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File Created: 24-Jul-1985 by BC Geological Survey (BCGS)
Last Edit:  24-Jan-2014 by Sarah Meredith-Jones (SMJ)

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NMI 092C16 Cu1
Name BLUE GROUSE (L.32,L.33), SUNNYSIDE, DAD'S BIRTHDAY, LE HUREL, G-H, E Mining Division Victoria
BCGS Map 092C089
Status Past Producer NTS Map 092C16E
Latitude 048º 50' 27'' UTM 10 (NAD 83)
Longitude 124º 13' 26'' Northing 5410484
Easting 410198
Commodities Copper, Silver, Gold, Zinc Deposit Types K01 : Cu skarn
Tectonic Belt Insular Terrane Wrangell
Capsule Geology

The Blue Grouse mine is located on the south side of Cowichan Lake, 4.8 kilometres northwest of Honeymoon Bay. Mineralized outcrops on the property were first located between 1900 and 1910. The mine was abandoned in 1960, reportedly leaving some reserves. The workings were rehabilitated in 1979 by Corrie Copper Ltd. Copper mineralization of mineable grade was reported to be present at the 1100 level. The workings were backfilled sometime between 1987 and 1989. The Sunnyside workings (092C 108) are located 800 metres to the south.

The Cowichan Lake area is at the eastern end of the Cowichan uplift, one of a series of major geanticlines on Vancouver Island. The area is underlain by pyroclastic, sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Paleozoic Sicker Group, the Mississippian to Permian Buttle Lake Group, the Upper Triassic Vancouver Group and the Lower Jurassic Bonanza Group which have been intruded by Triassic gabbros (informally named Mount Hall) and Early to Middle Jurassic Island Plutonic Suite rocks, and overlapped by Upper Cretaceous sediments of the Nanaimo Group.

The Vancouver Group comprises pillow and massive basalt, volcaniclastics, tuffs and breccias of the Karmutsen Formation; siltstone, argillite and micrite of the Quatsino Formation and limestone, tuff and argillite of the Parson Bay Formation.

The property is underlain by Karmutsen Formation volcanics and Parson Bay Formation sediments. Sediments of the Nanaimo Group and volcanics of the Bonanza Group occur near the property. These are cut by numerous Jurassic feldspar and feldspar-pyroxene porphyry dykes related to the Bonanza Group.

The orebodies occur in limestone and tuffaceous members which are folded in a series of overturned folds. The beds are displaced by a series of thrust faults which have a general east strike and dips of 10 to 20 degrees south. Garnet-epidote-actinolite skarns are developed in limy tuff, limy sediments and limestone, apparently interbedded with the upper portions of Karmutsen Formation basalts.

Mineralization was present in ten small tabular sulphide zones and consisted of chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, pyrite and lesser magnetite and sphalerite.

The main orebody, hosted in volcanic rocks, was the G-H. The ore consisted of a skarn zone which formed a southwest plunging pipe-like body extending from the surface to the 335 metre level. The mineralization comprised chalcopyrite, pyrite and pyrrhotite irregularly occurring as stringers and small masses. The orebody was displaced to the northeast, the top block moved 305 metres to the north and 46 to 61 metres to the east in relation to the lower block.

The E ore body, 300 metres due south of the G-H, was a 3 to 4 metre wide tuffaceous horizon mineralized with pyrrhotite. The pyrrhotite almost completely replaced the bedded rock and was veined with small stringers and irregular masses of chalcopyrite and pyrite. Small grains of hematite were noted locally.

The mine was in production from 1917 to 1919 and from 1956 to 1960. From 249,298 tonnes of rock, 6,814,623 kilograms of copper, 2,508,644 grams of silver and 218 grams of gold were produced. Exploration in 1989 located several gossanous zones in the southwest portion of the property. A 1-metre chip sample (109075) of intermediate tuff with copper staining from the BGN-4 site assayed 0.7 per cent copper and 0.043 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 19387). Sampling results ranged from 0.0007 to 1.1824 per cent copper and 0.001 to 0.043 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 19387). In 2002, Ber-Can Environmental Resources Inc. completed a program geochemical sampling of the Blue Grouse tailings and tailings ponds for the purpose of developing a proprietary process for the clean up of mine tailings and mill tailings.

Bibliography
EMPR AR 1906-212; 1915-290; 1916-312,366; 1917-267; 1918-299,307; 1927-339; 1928-364; 1929-370; 1930-289; 1931-163; 1952-213; 1953-17; 1954-166; 1955-79; *1956-120; 1957-69; 1958-60; 1959-138; 1960-115; 1965-241
EMPR ASS RPT 97, 616, 6297, 8895, 8896, 17039, *19387, 21391, 23579, 26879
EMPR BC METAL MM00049
EMPR BULL *37, pp. 54-57; 101, pp. 57, 147, Appendix 6
EMPR EXPL 1977-E107; 1979-126; 1980-161
EMPR FIELDWORK 1978, pp. 38-40; 1986, pp. 223-229; 1987, pp. 81-91; 1989, pp. 503-510
EMPR GEM 1977-E107
EMPR INDEX 3-190; 4-119
EMPR MP MAP 1992-2
EMPR OF *1987-2; RGS 24, 1990; 1998-10
EMPR P 1989-3, p. 103
EMPR PF (In General File: B.C. Forest Products Road Map, Cowichan Lake Area, 1963 and Mellin, R.G. (1930): Vancouver Island Copper Situation; Report on Possible Ore Control for Cowichan Copper Mines Ltd. date and author unknown; Self-Potential Survey Maps; Skerl, A.C. (unknown): Report on a Self-Potential Survey and Notes on a Visit to the Property; Cowichan Copper Sections A-A', B-B'; Drill Hole plan, 1918; Surface Geology, 1952; Skerl, A.C. (1953): Geophysical Report, Cowichan Copper; Fyles, J. (1953): Notes on the Blue Grouse Copper Property; Skerl, A.C. (1953): Report on a Self-Potential Survey of part of the property of Cowichan Copper Company and Letter re: Results; Skerl, A.C. (1953): Remarks on the Cowichan Copper Company; Cowichan Copper Co. Ltd. Prospectus July, 1953; Cowichan Copper Geological and Topographic Map, 1953; Nelson, D. (1954): Letter re: Gravity Determinations on the Ore to Cowichan copper; Unknown Author (1954): Letter re: Sampling of the Northeast Raise to Cowichan Copper Company; Skerl, A.C. (1954): Memorandum on Policy and Notes on a Visit to Cowichan Copper; Northwestern Explorations Ltd. Geology Map, 1954; Skerl, A.C. (1954): Geology of 1200 Level; Projections, 1954; Clipping from Times Feb. 6, 1954; Skerl, A.C. (Sept. and April 1954, 1955): Progress Report to the Cowichan Copper Company; Level Plans, Underground Plans, Assay Plans 1954, 1955; Cowichan Lake Topographic Map, 1955; Cowichan Copper Photo, 1959; Blue Grouse Mine plan, 1959; Malcolm, D.C. (1964): Cowichan Copper Co. Ltd. Blue Grouse Mine; Malcolm, D.C. (1965): Blue Grouse Group Geological Report; Eastwood, G.E.P. (1975-1980) Upper Sutton Creek area and Hornet notes, maps, sketches; Nic-Nik Resources Ltd., Prospectus, Nov. 1988; District Geologist assays, 2001)
EMR MP CORPFILE (Cowichan Copper Co. Ltd.; Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. Ltd.)
GSC MAP 17A; 1386A
GSC MEM 13
GSC OF 463; 821; 1272
GSC P 72-44; 76-1A; 79-30
GCNL #249, 1956
Carson, D.J.T. (1968): Metallogenic study of Vancouver Island with emphasis on the relationships of mineral deposits to plutonic rocks, Ph.D. Thesis, Carleton University
Hudson, R. (1997): A Field Guide to Gold, Gemstone & Mineral Sites of British Columbia, Vol. 1: Vancouver Island, pp. 99-100

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