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File Created: 24-Jul-1985 by BC Geological Survey (BCGS)
Last Edit:  12-Dec-1988 by Sandra E. Dumais (SED)

Summary Help Help

NMI 092K3 Cu6
Name BLUEBIRD, STEEP ISLAND, TANNER, TRUE Mining Division Nanaimo
BCGS Map 092K004
Status Showing NTS Map 092K03E
Latitude 050º 04' 44'' UTM 10 (NAD 83)
Longitude 125º 15' 05'' Northing 5549830
Easting 338921
Commodities Copper, Silver Deposit Types D03 : Volcanic redbed Cu
Tectonic Belt Coast Crystalline Terrane Wrangell
Capsule Geology

The Bluebird copper occurrence is located on the southern half of Steep Island within Gowland Harbour of Quadra (formerly Valdes) Island. Numerous cuts and shallow pits cover an area of about 183 metres long by 83 metres wide. The occurrence is situated in a series of Upper Triassic Karmutsen Formation flat-lying ash beds or flows of andesitic to basaltic composition. The beds have a slight dip towards the south or southeast and vary in texture from a porous amygdaloidal structure to a fine-grained compact rock. The minerali- zation, chalcocite, occurs along zones of shearing or faulting. It occurs disseminated as small particles throughout the rock, varying in quantity according to the porous nature, and in a more concen- trated form as replacement fillings of amygdaloidal cavities.

A shipment of unknown size was made from the Bluebird occurrence in 1909 to the Tyee smelter with the following result: 3.06 per cent copper and 15.08 grams per tonne silver (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1914, page 382). A certain amount of selecting may have been done to raise the grade of the shipment since all other assay values fall below this grade.

Bibliography
EMPR AR 1906-203; 1907-153,160; *1914-381,382; *1916-346,349; 1926-314; 1930-306
EMPR ASS RPT *2275
EMPR GEM 1970-281
GSC MAP 1386A
GSC MEM 23, p. 127
GSC OF 480
EMPR PFD 11815, 11816, 11817, 11818

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