British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Natural Gas and Responsible for Housing
News | The Premier Online | Ministries & Organizations | Job Opportunities | Main Index

MINFILE Home page  ARIS Home page  MINFILE Search page  Property File Search
Help Help
File Created: 24-Jul-1985 by BC Geological Survey (BCGS)
Last Edit:  30-Nov-1996 by Keith J. Mountjoy (KJM)

Summary Help Help

NMI
Name OLALLA CREEK LIMESTONE, HEX 1-8, PAYCHEX, DEANNA 1-5 Mining Division Osoyoos
BCGS Map 082E021
Status Past Producer NTS Map 082E05W
Latitude 049º 17' 23'' UTM 11 (NAD 83)
Longitude 119º 52' 55'' Northing 5463660
Easting 290446
Commodities Limestone, Marble, Building Stone Deposit Types R09 : Limestone
R04 : Dimension stone - marble
Tectonic Belt Intermontane Terrane Okanagan
Capsule Geology

The Olalla Creek Limestone quarry is located along the north branch of Olalla Creek, 5 kilometres northwest of Olalla, British Columbia.

The regional geology of the area consists of a series of Carboniferous to Triassic volcanic and sedimentary rocks that have been intruded by Jurassic granitic Okanagan intrusions. Larger intrusions are composed of granite and granodiorite, while smaller stocks are composed of diorite and gabbro. Numerous sills, dikes and apophyses are associated. Carboniferous to Triassic rocks are assigned to the Shoemaker and Old Tom formations. These rocks form the eastern limb of a large anticlinal fold with fold axes striking roughly north.

A northwest trending lens of limestone (marble) up to 60 metres wide outcrops for 150 metres along the north side of Olalla Creek, 5.1 kilometres northwest of Olalla. The limestone lies in tuff, greenstone and chert of the Shoemaker Formation.

The lens is comprised of medium to coarse grained, white to grey crinoidal limestone (marble), with irregular patches of reddish and brown limestone. The rock is brecciated and well fractured. The closeness of fracturing and irregularity in colouring severely limited its values as a building stone. A thin section of the brown crinoidal limestone contained 20 per cent disseminated quartz grains. A sample of chips taken at 1.5 metre intervals for 46 metres contained 53.14 per cent CaO, 0.16 per cent MgO, 3.65 per cent insolubles, 0.60 per cent R2O3, 0.41 per cent Fe2O3, 0.13 per cent MnO, 0.05 per cent P2O5, 0.008 per cent sulphur and 41.93 per cent ignition loss (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1968, page 323).

In 1968, the deposit was assessed by Apex Exploration & Mining Co. as a source of dimension stone and 604 tonnes of limestone were quarried for Ramshead Quarries Ltd. In 1984, Cominco Ltd. explored the area for precious and base metal mineralization.

Bibliography
EMPR AR *1968-322,323
EMPR ASS RPT 12918
EMPR OF 1989-5; 1992-18, pp. 94,95
GSC MAP 341A; 538A; 539A; 541A; 628A; 15-1961; 1736A; 2389
GSC MEM 38; 179
GSC OF 481; 637; 1505A; 1565; 1969
GSC P 72-53

COPYRIGHT | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY | ACCESSIBILITY