The Ash occurrence is located 4.5 kilometres east of the town of Ashcroft and 6.4 kilometres southeast of Elephant Hill Provincial Park.

The area is underlain by Upper Triassic Nicola Group volcanic rocks. Lithologies encountered in outcrop and drillholes include black mafic tuff (andesitic ash tuff), mafic lapilli tuff/breccia and minor dacitic crystal tuff (Husak, August 12, 1998, Application for a Mine Development Certificate, Proposed Roofing Granule Quarry, Ashcroft, British Columbia, I.G. Machine & Fibers Ltd.).

Work History

The Ash claim was staked in 1997 and is held by W. Husak. In 1997, nine BQ holes, totalling 917 metres, were drilled and 32 test pits were dug. A small bulk sample was taken in 1998.

In 1998, I.G. Machine & Fibers Ltd. (a subsidiary of IKO Industries Ltd.) applied for a permit to mine 24 900 tonnes per year of volcanic rock to produce roofing granules. The product would supply an existing shingle plant in Calgary and a soon-to-be-built plant in Sumas, Washington. This source would replace the supply from Grand Forks which is currently supplying material to the Calgary plant.

Development of the 250 000-tonne-per-year Ashcroft basalt quarry and roofing granule plant proceeded throughout 2000. Work mainly comprised plant construction. Initial quarrying and plant start-up were scheduled for mid-2001. The project is owned by I.G. Machine and Fiber Ltd., a subsidiary of IKO Industries Ltd., one of the largest roofing shingle manufacturers in Canada. Roofing granules will be produced from Nicola Group basalt. The basalt will be crushed and sized on site, and the granules will then be coloured (painted) with different hues prior to being shipped to IKO shingle plants in Calgary and Sumas, Washington. The company estimated that the operation would employ 40 to 60 people once full production was attained.

In October 2001, the newly built Ashcroft Quarry and Roofing Granule Plant began production of roofing granules for shipment.

During 2002, the plant operated at approximately 50 per cent capacity, but was granted government approval to double the quarry production to 500 000 tonnes per year, the rated capacity of the plant. On average, approximately 60 per cent of the basalt fed into the plant becomes roofing granules; the company planned to market the remaining undersized material for other uses, such as road grit.

In 2003, 250 000 tonnes of roofing granules were produced in six distinct colours, employing approximately 75 people. In 2004, the plant produced approximately 250 000 tonnes of roofing granules in ten distinct colours, employing approximately 55 people.

In 2005, I.G. Machine & Fibers Ltd., a subsidiary of IKO Industries Ltd, operated the Ashcroft basalt quarry and roofing granule plant. The plant employed approximately 55 people and produces about 250 000 tonnes of roofing granules per year.

In 2006, I.G. Machine & Fibers Ltd. conducted a geological mapping program on the Ash property to quantify rock types in the area.

In 2016, I.G. Machine & Fibers Ltd. completed a program of geological mapping, trenching and minor rock sampling at the Hidden Valley waste dump site to better quantify the rock types in the area. The trenches failed to uncover any bedrock but did outline a secondary ballast for the berms around the Hidden Valley dump structure.