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Helping preserve undersurface record for future mines
The East Kootenay Chamber of Mines is $10,000 closer to completing a ‘core library’ of geological drill samples thanks to a contribution from the B.C. government.
Drill core samples from mining exploration programs in the region have been acquired by the East Kootenay Chamber of Mines since 2004 with the intention of protecting this valuable information and developing a core library for studying and understanding the formation of the geology of the East Kootenay.
“These core samples represent the research that prospectors and companies have done over the decades,” said Bill Bennett, Minister of Energy and Mines and Kootenay East MLA. “It is an invaluable record of what lies beneath the surface and what could very well be the foundation of the next large mine in the East Kootenay. I applaud the EK Chamber of Mines for their foresight and commitment to mining in our region.”
This geological archive contains sequences of sedimentary rocks deposited in an ancient ocean, and reveals the stresses they underwent from the time of burial through the folding and faulting that created the Rocky Mountains and Rocky Mountain Trench.
“I would like to sincerely thank the government of B.C. and especially Minister Bennett for their continuing financial support of the Fort Steele Drill Core Library,” East Kootenay Chamber of Mines president Jason Jacob said. “Because of the government’s help, we will succeed in preserving invaluable drill core, such as the only surviving drill core from the great Sullivan Mine in Kimberley.”
Beginning in 2004, the East Kootenay Chamber of Mines stored the cores at various private storage facilities. Then, at Bennett’s suggestion and with support from the provincial government, a search for a location on Crown land began and a portion of an abandoned gravel pit on Mause Creek Road, two kilometres south of Fort Steele, was secured.
The site is now fenced and 16 racks have been built, but they require covers to keep rain and snow off the core boxes. Over time and with weathering, the core boxes stacked on pallets are beginning to deteriorate and some core has been lost.
The $10,000 grant will go toward building covers and caps to protect the cores from the weather and ensure these precious records are preserved.
Above photo: Kootenay East MLA and Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett (fourth from left) is joined by East Kootenay Chamber of Mines representatives Farren Billey, left, Brian Kostiuk, Tim Termuende, Jason Jacob, Paul Ransom, Roger Berdusco and Robert Termuende.
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