) with minor surface cracks and some small pits at biotite grains. The cracks visible on the polished surface are tight and occur in orthoclase and quartz grains (D. Hora, personal communication, 1994).
In 1992, Pacific Granistone (operator 1992-93) produced some blocks to test the market. Processed slabs were used as floor tile in some private residences and one Vancouver area mall. This stone was given the trade name of Pacific Pearl.
The Idabel Lake test quarries are opened in the stone phase with high microfracture density and have no commercial value.
Westcoast Granite Manufacturing processes Pacific Pearl from this property.
