Bralorne Mine, Bridge River area, Lillooet Mining Division, British Columbia, Canadai
Regional Level Types | |
---|---|
Bralorne Mine | Mine |
Bridge River area | Area |
Lillooet Mining Division | Division |
British Columbia | Province |
Canada | Country |
This page is currently not sponsored. Contact us for sponsorship opportunities.
Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
50° 47' 0'' North , 122° 50' 16'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
Place | Population | Distance |
---|---|---|
Mount Currie 6 | 961 (2019) | 51.9km |
Pemberton | 2,192 (2011) | 52.0km |
Owned/operated by:
Mindat Locality ID:
208611
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:208611:1
GUID (UUID V4):
98069449-51ae-489d-b17e-e65d2060809c
Most of the claims in the Bralorne-Pioneer mine camp were staked in 1897. The Pioneer mine began in 1900 as a one-man operation, when F. W. Kinder single-handedly mined and processed the ore at a rate of 400-500 pounds per day. He continued his operation, making a comfortable living, for eleven years before selling the property. The mine became a major producer of gold when Dave Sloan, a mining engineer, came on board as managing director in 1924. Within four years the recovery of gold had reached more than $100,000 of bullion per year (Cairnes 1937).
Gold and sulfide mineralization (pyrite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, and tetrahedrite) occurs in epigenetic mesothermal quartz-carbonate veins hosted in serpentinite and diorite.
Most surviving specimen material consists of “sponge” gold frozen in quartz matrix, some in sulfide matrix. Good representative specimens of this type reside in the collections of the Royal Ontario Museum, the Provincial Museum of Alberta, and the University of British Columbia. The Braelorne mine closed in 1971. A number of large specimens were rediscovered in an office filing cabinet after a company take-over in the late 1980s. In 1990 Braelorne Resources sold these specimens of sponge gold in quartz to Rod Tyson and Frank Melanson. They etched them and produced 15 specimens ranging from 4x3 cm to 12 x 20 cm (Robinson and King 1990).
Well-crystallized gold is reported to have been encountered in carbonate quartz veins during operations in the 1930s and 1940s (Rod Tyson, pers. comm., 2005). One significant surviving specimen of this era is in the collection of the Canadian Museum of Nature. Another was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in Toronto in 1988. The following is from the Sotheby’s auction catalog 84 (1988):
"A Spectacular Gold Specimen, of self-supporting dendritic and platy gold veinlets with arsenopyrite crystals etched from a calcite vein in a calcite and grey rock matrix, the specimen mounted in plaster and housed within a wood and glass display case, length 5 in. (12.7 cm.), height 2.7 in. (7.0 cm.), width 4 in. (10.2 cm.).
This gold specimen originates from the Pioneer Gold Mines property near Lillooet, located approximately 100 miles north of Vancouver. It was acquired in the 1930’s by Colonel J.V.N. Spencer, the proprietor of the mine.
Provenance: Private Collection, British Columbia."
A specimen exhibiting reasonably developed gold micro-crystals in vugs in massive quartz is also known from the Coronation mine, which was eventually incorporated into the operations of the Bralorne mine. The gold crystals are rounded and complex, appearing to exhibit a highly modified tetrahexahedral form.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
16 valid minerals.
Detailed Mineral List:
ⓘ Albite Formula: Na(AlSi3O8) References: |
ⓘ Ankerite Formula: Ca(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2 References: |
ⓘ Arsenopyrite Formula: FeAsS |
ⓘ Calcite Formula: CaCO3 |
ⓘ Chalcopyrite Formula: CuFeS2 |
ⓘ 'Chlorite Group' References: |
ⓘ Epidote Formula: (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) References: |
ⓘ Galena Formula: PbS |
ⓘ Gold Formula: Au |
ⓘ Muscovite Formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 References: |
ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite Formula: K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 References: |
ⓘ Muscovite var. Sericite Formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 References: |
ⓘ Pyrite Formula: FeS2 |
ⓘ Pyrrhotite Formula: Fe1-xS |
ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 |
ⓘ Scheelite Formula: Ca(WO4) References: |
ⓘ Siderite Formula: FeCO3 References: |
ⓘ Sphalerite Formula: ZnS |
ⓘ Stibnite Formula: Sb2S3 References: |
ⓘ 'Tetrahedrite Subgroup' Formula: Cu6(Cu4C2+2)Sb4S12S |
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
Group 1 - Elements | |||
---|---|---|---|
ⓘ | Gold | 1.AA.05 | Au |
Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
ⓘ | Sphalerite | 2.CB.05a | ZnS |
ⓘ | Chalcopyrite | 2.CB.10a | CuFeS2 |
ⓘ | Pyrrhotite | 2.CC.10 | Fe1-xS |
ⓘ | Galena | 2.CD.10 | PbS |
ⓘ | Stibnite | 2.DB.05 | Sb2S3 |
ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
ⓘ | Arsenopyrite | 2.EB.20 | FeAsS |
ⓘ | 'Tetrahedrite Subgroup' | 2.GB.05 | Cu6(Cu4C2+2)Sb4S12S |
Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
ⓘ | Siderite | 5.AB.05 | FeCO3 |
ⓘ | Ankerite | 5.AB.10 | Ca(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2 |
Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates | |||
ⓘ | Scheelite | 7.GA.05 | Ca(WO4) |
Group 9 - Silicates | |||
ⓘ | Epidote | 9.BG.05a | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
ⓘ | Muscovite var. Sericite | 9.EC.15 | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
ⓘ | 9.EC.15 | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 | |
ⓘ | var. Fuchsite | 9.EC.15 | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
ⓘ | Albite | 9.FA.35 | Na(AlSi3O8) |
Unclassified | |||
ⓘ | 'Chlorite Group' | - |
List of minerals for each chemical element
H | Hydrogen | |
---|---|---|
H | ⓘ Epidote | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
H | ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
H | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
H | ⓘ Muscovite var. Sericite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
C | Carbon | |
C | ⓘ Ankerite | Ca(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2 |
C | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
C | ⓘ Siderite | FeCO3 |
O | Oxygen | |
O | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
O | ⓘ Ankerite | Ca(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2 |
O | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
O | ⓘ Epidote | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
O | ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
O | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
O | ⓘ Scheelite | Ca(WO4) |
O | ⓘ Siderite | FeCO3 |
O | ⓘ Muscovite var. Sericite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
Na | Sodium | |
Na | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
Mg | Magnesium | |
Mg | ⓘ Ankerite | Ca(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2 |
Al | Aluminium | |
Al | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
Al | ⓘ Epidote | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
Al | ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
Al | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
Al | ⓘ Muscovite var. Sericite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
Si | Silicon | |
Si | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
Si | ⓘ Epidote | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
Si | ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
Si | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
Si | ⓘ Muscovite var. Sericite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
S | Sulfur | |
S | ⓘ Arsenopyrite | FeAsS |
S | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
S | ⓘ Galena | PbS |
S | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
S | ⓘ Pyrrhotite | Fe1-xS |
S | ⓘ Sphalerite | ZnS |
S | ⓘ Stibnite | Sb2S3 |
S | ⓘ Tetrahedrite Subgroup | Cu6(Cu4C22+)Sb4S12S |
K | Potassium | |
K | ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
K | ⓘ Muscovite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
K | ⓘ Muscovite var. Sericite | KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 |
Ca | Calcium | |
Ca | ⓘ Ankerite | Ca(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2 |
Ca | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
Ca | ⓘ Epidote | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
Ca | ⓘ Scheelite | Ca(WO4) |
Cr | Chromium | |
Cr | ⓘ Muscovite var. Fuchsite | K(Al,Cr)3Si3O10(OH)2 |
Fe | Iron | |
Fe | ⓘ Ankerite | Ca(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2 |
Fe | ⓘ Arsenopyrite | FeAsS |
Fe | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
Fe | ⓘ Epidote | (CaCa)(AlAlFe3+)O[Si2O7][SiO4](OH) |
Fe | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
Fe | ⓘ Pyrrhotite | Fe1-xS |
Fe | ⓘ Siderite | FeCO3 |
Cu | Copper | |
Cu | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
Cu | ⓘ Tetrahedrite Subgroup | Cu6(Cu4C22+)Sb4S12S |
Zn | Zinc | |
Zn | ⓘ Sphalerite | ZnS |
As | Arsenic | |
As | ⓘ Arsenopyrite | FeAsS |
Sb | Antimony | |
Sb | ⓘ Stibnite | Sb2S3 |
Sb | ⓘ Tetrahedrite Subgroup | Cu6(Cu4C22+)Sb4S12S |
W | Tungsten | |
W | ⓘ Scheelite | Ca(WO4) |
Au | Gold | |
Au | ⓘ Gold | Au |
Pb | Lead | |
Pb | ⓘ Galena | PbS |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to
visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders
for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.