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File Created: 11-Aug-1986 by Gary R. Foye (GRF)
Last Edit:  24-Feb-1989 by David G. Bailey (DGB)

Summary Help Help

NMI
Name DONOVAN CREEK, POORMAN CREEK, ROTTACKER PLACERS, STRAND Mining Division Cariboo
BCGS Map 093H001
Status Past Producer NTS Map 093H04W
Latitude 053º 03' 16'' UTM 10 (NAD 83)
Longitude 121º 47' 58'' Northing 5879001
Easting 580467
Commodities Gold Deposit Types C01 : Surficial placers
Tectonic Belt Omineca Terrane Barkerville
Capsule Geology

Placer gold deposits of the Quesnel Highland region, including the former rich producers of the Barkerville camp, have accounted for a large proportion of British Columbia's alluvial gold production. With the exception of a few producers in the Wingdam area, which are underlain by Upper Triassic sediments correlative with the Nicola Group, almost all the deposits are underlain by the Upper Proterozoic to Lower Paleozoic Snowshoe Group. These predominantly metasediment- ary rocks have been metamorphosed to greenschist facies.

Placer gold deposits in the region are generally found in relatively young Pleistocene gravels. The morphology and mineral associations of the gold suggests that it was derived locally, the most obvious sources are the numerous auriferous veins in the Downey succession of the Snowshoe Group.

Placer gold production on Donovan Creek has apparently been mainly from hydraulicking gravel immediately above bedrock. The gravel is overlain by glacial silt and gravel. In one pit at least, the gold bearing gravels were reported to be 1.5 metres thick. The gold is coarse, worn and nuggety.

"Data from the Cariboo mining district indicate that supergene leaching of gold dispersed within massive sulphides by Tertiary deep weathering followed by Cenozoic erosion is the most likely explanation for the occurrence of coarse gold nuggets in Quaternary sediments" (Exploration in British Columbia 1989, page 147).

Bibliography
EMPR AR 1892,1895-tables; 1925-147; 1926-170; 1927-168; 1928-194; 1930-165; 1931-85; 1932-100; 1933-132; 1935-C36; 1939-106; 1940-93; 1941-88; 1942-87; 1945-126; 1946-198; 1947-193
EMPR BULL 28, pp. 21,25
EMPR ASS RPT 16512
EMPR FIELDWORK 1990, pp. 331-356; 1992, pp. 463-473
EMPR EXPL 1989, pp. 147-169
GSC SUM RPT 1933A, p. 52
GSC MAP 1424A

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