|
|
Silver tunnel, Van Silver Property (Van Silver Mine; Van Silver Claims), Brandywine Creek, Vancouver Mining Division, British Columbia, Canada
Detailed Mineral List:
| Ankerite | ||
| Formula: | Ca(Fe2+,Mg)(CO3)2 | |
| Habit: | 4 mm rhombs single or stacked to cm in size | |
| Colour: | white to beige | |
| Description: | Manganese predominates over magnesium | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Baryte | ||
| Formula: | BaSO4 | |
| Habit: | Tabular prisms | |
| Colour: | white, sometimes reddish from miargyrite inclusions | |
| Description: | Gangue mineral with carbonates | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Boulangerite |  | |
| Formula: | Pb5Sb4S11 | |
| Habit: | Rings stacked in Tubes!!! more usually cm sized patches of wispey hairs, sometimes overgrown with freieslebenite. | |
| Colour: | Steel grey | |
| Description: | Tubes of Boulangerite to near mm in length | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Photo: © Robert O. Meyer. Boulangerite from Silver tunnel, Van Silver Property, Brandywine Creek, Vancouver Mining Division, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Bournonite |  | |
| Formula: | PbCuSbS3 | |
| Habit: | Tabular prisms and cogwheel twins to 3 mm | |
| Colour: | dull to lustrous steel grey | |
| Description: | Typical bournonite | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Photo: © TB. Bournonite from Silver tunnel, Van Silver Property, Brandywine Creek, Vancouver Mining Division, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Calcite |  | |
| Formula: | CaCO3 | |
| Habit: | Flattened rhombs to 3 mm | |
| Colour: | white to yellowish | |
| Description: | Contains substantial Iron and Manganese | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Photo: © Robert O Meyer. Calcite from Silver tunnel, Van Silver Property, Brandywine Creek, Vancouver Mining Division, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Celestine | ||
| Formula: | SrSO4 | |
| Description: | Known as single specimen only. Pinkish cleavages tending to yellowish flattened rhombs, closely resembling calcite | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Cerussite | ||
| Formula: | PbCO3 | |
| Habit: | acicular sub millimeter xls | |
| Colour: | white | |
| Description: | Weathering product on galena and bournonite | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Diaphorite |  | |
| Formula: | Ag3Pb2Sb3S8 | |
| Habit: | Terminated prisms , ocassionally twinned to several mm | |
| Colour: | black, often with irridescent tarnish | |
| Description: | At least three terminal forms that distinguish it from freieslebenite | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Photo: © TB. Diaphorite from Silver tunnel, Van Silver Property, Brandywine Creek, Vancouver Mining Division, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Fizélyite |  | |
| Formula: | Ag5Pb14Sb21S48 | |
| Habit: | Terminated prisms! lathe like ropey intergrowths often showing curvature. | |
| Colour: | Black | |
| Description: | Fizelyite xls are now in two phases, each of which is suitable for structure determination! | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Photo: © Stephan Wolfsried. Fizélyite from Silver tunnel, Van Silver Property, Brandywine Creek, Vancouver Mining Division, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Freibergite | ||
| Formula: | Ag6[Cu4Fe2]Sb4S13-x | |
| Habit: | Sharp modified tetrahedra | |
| Colour: | Black with internal red lights | |
| Description: | This "freibergite" has only 20% Ag by wt and is argentian tetrahedrite. | |
| Reference: | No reference listed | |
| Freieslebenite |  | |
| Formula: | AgPbSbS3 | |
| Habit: | Flattened tabular wedges with only two terminal forms. | |
| Colour: | Black | |
| Description: | Generally smaller than diaphorite at Van Silver. Diaphorite has 3 or more terminal forms. | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Photo: © TB. Freieslebenite from Silver tunnel, Van Silver Property, Brandywine Creek, Vancouver Mining Division, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Galena | ||
| Formula: | PbS | |
| Habit: | tiny octos, massive | |
| Colour: | grey | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Geocronite |  | |
| Formula: | Pb14(Sb,As)6S23 | |
| Habit: | Spikey, feathery 60 degree twins (pseudo hexagonal plates & spikes) | |
| Colour: | black | |
| Description: | First of the sulfosalts to precipitate, contains more As (3%by wt) than any other sulfosalt | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Photo: © Stephan Wolfsried. Geocronite from Silver tunnel, Van Silver Property, Brandywine Creek, Vancouver Mining Division, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Gold | ||
| Formula: | Au | |
| Gold var: Electrum | ||
| Formula: | (Au, Ag) | |
| Habit: | yellowish wires, un affected by nitric acid | |
| Description: | very rare | |
| Reference: | [MinRec 31:223] | |
| Miargyrite |  | |
| Formula: | AgSbS2 | |
| Habit: | Blocky, complex and usually un orientable to 5 mm | |
| Colour: | Black with internal red lights | |
| Description: | like the rest, the best specimens found in galena veins | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Photo: © DM. Miargyrite from Silver tunnel, Van Silver Property, Brandywine Creek, Vancouver Mining Division, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Owyheeite | ||
| Formula: | Ag3+xPb10-2xSb11+xS28, -0.13 < x > +0.20 | |
| Habit: | Stacked rings that look like tubes | |
| Colour: | grayish black | |
| Description: | These tubes (stacked rings) are rare and one was analysed with SEM by Don Howard as Boulangerite and published in the Min Rec article. Another set of stacked rings that were associated with Fizelyite were analysed (XRD) by Yves Moelo as Owyheeite | |
| Reference: | XRD by Yves Moelo | |
| Pyrargyrite |  | |
| Formula: | Ag3SbS3 | |
| Habit: | cubes, pyritohedra | |
| Colour: | yellow, tarnishing irridescent to limonitic. | |
| Description: | Gangue mineral | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Photo: © 2003 R.O. Meyer. Pyrargyrite from Silver tunnel, Van Silver Property, Brandywine Creek, Vancouver Mining Division, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Pyrite | ||
| Formula: | FeS2 | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Pyrostilpnite |  | |
| Formula: | Ag3SbS3 | |
| Habit: | prismatic, twinning to form sheaves | |
| Colour: | orange | |
| Description: | small xls up to .6 mm | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Photo: © Robert O. Meyer. Pyrostilpnite from Silver tunnel, Van Silver Property, Brandywine Creek, Vancouver Mining Division, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Quartz | ||
| Formula: | SiO2 | |
| Habit: | dauphine twins | |
| Description: | gangue mineral | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Rhodochrosite | ||
| Formula: | MnCO3 | |
| Description: | Known as single specimen. Pink cleavages tending to yellowish flattened rhombs, closely resembling calcite | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Semseyite |  | |
| Formula: | Pb9Sb8S21 | |
| Habit: | Cockscomb sheaves that are characteristic | |
| Colour: | lead grey | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Photo: © TB. Semseyite from Silver tunnel, Van Silver Property, Brandywine Creek, Vancouver Mining Division, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Silver | ||
| Formula: | Ag | |
| Habit: | wires rare | |
| Description: | probably post mining | |
| Reference: | [MinRec 31:223] | |
| Sphalerite | ||
| Formula: | ZnS | |
| Habit: | tetrahedra | |
| Colour: | yellow brown, some colorless with black rind | |
| Description: | gangue mineral | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Sulphur | ||
| Formula: | S8 | |
| Description: | very rare. post mining sub mm blebs | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Tetrahedrite |  | |
| Formula: | Cu6[Cu4(Fe,Zn)2]Sb4S13 | |
| Habit: | sharp tetrahedra, occasionally modified | |
| Colour: | black with internal red lights | |
| Description: | This tetrahedrite contains 20% Ag, 5% Zn,1% Fe, As<1% by wt. | |
| Reference: | [ | |
| Photo: © Robert O. Meyer. Tetrahedrite from Silver tunnel, Van Silver Property, Brandywine Creek, Vancouver Mining Division, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Tetrahedrite var: Zincian Tetrahedrite | ||
| Formula: | Cu10Zn2Sb4S13 | |
| Reference: | No reference listed | |
28 entries listed. 26 valid minerals.
References
- Woodside, R.W.M., Soregaroli, A.E., Ansell, H.G., Twaites, B.L., Balacko T.W. (2000): Rare sulfosalts from the Van Silver Mine, British Columbia. Mineralogical Record, 31(3), 219-229.
-Yang H, Downs R T, Burt J B, Costin G (2009) Structure refinement of an untwinned single crystal of Ag-excess fizélyite, Ag5.94Pb13.74Sb20.84S48, The Canadian Mineralogist, 47, 1257-1264
-Yang H, Downs R T, Burt J B, Costin G (2009) Structure refinement of an untwinned single crystal of Ag-excess fizélyite, Ag5.94Pb13.74Sb20.84S48, The Canadian Mineralogist, 47, 1257-1264
This page kindly sponsored by Rob Woodside