Criss Creek, Savona, Kamloops Mining Division, British Columbia, Canadai

Regional Level Types
Criss Creek	Creek
Savona	Unincorporated Community
Kamloops Mining Division	Division
British Columbia	Province
Canada	Country

Located north of Savona.
This is not a British Columbia “Minfile” occurrence.
The following description of the occurrence is taken from the abstract of a paper by Stevenson (1943).
“On Criss Creek abundant native arsenic is found in a dolomite vein about one-half mile from the Deadman River road. Criss Creek crosses this road about 12 miles north of the village of Savona on Kamloops Lake. The vein is a lenticular gash vein that ranges from 2 to 8 inches in width over its exposed length of 30 feet. It cuts across both the strike and the dip of the enclosing carbonatized argillaceous sediments. The vein outcrop and the adjacent rock are marked by white arsenious oxide which has spread out along joints and fissures, particularly down the dip of intersected partings of shale.
Texturally the vein is of the filled vein-breccia type in which the vein-minerals cement angular inclusions of the wall rock. These vein-minerals include colloform dolomite, which rims the fragments, and colloform native arsenic which forms the matrix of the breccia. The vein has formed entirely by filling open spaces, and there is practically no replacement of the wall-rock by the vein minerals.”
Further comments by Giles Peatfield regarding some of the minerals present:
Dolomite: Stevenson notes that this is what he calls “ankeritic dolomite”, with a composition of:
CaCO3 – 56.3%; MgCO3 – 27.3% and FeCO3 – 16.4% (analysis reduced to 100%).
Arsenic: Stevenson notes that on analysis, the arsenic is seen to have 6 to 10% Sb, thought to be in the form of inclusions of antimony, which are readily visible in polished section. Stevenson’s conclusion is that “. . . nearly all the antimony has exsolved and that very little if any remains in solid solution in the arsenic.”
Antimony: See the previous comment.
“Arsenious oxide”: This may refer to the minerals pharmacolite and picropharmacolite, which have been reported elsewhere from this locality, with no references available.
Further note: The Pacific Museum of Earth at the University of British Columbia has two specimens from this locality – Catalogue No. 4 and No. 6110. There is a photograph of the first of these specimens available on the Museum’s website.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References