Recent cinder cone material/lava rock is quarried/stripped, crushed, screened, washed and stockpiled. The product is marketed for use as light-weight aggregate, anti-skid highway sand, and barbecue rock. It can also be used in landscaping and other ornamental aggregate applications, including golf course sand traps. The stripped area or quarry is located about 10 kilometres west of the village of Nazko. The estimated yearly extraction is about 2500 cubic metres for an estimated pit life of 25 years (Industrial Mineral File - Notice of Work).
Canada Pumice Corporation continued to develop a market for scoria from the Nazko cinder cone. Bulk sampling (2900 tonnes) was conducted, and an application has been made for a Mine Development Certificate for a 100,000 tonne per year operation (Information Circular 1996-1, page 20).
The deposit is in a 200-metre high volcanic cinder cone. In production since 1991, the deposit has a 20-million tonne reserve of ash, cinder and lava. Canada Pumice is developing new markets for the black and red porous cinder with a variety of trademarked products: "TephraGro growing medium for hothouses"; AntiSlip winter traction material; and "LavaKing", red sand for sports and recreation facilities. Canada Pumice is increasing yearly production from 10,000 to 50,000 cubic metres. They also plan to develop "TephraLite", a specialized construction aggregate.
Reserves of volcanic deposits (tephra, tuff breccia and basalts) total 44,974,000 including 29,265,000 tonnes of proven, 8,898,000 tonnes of probable and 6,811,000 tonnes of inferred (GCNL #91 (May 12), 1998). Total reserves of tephra are 4,899,000 tonnes and tuff brecccia and basalts are 40,075,000 tonnes (GCNL #98 (May 22), 1998).
Canada Pumice Corporation produces red and black volcanic cinder. In 1997, the company shipped 11,900 cubic yards. The products are used for landscaping, baseball diamonds and sport tracks, and growing and filtration media.
In 1999, a small shipment was sent to Ontario for testing as a water filtration media.
In 1999, Canada Pumice Corporation is reported to have produced approximately 30,000 cubic yards of screened and sized lava from its operation at the Nazko cone west of Quesnel (Exploration and Mining in BC 1999). In 2000, Canada Pumice Corporation produced red and black tephra from its quarry. Production is approximately 15 000 cubic metres annually (Exploration and Mining in BC 2000). In 2001, Canada Pumice produced 19,000 cubic metres of screened tephra from its quarry (Exploration and Mining in BC 2001). In 2002, Canada Pumice produced 23,000 cubic metres of screened and sized tephra from its Nazko quarry (Exploration and Mining in BC 2002). In 2003, Canada Pumice produced 20,000 cubic metres of screened and sized tephra from the quarry (Exploration and Mining in BC 2003). In 2004, Canada Pumice produced and sold approximately 15,000 cubic metres of tephra (Exploration and Mining in BC 2004). In 2005, the Nazko quarry was operated by Canada Pumice Corporation, a subsidiary of Crystal Graphite, Corporation and is estimated to have produced between 25 000 to 30 000 cubic metres of tephra (Exploration and Mining in BC 2005).
In early 2006, PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc., Trustee in Bankruptcy, was appointed Receiver-Manager of Crystal Graphite Corporation and Canada Pumice Corporation. The appointment is pursuant to a British Columbia Supreme Court Order (Vancouver Registry) dated January 20, 2006.
