Ministry of Eneqy, Mines and Petroleum Resources
CARBONATITES AND SYENITE GNE,ISS
COMPLEXES IN METAMORPH0SE:D
PRECAMBRIAN TO EARLYCAMIBR1:A:N
STRATA. OMINECA BELT
MANSON CREEK AREA (93N/9)
Syenite, monzonite and calmnatite occur together on
both the Lonnie(Granite Creek) andVergil (Brent) claims.
The two showings arelocated 3 kilometres apart, approxi-
mately 8 kilometres east of the placer mining village of
Manson Creek, 230 kilometres northwest of Prince George.
Exposures are in trenches, between loo0 and 1.100metres
elevation, on wooded slopes; elsewhere outcrop is sparse.
TheLonniecarbonatitecanbereachedbyanoldroad,which
is passable by four-wheel-drivevehicle to within 1 kilome-
tre of the showing (latitude 554045N, longitude
1242315W). The Vergil showing,approximately5.5 kil-
ometres from the nearest road, is accessible by helicopter or
on foot (latitude 554245N,longitude 1242515W).
At both showings, theintrusive rocks occurin single,
northwest-trending, sill-like sheets within uppermost Pre-
Cambrian metasedimentary rocks of the Wolverine Complex
(Lang ef al., 1946). Both intrusive rocks and hostrocks have the other is biotite sovite, comprising calcite, b.iotite and
Figure 21. Geological map of the Lonnie (GraniteCreek) carbonatite complex (contours metric), after Rowe,
Bulletin 88
been deformed and metamorphosedto lower amphibolite
facies. The hostrocks include psammiticto semipelitic mica
schists,micaceousquartzitesandsomemarbleswhichstrike
southeasterly (15Oo-17O0)and dip steeply to the southwest
(7Oo-8O0)on average.
The various rock units within each intrusive zone are
distributed in interfingering lenses (Hankinson, 1958;
Rowe, 1958; Halleran, 1980). The Lonniecarbonatite is up
to 50 metres thick and traceable for nearly 500 metres (Fig-
ure 27);theVergil showing is approximately30 mftres thick
and canbe traced for a few hundred metres.The effects of
alkali metasomatism(fenitization) can be detected for a few
tens of metres beyond the intrusions.
CARBONATITES
W o varieties of carbonatite are present within the Lon-
nie complex: one is aegirine sovite in which the principal
components are calcite, microcline, perthite and aegirine;
~~ ~~~~
_-
~~~~~
LEGEND
S y e n i t em
, o n z o n i t em
, onzadiorite
A e g e r i n e - a m p h i b o l ef e n i t e
Mylonitized biotitesovite
Biotite
sovite
Aegerine sovite
l n f e r i a y e r e ds o v i f ea n ds e m i p e l i t i cs c h i s l
W o l v e r i n eC o m p l e xb i o t i t ep s a m m i t ? ,
s e m i D e l i t i cs c h i s tm , i n o ar u a r t z i l e
1958
37
usually plagioclase. Only biotite sovite occurs at the Vergil tain accessory muscovite, biotite, calcite and apntite.
showing. Both the biotite and aegirine sovites are variably Nepheline syenite is also locally present and contains: sig-
foliated and containapatite (up to 20%). magnetite and py- nificant amounts of zircon (3-15%).
rochlore as accessory minerals. The biotite sovite may also
contain zircon; columbite, ilmenorutile and ilmenite have FENZTES
also been reported (Hankinson, 1958). At the Lonnie show-
ing, aegirine sovite occurs along the southwestern margin Pods andlayers of fenite occur within both the Lonnie
of the complex and biotite sovite along the northwestern and Vergil intrusive complexes. The fenite is medium to
dark green in colour and rusty weathering. It consists of
margin (Figure 27). The biotite sovite is variably myloni- aegirine and sodic amphibole (Plate 14) with microcline.
tized, with the most intense shearing near the contact with
the country rocks. Enrichmentin zircon, pyrochlore, colum- plagioclase and calcite in varying amounts. The amphibole
bite, pyrite and pyrrhotite has been noted nearthe contacts is strongly pleochroic, x -turquoise, y - colourless, z - PNS-
of the sovites with syenites (Hankinson, 1958). sian blue, with colour strongest at the rims. It issimilar to
the amphibole at the Aley complex, which has been itlenti-
fied as magnesio-arfvedsonite(Miider, 1986, 1987). Trace
SILICATE PHASES constituents in fenites include pyrochlore, magnetite and
Feldspathic intrusive rocks, monzodiorite, monzonite zircon.
and syenite, outcrop as lenticular masses separating the car- The hosting psammitic and semipelitic schists arc rec-
bonatite units (Figure 27). These intrusive rocks consist of ognizably fenitized for a fewtens of metres beyond the in-
potassium feldspar (orthoclase or microcline) and plagio- trusive contacts. Microcline, plagioclase and quartz are
clase in varying proportions; plagioclase greatly exceeds major constituents, with aegiriue and arfvedsonite dissemi-
potassium feldspar in the monzodiorites,in the monzonites nated throughout, presumably replacing the original mafic
the proportions approach equality and potash feldspar silicate minerals. Biotite is present in trace amounts only.
greatly exceeds plagioclase in the syenites. All phases con- Calcite, apatite, magnetite and zircon may be present and

Plate 14. Blue pleochroic amphibole (rnagnesio-arfvedsonite)and finer grained aegirine (light green) in ultrafenite, Lonnie area.Long
dimension of photomicrograph is2.5 millimetres, (colourpkoto,page 135).

38 Geological Survey !ranch

 ~~~ ~ ~~~ ~ ~~~ ~~ ~~ ~ ~

coarse-grained arfvedsonite, magnetite andfeldspar segre-

gations are developed locally.

GEOCHEMISTRY
Carbonatites in the Manson Creek area are all true
sovites, no magnesio- or ferrocarbonatites were observed
(Figure 28; Table7). Aegirine sovites are depleted in silica
and aluminum and enriched in strontium, relative to biotite
sovites. Fenites are notably enriched in iron and sodium,
relative to other lithologies (Figure 29; Table 7). With in-
creasing degree of fenitization, that is from recognizable
metasedimentsto ultrafenite, the rocks exhibit a systematic
increase in iron and alkalis relative to calcium (Figure 30a)
and fenitization appears to be a combination of 'typical'
iron-magnesium andalkali fenitization trends. The fenites,
even ultrafenites (aegirine and arfvedsonite rich) are en-
riched in sodium relative to typical pyroxene-amphibole
fenites (Figure 30b). J
Syenitic rocks are quite vaned in composition (Figures Figure 28. CaO-MgO-Fez03t+MnO carbonatite pht, Lonnie
29and31;Table7)but,onaverage,plotwithinthemiaskitic complex.

TABLE 7
CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF ALKALINE ROCKS, MANSON CREEK AREA
"
~ ~~~ ~ ~ ~~ ~~~ ~

Syenites and contact syenites Fenite

7 6 8 9 15 141113 12
10 15-
Si02 1.70
13.70
12.70
7.81
12.00 '14.00 56.70
51.09
53.77
32.88
36.44 44.5035.9638.8273.1557.82
Ti02 0.02
0.67
0.71
0.01 0.08 0.03 0.02 0.53 0.03
0.40
0.20 0.66
0.38
0.28 0.64 0.83
3.65
2.48
3.26
11.61
7.46
A1203
0.36
6.79
7.57
2.22
3.06
14.30
16.70
14.93
15.38
11.74
12.14
Fe203T 1.40
6.21 5.70 0.371.44
0.80
0.59
5.39
0.57
4.84
2.63 19.60
11.66
6.91
4.52
18.63
0.59
0.37 0.24 0.16 0.28 0.23 0.11 0.26
0.15
0.25
0.37 0.24 0.300.34
0.24
0.115
0.31 2.20 1.85 0.60
1.21
0.17 0.12 1.73
0.18
1.36
1.15
2.48
2.11
1.13
1.11 2.112
CaO 52.90
36.60
36.10
48.29
43.72
16.30
6.09
8.85
9.78
23.12
20.19 10.90 14.56 24.21
0.34
1.34
Na20 0.44 1.21 3.48
0.36
0.99
4.97
6.94
5.57
5.37
3.53
2.46
10.30
5.79
3.99
5.55
10.33
0.12 2.45 2.04 0.49 0.19 5.36 5.84 1.894.82
1.50
4.43 0.24 0.50
1.14 1.61 0.ZI
4.41
7.98
7.48
17.47
17.89 6.56
11.48
18.06
0.77
0.46
0.61
1.05 1.29 1.65
0.34 0.76
0.71
1.13
0.05 0.04
99.27 98.8298.7498.24 99.8985.9399.2799.5599.5998.13
ppm
Ni <2 <2 <2 2 9 8 4 4 4 337 285 65 5
Cr e20 7 9 <20 e 20 36 52 1415 < 20 <20 15377 24 34 6:
7 8 c o10 10 7 5 3 12 11 9 9 < 5 2 8 3 8 3 1
Sr 12009 69076643
878079594125 1110 1940 3143
5360
6738
1506
2303
5095
233 3:
Ba 986 1455 1097
1926
662 2634
2230
1321
2752
1191
2479
2084
387
215
129 4:
Zr 76 127 154
77
385
2030
10363 1062 170
298
322
756 641 198
2324
311
Nb < 5 78306 2 43 1444 883
1274
358
2465
1589
884 19 253
387 17
56 33 44 78 46 77 Y
66 54 69 62 53 16 19 36 YO 11
La 247
43
135
398
345
371
401
347 222 265 88 254 102 190 173 22
Ce 600 130325
176
172
392
470
741
398
426
107
286
660
483
673 31
Nd 245
179 206 102 35 56
Yb 6.27.7 5.2 3.5 3.8 2.1
sc 30 17 464.8 2316.3 16.8
18.5
20.5
318.47.2
414.111.237
Ta c2 2 4 < 2 11 c 237 17 25 9 3 < 2 <2 <2 8 <2
Th <<<<<66666 25 28 17 8 < 6 18 6 8 65 244 19
I-LA179C oegirine sovite, Lonnieclaim 12-
LA174Bultrafenire, Lonnie claim
2-01242B biotite sovite, Vergilclaim 13-
LA197Eultmfenite, Lonnie claim
3-011184 biotite sovite,Lonnie claim 14-LAl79E banded, calcareous
fenite, Lonnie claim
4-LA242C white. massive sovite, Vergilclaim IS- l.4178
fenitired
metasediment with carbonaiite
5-LA252 carbowrite breccia, Vergil claim veinle:, Lonnie claims
6-l.41978 syenite, Lonnie claim 16- l.41740fenirired
mefasediment, Lonnie claim
74.42408 syenite, Vergil claim Samples 1,2,3.6,7,12%- majorelementsnmlyred
8-01250 syenitic breccia, Vergilclaim by ICAP; trace elements by XRF;
9-LAl74A marsive syenite, Lonnieclaim REE by INAA at Bondar-Clegg.
IO-LA248 mixed syenitdcarbonatite, Vergilclaim Sampbs4, 5,8,9,10,11.13,14,15,16,-
II-LA197D carbonatitdsyenife contact, Lonnie claim Major and tmce elements byXRF.

Bulletin 88 39
 %% carbonatites
A fenite
0 syenite
Figure 29. Majorelementternary plots, MansonCreekarea
carbonatite complexes.
syenite field (Figure 31). These rocksmay contain signifi-
cant amounts of zirconium, upto 1.23%, and are enriched
in barium and niobiumrelative to other igneous andmeta-
somatic rocksin the area. Niobium pentoxidevalues of be-
tween 0.1 and 0.3% have been reported from the Lonnie
showing. Azone in the centre of the property averages 0.3%
NbzOs across a width of 7.6 metres and a length of 240
metres (Vaillancourt and Payne, 1979).
Rare-earth element abundances of rocks in the Manson
Creek area are uniformly low, compared to those at Aley,
Kechika River and Rock Canyon Creek (Appendix 1) and,
as indicated by the shallow slope on chondrite-nomalized
plots, the light rare-earth enrichment is not as marked (Fig-
ure 32).
40
trend
Creek
"normal.. fe-Mg fenitetrem
pyroxene
amphibod<
fenites
Figure 30. Ternary fenite plots, Manson Creek area carbsnatitc
complexes.
GEOCHRONOLOGY
The Lonnie and Vergil carbonatites contain zircm, p y
rochlore and other uranium-bearing mineralsthat arc: ame--
nable to uranium-lead geochronoIogy. Zircons from
samples collected from the Lonnie andVergil carbonatite-
syenite complexes are generally large crystals that are
equant and clear. Analyses fromthese samples are ciscor-
dant, but indicate a uranium-lead age of 340 Ma anc. lead..
lead ages of 351 to 365 Ma (Appendix2), which is similar
to the age of the zircons from the Ice River complexin the
Rocky Mountains. Preliminary uranium-lead syste~natic!i
do not yield precise ages for these zircons, but do suggest
that the Lonnie and Vergil carbonatites were emplaced iu
Late Devonianto early Mississippiantime.
__
Geological Survey .3ranch
 Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petmleum Resources

CHONDRITE-NORMALIZED REE PLOl

average Lonniesyenite 105 Lonnie & V e r g iS
l howings
X overagemonzonite
-. Monson C r e e kA r e a
.
.
Carbonatite
A Fanile
104 -
D syenite
.
.
.
.
.

Subalkaline basalt Alkali

rocks

mmrr
30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.01
Si02

Agpaitic 1
!O.OO- syenite La Ce Pr Nd Sm Eu Tb Dy Ho 'lm Yb LI
family
R a r e - E a r t hE l e m e n t s
Mlaskitlc __
syenite
family Figure 32. Chondrite-normalized REE plots, Lonnie and Vergil
5.00 showings, Manson creek area.
Nephelinite
family The alkalic rocks are hosted by high-grade metarnor-
phic rocks assigned to the Wolverine complex, 0;'probable
0.00- late Proterozoic age, and are exposed in a 5 hy 10kilometre
area, south andeast of the Manson River, in the Wolverine
Ranges of the Omineca Mountains.Within this arxa, a num-
- 0 ber of discrete alkalic dikes and dike swarms arepresent,
5.00-
.." Subalkaline
associated with alkalic pegmatite dikes or segreg&ions,in-
rocks trusive breccias and large metasomatic alteration halos
U " (fenites); unfoliated, fine-grained quartz morzonite to
0.00 quartz syenite intrusions are also present, but may or may
30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.0 not berelated to the alkaline syenites. The relationship be-
Si07
tween the intrusion of alkaline rocks andmetamorphism is
Figure 31. Alkali-silica and agpaitic index plots, Lonnie complex unclear fromthe available literature.
silicate rocks. (A) Agpiatic index plot - Lonnie complex silicate The area is accessible from good logging roads that run
rocks; (B) Lonnie - alkali vs silica diagram. along the west side of WillistonLake fromWindy Point,at
the south tip of the lake, to Manson Creek.
MOUNT BISSON - MUNROE CREEK
AREA (93N/9; 930/5,12) ALKALIC DIKE ROCKS
Alkalic syenites are exposed in the Mount Bisson - Three types of syenite dikes are present in the Mount
Munroe Creekarea of north-central British Columbia (lati- Bisson - Munroe Creekarea: the fzst rich in alkali feldspar;
the second containing abundant aegirine-augitc:; and the
tude 55'31'00"N, longitude 124"00'00'W), 64 kilometres third a suite of rare-earthelement enriched dikes which con-
northwest of the town of Mackenzie (Figure 1). They were tain allanite as the main rare-earth mineral. The alkali ield-
discovered in 1986 and 1987 by A.A.D. Halleran.The min- spar dikes contain 90% potassium feldspar rimmed with
eralogy andfield relationships were describedby Halleran plagioclase, and 10% mafic minerals, predominantly aegir-
(1988) andHalleran andRussel1 (1990) andare summarized ine-augite. The aegirine-augite dikes contain, 011 average,
from these works. 40 to 60% aegirine-augite grains, up to 1.5 centimetres

"

Bulletin 88 41
across, 35% perthite, 3% sphene with rare allanite inclu- gioclase (Anzz-uI), potassium feldspar, biotite, chloritz and
sions, 1%apatite and traces of allanite, magnetite, chalco- traces of magnetite, allanite, apatite and zircon.
pyrite and malachite. These dikes are banded, withthe mafic
minerals concentratedin thin, discrete zones. The allanitic GEOCHEMISTRY
dikes are also rich in aegirine-augite: they consist of ap-
proximately 80% aegirine-augite, 8% potassium feldspar,
5% apatite, 3% allanite and 2%sphene, withaccessory cal-
cite and biotite.

PEGMATITES
Two types of alkalic pegmatites are described by Hal-
leran and Russell (1990),aegirine-augite pegmatites and al-
lanite pegmatites. They occur in zones l to 4 metres wide
by in excess of 30 metres long; it is unclear, however,
whether they are distinct dikes or, simply, coarse-grained
segregations or pods within fenite zones. The aegirine-
augite pegmatites contain zoned antiperthite (Anz3), sub-
hedral aegirine-augite grains [with inclusions of plagioclase
(An34). sphene, hornblende and biotite], minor perthitic po-
tassium feldspar, occasional elongate quartz crystals and
late, fracture-filling epidote. The allanite pegmatites consist
of perthite, up to 35% allanite, 5 % sphene, plagioclase
(Anzs.27). apatite and minor to trace amounts of aegirine-
augite, quartz, zircon and opaques.Allanite crystals are 0.03
to 2.0 centimetres in size and commonly occur with sphene
and apatite. Late quartz veins, up to 5 centimetres wide, lo-
cally cut the allanite pegmatites.

INTRUSIVE BRECCIAS
An intrusive breccia zone, over 40 metres long, is ex-
posed in one area. It consists of intrusive clasts supported
by a fine-grained, green matrix which contains 25% relic
potassium feldspar, 10%plagioclase, altered blue-green
amphibole andtraces of sphene and apatite.
LEGEND
FENITES
Fenitized Wolverine Complex rocks are exposed over &@
A e uncertainplutonic rocks
G r o n o d i k , quartzmonzonite,
tonollle;iocaliypegmolitic
a broad area. The fenites are generally banded, with melano-
cratic layers consisting of aegirine-augite, sphene, allanite, Hadvnian-WindermereSupergroup
apatite and minor hornblende, andleucocratic layers domi- HorsethiefCreekGroup,UpperClastic
Unit/Koza Group: granuleconglomerote,
nated by plagioclase or potassium feldspar and apatite. psammite;minorpeiifeandcarbonate
Banding in the fenites reflects original bedding or layering
in the Wolverine rocks which the fenite zones grade into: a Horse!hie! CreekGroup,Semipelile/
AmphlboilteondMiddleMarbleunils;
melanocratic bands were probably amphibolite or biotite amphibolite,semipelite, marble, minor
schist layers while the leococratic bands were probably pelite
original quartzofeldspathic layers. Fenites are differentiated HorsethiefCreek Group, Aluminous
from hostrocksby the presenceof aegirine-augite and rare- Peiite unit: pslitepredominates:may
earth element bearing minerals, an increase in alkali feld- also containminoramounts of Lower
GrilUnit
spar and a decreasein quartz.
HadrynianandOlder(Proterozoic)
Maltongneiss: ortho and parogneiss
QUARTZ MONZONITESAND QUARTZ
SYENITES Geological contact ..........-----------
Fault ..............................
Fine-grained, massive, leucocratic quartz monronite Thrust fouit .................... -7-c
and quartz syenite intrusions are also present in the Mount Corbonatite/nepheiine
Bisson - Munroe Creekarea. They are very fresh in appear-
rvenite localities ............................ 0
ance and maybe unrelated to the morealkaline rocks. 'There -
are at least four large intrusions (1 by 3 km in size) and a Fig,ure33. Geology and CarbonatiteJsyenite localitiesin the Illue
number ofsmaller satellite bodies. Theycontain quartz, pla- Ri\ rer m a .

42 Geological Survey Branch

 -~ ~~~~~~~~ ~
These valuesrepresent total rare-earth concentrations; how-
ever, the values are mainly in the light rare earths. Fenites
contain 0.07 to 0.64% light rare earths over widthsof 1to 2
metres.
GEOCHRONOLOGY
No absolute dating has been done on the alkaline rocks.
They obviouslypostdate the Late Proterozoic rocks of the
Wolverine Complex;from published data, the timingof em-
placement relative to metamorphism is unclear and anupper
limit on the agedifficult to establish. Within the sequence,
the syenitic dikes appear to be the latest alkaline rocks em-
placed as they crosscut both the alkaline pegmatites andthe
fenites.
Quartz monzonites and quartz syenites probably post-
date the alkaline rocks andmay he completely unrelated to
them; angular fenitexenoliths are reported to occur within
the quartz-hearing intrusions. From descriptions given,
these intrusions sound as if theyare postorogenic; however,
until some radiometricdating is completed, their ages will
remain unknown.
BLUE RIVER AREA (83D/3,6,7)
A number of carbonatite and nepheline syenite layers
occur within the semipelite-amphibolite division of the
Hadrynian Horsethief Creek Groupin the Monashee Moun-
tains near BlueRiver, approximately 250kilometres north
Plate 15. Fz folds in banded nepheline syenite, Paradise Lake.
Bulletin 88
Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petmleurn Resouxes
of Kamloops (Figures 1 and 33). All are sill-like bodies
which were intruded prior to the deformation and~netan~or-
phism associated with the Columbian orogeny. The car-
bonatites, syenites and hosting sedimentary rocks been have
subjected to three phases of deformation (Plate: 15) and
metamorphosed to upper amphibolite grade(kyanite to sil-
limanite zone). TheMudLake (83D/3, latitude52c0755N.
longitude 1191044W), Bone Creek (83D/6: latitude
521709N, longitude 1190942W) and Verity (831Y6,
latitude 522351N, longitude 1190913W) !showings
(Figure 33) occurbelow treeline at elevations bet ween 600
and 900metres; consequently exposure is limited. ThePara-
dise Lake (83D/6, latitude 522419N, longitude
1190547W) and Howard Creek (83D17, latitude
5223OON, longitude 1185326W) carbonatites are
above treeline, well exposed and were mapped in datail
(Figures 34,35a and 35h).
The Verity carbonatites can be reached by trails and
logging roads whichcross the North Thompson River and
intersect Highway 5 at Lempriere Station, approxi.nately 40
kilometres north of Blue River. The Bone Creekshowings
are accessed froma logging roadwhich leaves Highway 5
approximately 23 kilometres north of Blue River. The Mud
Lake carbonatite crops out along the Red Sands road, which
intersects Highway 5, three kilometres north of B lne River.
All roads are passable with four-wheel-drive vehicles. The
43
 CARBONATITES
Three types of carbonatite occur within this suite. One
is a whitish weathering olivine sovite which contains pre-
dominantly calcite (60-8556). olivine (3-20%) and apatite
(2-20%). Accessory minerals which may be present are
phlogopite (Plate 16), with either normal or reverse pleo-
chroism (up to 8%). diopside (10% or less), magnetitz, il-
menite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, pyrochlore, columbite, zircon,
monazite, allanite and baddelyite. The sovite is usually me-
dium grained and massive, but locally may contain pegma-
titic phases with calcite and olivine crystals 2.5 to 3
centimetres long and magnetite clusters over20 centimtres
in diameter. Zircon crystals up to 3 centimetres long have
also been found.
The second type is a buff-weathering dolomitic car-
bonatite (ranhaugite) with accessory amphibole (5-1 S%),
apatite (2-10%). magnetite and minor phlogopite.Ilmenite,
pyrochlore, columbite and zircon may be present in trace
amounts. The amphibolemay be richterite, soda-tremolite,
tremolite or actinolite. Apatite and amphibole, within the
rauhaugite, define a foliation parallel to both the edg:s of
the carbouatite and the external schistosity. Locally,compo-
sitional banding with alternating apatite-amphibole-rich
and carbonate-rich layers parallels foliation and contacts
(Plate 17). Pegmatitic segregations are not found in the
ranhaugite, but coarse pyrochlore and zircon crystals ( 1-1.5
cm long) may be present. Separate bands of sovite and
rauhaugite occur at Verity, Paradise Lake and Hoxard
Creek. Rauhaugiteis present at both the Mud Lake andI3one
Creek localities.
LEGEND The third type ofcarbonatite, biotite sovite, is found at

Carbona{ite, ou{crop
Bedding
SYMBOLS

F, fold axes
Minor folds
-
...............2 4 y
........16
..........
Paradise Lake only. It occurs as segregations or pods ;asso-
ciated with nepheline syenite. Calcite, biotite, apatite and
magnetite are the primary constituents and nephelinemay
also be present.
4 Sohene-amohibalite
Fault -
...................
NEPHELINE SYENITES
ContourInterval = 30m
Nepheline andsodalite syenite gneisses crop out in the
ParadiseLakearea (Figure 35). In general, the syenitescom-
prise white to grey-weathering, medium-grained, layered
yE:&ian
Psarnmite,sernipelite,
and foliated gneisses, concordant with hostrocks of the
andamphibolite Hadrynian Horsethief Creek Group. Layering and foliation
are parallel to the margins of the gneisses, to bedding in
Figure 34. Geologicalmap of the Howard Creek carbouatite surrounding metasedimentary rocks andto regional lolia-
occurrence. tion.
These syenites are typically composed of micrccline
Howard Creek and Paradise Lake localities are reached by (25-35%). plagioclase (An30 - Ana, 25-35%), nepheline
helicopter, from Valemount. (10-30%) and biotite (7-15%). Accessory mineralsmay in-
Carbonatites in the Blue River area have been exam- clude muscovite, sodalite, cancrinite, zircon and perthite.
Trace minerals present are calcite, magnetite, pyrrbotitl:, py-
ined periodically since the 1950s, for their vermiculite, ura-
rochlore and uranopyrochlore. Thesyenite gneisses r e lo-
nium, niobium and tantalum potential. Previous cally migmatitic, with massive, medium to coarse-grained,
descriptions are given by McCammon (1951,1953,1955), lensoidal leucosomesthat are composed of either nephdine,
Rowe (1958). Currie (1976a). Meyers (1977). Ahroon microcline, plagioclase and sodalite or large perthite crys-
tals (Plates 18 and 19).
(1979, 1980), Aaquist (1981, 1982a,1982b, 1982c), White
(1982, 1985) and Pel1 (1987). Lithologies are very similar MAFIC SILICATE ROCKS
throughout this area and will be described by rock type Mafic and ultramafic silicate rocks are present at
rather than locality. Howard Creek (Figure 34). The most common varicty is

44 Geological Survey Branch

 Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resouxes

Geologicalconloct
Moraine or talus
defined,
approx, assumed .......-""-
INTRUSIVE ROCKS Orientationofbeddingand
parallelfoliation
(SI and S2)
F2 Fold axis
............................................. -
................................................ c-
....................................... xp
HOST ROCKS
Hadrynian
Minor F2 folds
Fault .......................................................
S I a x i dt r a c e
-
Bondedamphibolite ~

syncline, anticline ................................ * I

0
.i
Psammlte,semipelite. and
thin
omphibollte
layers S 2 axial
trace,
antiform .........................
olcsilicate SI axialtrace ......................................... Sa \\Il
+

Figure 35. (A) Geology of the area south of Paradise Lake;(B) (Next page) Cross-sectionA-A', area south
of Paradise Lake.

Bulletin 88 45
 INTRUSIVE ROCKS

A
Figure 358 (continued)

Plate 17. Well layered carbonatite, Howard Creek. Layering is

Plate 16. Phlogopite in carbonatite with reverse pleochroism and produced bycompositional variation within the carbonatite and is
distinctive orange colour, from Verity. Long dimension of parallel to the marginsof the layer, external sedimentary b:dding
photomicrograph is 2.5 millimetres, (colourphoto, page 136). and regional foliation.

46 Geological Survey 3runclr

 Plate 18. Migmatitic leucosome (tine-grained leucosyenite segregations) present
Plate 19. Migmatitic segregations of coarse perthite crystals in
layered nepheline syenite gneiss, Paradise Lake.
sphene-pyroxene-amphibolerock or melteigite, which may
be layered andfoliated or massive. It consists of aegirine-
augite (approximately 50%), strongly pleochroic horn-
blende (x - honey-yellow, y - dark bluish green, z - dark
forest-green to opaque: 15.30%) and sphene(10-20%).Ac-
cessory minerals includenepheline, plagioclase, pyrite and
Bulletin 88
in layered syenites, Paradise Lake
calcite with or without biotite, allanite and apatite The rock
is generally coarse grained with pyroxenecrystals exceed-
ing 3.5 centimetres in length and sphene crystas up to 2
centimetres long. In the strongly foliated varieties, hom-
blende predominates (50-55%), with aegirine-augite,
sphene and biotite abundant andcalcite, plagioc1ar.e. apatite,
pyrite and sometimes nepheline as trace constituents. At one
locality, themelteigiteis transitional to, and locallycrosscnt
by, a coarse-grained, massive urtite composed of :25 to 40%
nepheline, 10 to 15% potassiumfeldspar, 8 to 15% plagio-
clase, 8 to 15%aegirine, 15 to 20% hornblende andsphene,
biotite and calcite.
FENITES
Mafic fenites, 1 to 30 centimetres thick, separate car-
bonatites and host metasedimentaryrocks. They v a q from
medium to coarse grained and massive to foliated. They are
generally composed of amphiboles (hornblende-actinolite,
45-80%), clinopyroxene(generally diopside or augite, up to
35%). apatite and opaques.Accessory minerals which may
be present are titanaugite, biotite, plagioclase, sphene, epi-
dote, quartz (remnant) and calcite. In some loca:.itiesa bi-
otite-vermiculite layer is developed in place of the
amphibole fenites. In all cases the metasedimentary rocks
adjacent to the fenites appear unaltered.
GEOCHEMISTRY
The alkaline rocks in the Blue Riverarea shclw distinct
major elementtrends of increasing alkalis from carbonatites
to syenites, with fenites most similar in composition to the
carbonatites (Figure 36; Table 8). Carbonatites (b~thcalcite
47
British Columbia -

albiie
fenite
field

Figure 36. Major elementternary plots, Blue River area alkaline

;ocks.

Figure 38. Ternary fenite plots, Blue River area rocks

and dolomite-rich varieties) are distinct from marblesin the
host Horsethief Creek Group;the carbonatites c0nta.n s i g
nificantly less silica, aluminum andalkalis than the average
marble and are enriched in iron, phosphorus, strontium and
rare earths (Table 8). Enrichment in niobium and tartalum
\ also occurs in the carbonatites (Table 8), %Os values of
\ up to 0.46%(Aaquist, 1982b) and tantalumvalues tc.2400
ppm (Aaquist, 1982c) have been reported. Calcite carbona..
\ tites range fromme sovites to ferrocarbonatites. dolomitic
carbonatites may be classified as magnesiocarborlatites
\ (Figure 37). Fenites are all typical pyroxene-amphibolt:
fenites, pIotting withinthe pyroxene-amphibolefenite fields;
rnognesio- ferro- o n b o t h N a20-KzO-Fe203 a n d C a 0 - N a20i-KzO..
corbonatite corbonatite
MgO+FezO3 plots (Figure 38a and b). Syenites frcm tht:
Paradise Lakearea are miaskitic, generally compositionally
close to the 'average' nepheline syenite (Figure 39a m d b).
Figure 37. CaO-MgO-Fe203ttMnO carbonatite plot, Blue River Alkaline rocks contain anomalous amounts of rare:-earth
area. elements, but not to the extent of manyof the comp1t:xes in

-
48 Geological Survey Branch
 TABLE 8
CHEMICAL ANALYSES,ALKALINE ROCKS, BLUE RIVER AREA

5 6
3.82 6.60 5.26 2.73 7.642.03 12.30 41.03
59.20
58.W
58.20
12.W 42.30
47.01
35.86
44.12 4530
50.80
55.80
46.60
31.80
47.10
41.80 60.50
Ti02 0.16 0.80 0.62 0.02 0.02 0.70 0.09 0.85 0.13 0.60 0.44 0.82 0.02 0.29 0.255.65 4.15 218 1.84 0.40 0.23 0.40 0.60
0.64 0.65 0.72 0.15 0.15 on 0.24 0.22 2.226.519.62
10.51 I250 22.60 20.80
20.10 8.42
18.W
13.30
5.934.88
8539.721.03
20.10
4.28 10.70 10.30 4.35 7.356.48 7.618.41 0.305.177.449.409.68
2.62 2.69 2.20 15.10 8563.67
12.90
5.36 1.10 7.19 11.10 3.31
0.21 0.23 0.24 0.31 0.38 0.21 0.41 0.37 0.20.22
4 0.200.27 0.18 0.01 0.M 0.03 0.41 023 0.12 0.34 0.06 0.15 0.19 0.20 0.03
2.60 6.88 5.59 14.50 19.W 14.80 16.30
15.W 2.65 11.12 9.23
10.76 2.02 0.W 0.310.17 7.14 459 1.40 11.70 1.44 1.W 1290 7.98 4.74
45.40 39.80 40.90 28.10 28.70 32.90 30.64 29.10 20.W
16.81
15.26
42.90 14.40 0.54 0.69
0.838.20
16.80
13.58 23.10 28.70 23.9 14.90 11.50 5.35
Na20 0.10 0.15 0.15 0.10 0.27 0.11 0.054.03 1.11 3.60 3.28 0.40 9.707.488.27
4.06 4.462.08 9.52 0.12 1.01 1.13 054 266 3.w
K20 4.10 0.38 0.48 4.10 0.25 o . ~ 0.12 0.12
20:
0.59 0.64 153
;:$
1.66 3.78 8.W 5.49 5.08 1.201.71 3.50 4.10 1.69 0.97 0.81 0.13 2.71

d
40.38 35.46 27.12 37.21 20.73
2.024.981.752.571.180.90 19.29 0.71
2.12 0.21 -2.44~ 2 8 098 1.11 0.44 0.23 4.W 4.09 4.W am 4.W
$9.78 99.86 97.98
97.10
97.W lW.11 98.R 99.63 91.17
98.18 97.601 lW.48 99.31
98.98
99.46 99.29 lW.39

'2 4 <2 1 24 6s 58 I7 5 9 92
<w 2 < 20 CW 75 88 52 IC4 124 I27 3w
16 16
10 18 28 32 18 22 8 22 25 3 6 1 1 9 7 46
Sr 4223 2995 3372 4092 4459 IS25 3276 3549 5312 534 1334 I641 78 2W3 134 152 71
Ba 248 316 315 157 127 427 113 87 467 196 803 810 31912161 238 36
7s I59 934 712 27 M 1118 50 28 159 734 276 462 63 119 155 M3 37
Nb % 41 42 470 7w 1W 491 117 E5 181 185 303 6I64 3 16 1
Y 76 68 67 IS 9 2 5 22 16 68 32 33 48 36 19 26 42 17
La 280 254171 241 103 134 m 174 2H 74 91 183 42 18 33 162 2
cc 539 548371 530 208 279 415 339 470 169 187 370 32 70 302 164 I5
Nd 234 223 147 119 81 114
rn 4 4 1.4 1 1.8
12 39
k 41 36 40 41 3 4 4 4 34 29 22
T* 19 <2 CZ 12s I78 8 IO CZ c2 c2 <2
?h- ~ ~~ ~ c6 0.11 6 6
' c6 ~6
, c6 5 13 W ~
1

Porndire&;
 I Nephelinite

CHONDRITE-NORMALIZEDREE PLOT
PARADISE,
VERITY,HOWARD
CREEK
lo5j SHOWINGS
BLUE
RIVER AREA

i
Carbmatife
A Fenile

1 o4

Subalkaline
rocks

0.00' I
30.00
I I I , , , I , I , I I , , I I I , ,
40.00 50.00
,,,,, I , ,
60.00
,,,, I , , ,
70.C
,,
Si09
0 nepheline syenite
m eDlCore0"S
nephelinesyenile

Agpaitic
family
syenite fornily

Miaskilic
t
overage
nepheline
- .-"
- syenite
1 1 ~ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 , 1 1 1 11,
La Ce Pr Nd Srn Tb
Eu Dy Ho Tm Yb LL1
Rare-earth
Elements --
Alkalibasalt
Subalkaline
rocks Figure 40. Chondrite-normalized REE plot - Paradise, V:rity,
Howard Creek showings Blue Riverarea.

30.00 50.00 40.00 60.00 70.0

Si09

Figure 39. Alkali-silica and agpaitic index plots,Blue River area

syenites.

50 Geological Survey Brmch

 LEGEND
121 Nepheline syenite

/IjHorsethief creek met ore dim en la^ rocks

17 Axial trace o f early antiforms

Figure 41. Geology of the Trident Mountain area, Selkirk Mountains(from Pell, 1986b; Perldns, 1983).
I

Plate 20. Coarse-grainedilmenitesegregationin leucosyenite.

Trident Mountain. Plate 21. Typical banded nephelinesyenites, Trident Mountain.
Plate 22. Leucosyenite dikescutting mafic, biotite-amphibole
gneiss, Trident Mountain.

- Carbonalile average
1 family

.
. 1.00-
1
<
b
?

0 nepheline syenite
bosolt
Alkali rn mafic ~ ( ~ I c o r e o u ! ;
nepheline family syenite

0.00
60.00 73.0
Si07

Figure 42. Alkali-silica and agpaitic indexplots, Trident Mountain

syenites.

Plate 23. Xenolith of mafic gneiss inbiotite-rich syenite, Trident

Mountain.

52 Geological Survey Branch

 Minishy of Energy, Mines and Petmleum .Pesources
"

the Rocky and Cassiarmountains (Appendix 1). Enrichment
in light rare earths is greater than in heavy rare earths, as
indicated by the shallow slope on the chondrite-normalized
rare-earth element plot (Figure 40).
GEOCHRONOLOGY
Early attemptsat dating did not providedefinitive re-
sults on the ageof the alkaline intrusions in the Blue River
area. Potassium-argon dates of 205f8 Ma on phlogopite
from Howard Creek, and 92.5f3.2 and 80.2S.8 Ma on
richterite from Verity were obtained (White, 1982). Suh-
sequently, potassium-argon dates of 20of7 Ma on phlo-
gopite and 94.4+3.3Ma on hornblende fromHoward Creek
were obtained (G.P.E. White, personal communication.
1984). The young dates (circa 80-90 Ma) are most likely
representative of the timing of metamorphism and notthe
emplacement of the igneous rocks.
0 nepheline syenite
maficcalcareous
nepheline syenite
More recent uranium-lead data have been obtained
from zircon separates and indicate a mid-Paleoz.oic (1%-
vono-Mississippian) age of emplacement. A sample from
Verity yielded an age of approximately 325 Ma (G.l'.E.
White, personal communication,1984); a prelimi!~arydate
of approximately 328f30 was obtained from Mud Lake
samples (R.R. Parrish,personalcommnnication,1!)85).Zir-
cons separated from Paradise Lake syenites, which were
large, equant andclear, provided slightly discordant analy-
ses which suggesteda uranium-lead age of apprc7ximately
340 Ma and lead-lead ages of 351 and 363 Ma (Appendix
2).
TRIDENT MOUNTAIN (82M/16)
Nepheline syenites were first recognized in tk e Trident
MountainareabyWheeler(1965)andsubsequentkfmapped
byPerkins(l983).TridentMountain(latitude5lo.L~4'N,lon-
gitude 118"09' west) is located in the Big Bend cf the Co-
lumbia River, about 85 kilometres northeast of R'xelstoke
and 20 kilometres southeast of Mica Creek (Figwe1). 'The
area is very rugged; the syenites are exposed 011 cliffs at
elevations of 2200 to 3000 metres, adjacent to largc:icefields
(Figure 41). Access is by helicopter from Revelsbke.
The syenite gneisses at Trident Mountain are whiteto
grey weathering, medium grained and moderately to well
foliated. They are composed of white to pinkish nucrocline
TABLE 9
CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF TRIDENT MOUNTAIN
SYENITES

Si02 5i.59
57.64
53.72
41.76
56.66
Ti02 0.02
0.260.802.04 41.04
21.69
22.39
22.35
15.45
24.36
A1203
81.592.716.2413.150.17Fez03

MnO 0.01 0.44 0.14 0.08 *>.01

MgO 0.05
0.46 1.59 3.10 i0.W
cao 6.820.59 0.33 81.56 0.91
Na20
6.27 1.72 8.16 7.51 1.39
K20
1.986.947.527.968.22

Ni 3 6 11 4 8
CI 21 < 20 19 13 18
CO 16 18 13 14 18
Sr 1234 1713 625 730 1116
BE3 2992 1211 1156 584 1520
zr 210 338 1562 57 43
Nb <5 358 229 249 33
Y 6 22 16 4 2
La 8 197 1 6 21
Ce 16 275 10 22 32
Nd
Yb
SC 0.1 9.9 0.4 <I Cl
<2 2 11 12

1020 COO
Figure 43. Major element ternary plots, Trident Mountain syenites.

-
Bulletin 88 53
(25-50%), albitic plagioclase (10-30%) and nepheline(10-
40%). Nepheline generally has an irregular poikiloblastic
texture and is often partially altered to clay minerals. Green
to olive-pleochroic biotite is commonly the mafic silicate
phase present and comprises from trace amounts to more
than 30% of the rock. Locally,coarse-grained aggregates of
randomly oriented biotite crystals are developed. Greenish
acmitic pyroxene has also been reported from nepheline-
rich phases (Cnme, 1976a). Accessory minerals may in-
clude sodalite, cancrinite, calcite, apatite, sphene, ilmenite,
pyrochlore and zircon (crystals up to 1.5 cm in size). I1-
menite segregations, 20 to 40 centimetres in size, are some-
times present (Plate 20). Local pegmatiticsegregations are
sporadically developed.
The syenites occur as a concordantlenticular mass high
on the slopes of Trident Mountain and adjacent ridges. The
hostrocks are psammitic and kyanite-bearing pelitic schists
(with rare calcsilicate bands) of the Hadrynian Horsethief
Creek Group and are exposed in the core of an early isoclinal
antifonn which is refolded by later upright to overturned
structures (Perkins, 1983). The syenites display composi-
tional layering and afoliation parallel to the margins of the
body, the axial plane of the antifonn and bedding in the
metasedimentary rocks. The layering is defined by leu-
cocratic (biotite less than 10%)and melanocratic (biotite
30-40%)phases (Plate 21) withoccasionalcalcareouslayers
(sovitic sweats?). Leuococratic syenites are the most abun-
dant phase.
Melauocratic syenite gneisses rich in amphibole, bi-
otite and sphene are also present at Trident Mountain, but
were not seen in outcrop. They are cnt by dikes of lenco-
syenite. Contacts between the mafic gneisses and syenite
dikes are sharp (Plate 22). Xenoliths of country rock or
mafic orthogneiss were observed in the melanocratic
syenites. The xenoliths have very diffuse contacts, suggest-
ing reaction with, or partial digestion by, the syenitic magma
(Plate 23). Mafic gneisses apparently represent an early
phase of intrusion, cut by later leucocratic nepheline
syenites.
Another mass of nepheline syenite is reported (Fyles,
1959, 1960; Cume, 1976a) at the mouth of the Sullivan
54
River, approximately 15 kilometres northeast of Tcdent
Mountain. The nepheline-bearing lithologies display a
strong foliation, conformable to the surrounding metasedi-
mentary rocks, which are assigned to the Lower Cambrian
Hamill Group. The only known outcrops of this intrusion
were in the Sullivan River delta, which is now flooded by
the Mica Dam reservoir.
GEOCHEMISTRY
The leucosyenites at Trident Mountain are miarkitic
(Figure 42), and are compositionally similar to the aver.age
nepheline syenite. Mafic calcareous phases plot withi:1the
nephelinite field. Melanocratic andleucocratic varieties ap-
parently form a cogenetic sequence (Figure 43). The
syenites are locally enriched in strontium, barium, zirco-
nium andniobium (Table 9).Rare-earth elementconcentra-
tions are generally low. Chemically (and mineralogically)
they are very similar to those at Paradise Lakein the Blue
River area.
GEOCHRONOLOGY
Two zircon fractions from the Trident Mountain syenite
were collected and hand picked. They consisted of clear to
slightly cloudy, equant, multifaceted roundish grains. The
two analyses were somewhatdiscordant and, because cf the
low uraniumcontent, it has been interpreted that both meta-
morphic and igneouszircons are present. This is also sng-
gested by the fact that a number ofthe crystals havepefiztly
clear rims surrounding cloudycores (Le., two generaions
of zircon growth). Alsothe morphology ofthe grains is typi-
cal of metamorphic zircon (R.R.Parrish, personal conunn-
nication, 1987). On a concordiadiagram (Appendix2) 2. line
joining the two analytical points has upper and lower i nter-
cepts of 378+7 Ma and 138f9 Ma). The 378 Ma date is
consistent with the Devono-Mississippian age obtained
from Paradise Lake syenites which resemble the Trident
Mountain gneisses, and withinterpreted ages of other car-
bonatite complexes in British Columbia. The 138Ma date
may be indicative of a period ofresetting during a Jnrwsic
metamorphic event. Uranium-lead data on pyrochloreyield
a 60 Ma date (R.R. Pamsh, personal communication, 1,387)
which may indicate a late metamorphic resetting.
Geological Survey Brmch

CARBONATITES AND SYENITE GNEISS
COMPLEXES ASSOCIATED WITH COIRE
GNEISSES IN THE OMINECA m r r
Intrusive and extrusive carbonatites and syenite gneiss
bodies occur within a mixed paragneiss succession along
the margin ofFrenchman Capgneiss dome (Figure 44),one
of several late domal structures near the eastern margin of
the Sbnswap complex in southeastern British Columbia
(Wheeler, 1965). The domeis exposed as a window between
the Columbia River fault to the east and the Monashee
d6collementto the west (Read and Brown, 1981).
The core of Frenchman Cap dome comprises mixed a old mine road whichleaves the TransCanada Highway just
paragneiss and orthogneiss succession of probable Aphe-
bian age. It is basement to an unconformably overlying
'mantling gneiss' or autochthonous coversuccession, com-
prising a basal quartzite and overlying pelitic and calcareous
rocks. The autochthonous cover successionhosts the car-
bonatites and syenite gneisses. Its depositional environment
is interpreted as shallow marine or platformal (McMillan,
1973; Hoy and McMillan, 1979;Brown, 1980).
The ages ofthe mantlingparagneiss successionand car-
bonatites have not yet been unequivocally established.
Based on regional correlations with platformal rocks to the
east, a numberof authors (Wheeler, 1965;Fyles, 1970;HOy
and McMillan, 1979) tentatively assigned Eocambrian to
early Paleozoic ages to these rocks. Recent lead isotopic
data from a syngenetic lead-zinc layer within the upper part
of the succession support Eocambrian
an to Early Cambrian
age for that part of the sequence (HOy and Godwin, 1988).
Uranium-lead systematics on a syenite intrusive into the
lower part of the sequence suggest latea Precambrian(circa
770 Ma) age for the syenite (Oknlitch e#al., 1981); this sug-
gests that the lower part of the mantling gneiss succession
must be younger than 780 Ma.
Two phases of folding are prominent in the mantling
gneiss succession and various generations of minor foldsare
also developed (Fyles, 1970; McMillan, 1970). All phases
of folding deform boththe extrusive and intrusive carbona-
tites and the syenite gneisses. Amphibolite facies regional
metamorpbism alongthe margin of Frenchman Cap dome
has produced sillimanite-kyanite, sillimanite and sillimanite
-potassic feldspar assemblagesin pelitic rocks. Calcsilicate
assemblages contain diopside, garnet and actinolite. Car-
bonates andcarbonatites are recrystallized to medium to lo-
cally coarse-grainedgranoblasticmarbles (HdyandKwong,
1986).
Bulletin 88
Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum . e n =
"
MOUNT COPELAND NEPHELINE
SYENITE GNEISSES (82M/2)
The Mount Copelandsyenite gneisses crop out along
Hren Creek andon the slopes south of Mount Copeland,in
the Jordan Riverarea (Figure 45) on the southeastern flank
of the Frenchman Cap dome (latitude 51"05'N, longitude
118"25W) approximately 25 kilometres northwest of
Revelstoke. Thealkaline rocks arereadily accessible by an
west of Revelstoke. During the summer of 1985 this road
was passable with a four-wheel-drive vehicle to within 2
kilometres of outcroppings of syenite gneiss.
Alkaline rocksin the Mount Copelandregion werefirst
identified byWheeler (1965)in the courseof regicmal m.ap-
ping. The area was studied in detail by Fyles (1970) and
Curie (1976b). The readeris referred to previou!; authors,
in particular the work by Cume (1976b), for delailed d e
scriptions; much of what follows is summarized From that
work.
The Mount Copelandsyenites (Figure 45) a r c exposed
in a large antiformal structure and have been sutljected to
more than one phase of folding. They are apparently con-
cordant with metasedimentary hostrocks. All contacts
within the igneous rocks appear to be gradational. Three
alkaline rock units have been defined; a basal ~lephe'line
syenite gneiss, overlain by alkaline amphibolite, ahich isin
turn overlain by calcareous and saturated syenite:;. The al-
kaline rocks intrude micaceous quartzites and c~lcsilicate
gneisses of the Frenchman Cap autochthonous ,:over se-
qnence. The metasedimentary succession has been corre-
lated with a similar successionin the Perry River and Mount
Grace areas (HOy and McMillan, 1979; brow^,^, 19110).
Based on these correlations, it appears that the gneisses at
Mount Copeland lie stratigraphically beneath the Mount
Grace extrusive carbonatite. Postorogenic lamprophyre
dikes are also present in the Mount Copelandarer..
NEPHELINE SYENlTE GNEISSES
The nepheline syenite gneisses (unit A1 of Cuirie,
1976b) contain nepheline in excess of 10%.The:l may be
weakly to strongly foliated, and locally have aspectacularly
developed augen texture with large porphyroblastr: of
nepheline andalkali feldspar in a fine-grained groundmass.
The augen gneisses (unit Ala) are found in outlying areas
and as lenticles within the calcsilicate hostrocks; they are
mesocratic rocks with a faint purplish tinge and are pre-
dominantly composed of nepheline, alkali feldspar,perthite,
55
British Columbia -

Figure 44. Geology of the Frenchman Cap area (from Hoy and Kwong, 1986).

56 Geological Survey $:ranch

 LEGEND
Talus, glacialdeposits,recentstream gravels
snow and iceaccumuiations

100, biotileschistandgneisswithprominent
augen gneiss zones, abundantpegmatite;
lob, porphyroblosticgranitegneiss
Eiockywhitequartzitecontainingbiotiteschist

Purplishquart-diopside-biotitegneisswith
glossyquortz layers, rare morbie lenlicler;
Ea bronzymicaschistwithquortrileand
calssilicate layers
Grey green t o whitesyenitegneiss; A h , caiwreous

Alkolineamphibolite,amphibole-biotiteschist,
clmphiboiecaicitepegmatite

Finelybandedmuscovitequartzitewithmica
schistintercalations

Grey biotitegneiss and quortzitewithmeionocrotic

biotiteschistintercalotions
Eioskywhitequartziteandmisoceousquartzite
withdeformedpebbleconglomerate layer near base

100

SYMBOLS

(defined, Approximate.
Rood
assumed)
....................................................
-"-
._....... - "

(from K.L. Currie. 1976 GSC Memoir 2 6 5 )

Figure 45. Geological map, Mount Copeland area
 calcite, biotite and fluorite. Cancrinite is often present mar-
ginal to nepheline grains. Accessory mineralsinclude tour-
maline, apatite, sphene, riebeckite and rarely, poikilitic
aegirine.
The corepart of the nepheline syenite (unit Alb) con-
sists of a weakly foliated, pale pink leucocratic rock that
contains nepheline, potash feldspar and albite with lesser
aegirine and sphene. Accessory minerals include calcite,
present as small grains along narrow seams, fluorite, garnet
and zircon. Tracesof biotite, muscovite andcancrinite may
also be present.
The third type of nepheline gneiss (unit Alc), which
may be transitional to the nepheline-free syenites, is creamy
to buff weathering andexhibits the best-developed gneissic
foliation of all the nepheline syenites. Microcline, perthite
and fine-grained nepheline, commonly replaced by can-
crinite and thompsonite, are the dominant constituents.
Phlogopitic mica is the principal mafic mineral, although it
is rarely present inamounts greater than 5%. Small amounts
of aegirine and hastingsite may also be present. Accessory
minerals include sphene, apatite, calcite and specularite.
TABLE 10
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF SELECTED ROCKS FROM THE MOUNT COPELAND SYENITE
C0MPLE:X
~
ALKALINEAMPHIBOLITE
A thin lens, or numerous parallel lenses, of alkaline
amphibolite (unit A2) can be traced for more than
10 kilometres. It consists of gneissic and fissile medium to
coarse-grained mesocratic to melanocratic rocks. Aeg;rine,
biotite and sphenearethemajor constituents; calcite, apatite
and potash feldspar may be present in minor amounts Pla-
gioclase is rare and, where present, often partially rep: aced
by scapolite.
GREY SYENITIC GNEISS
The strongly alkaline rocks (units AI and A2) arcsnr-
rounded by a thick shell of less alkaline rocks. Three prin-
cipal types are recognized: a fine-grained greenish grey
syenite with slight gneissic banding (unit A3a);a white, apli-
tic lencosyenite (unit A3b); and buffa to pale pink, me flum
to coarse-grained syenite (unit A3c).
The fine-grained, greenish grey syenite is dominatedby
plagioclase (An39 and potash feldspar. Themostprominent
mafic mineralis biotite, although a diopsidic pyroxene may
also be present. Calcite, sphene and epidote are common.
Accessory minerals include apatite, muscovite and zeJlite,
a
either analcite or thompsonite. Quartzis very rarely fcnnd.

~
WI % Alc A2 A3a A3b A3c D
Si02 54.11 44.18
48.90 57.97 53.60 49.09 39.70 39.73 54.97
Ti02 0.49 5.49 3.07 2.53 1.63
0.47 1.28 1.24 0.62
A1203 21.69 11.30
7.51 18.48 18.08
15.40 13.50 14.44 21.82
Fe203 2.48 1.30
8.06
0.22 0.04 2.60 2.60 2.71 3.81
FeO 0.626.10
0.51
10.20
7.17
7.20 0.49 5.40 4.92
MnO 0.11 0.15
0.37 0.05 0.16
0.23 0.14 0.14 0.12
MgO 0.19 7.76 8.40 2.81 0.11
6.00
0.29
7.60
7.34
CaO 3.01 9.68
10.10 6.53 4.80 11.57 11.00 9.41 2.51
Na20 5.85 2.30
3.69
2.63 2.50
9.32
4.33
1.32
1.90

1 1
K20 7.21 7.47 7.53 0.91 4.30 6.20
HZ0 0.30 0.88 0.49 4.72 0.50 1.11 1.26 1.21 2.20 0.82 0.18 1.70 2.29 1.90 2.03
c02 0.12 0.80 0.23 1.11 0.20 0.10 0.24 0.26 0.60 0.88 5.22 0.10 0.28 8.20 7.09
~
P205 0.01 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.01 0.593.77 0.28 0.49 0.14 0.37 0.01 1.68 1.77
Total 39.47 99.85 100.36 99.71 100.5* 99.99 99.43 99.77 100.4* 99.94 99.71 100.1* 98.98 99.3* 98.34
ppm 4.62 7.50
~ 11.39 9.37 1.60 3.20 ~ ~ 5.101 7.621
Ni
Cr
co
Sr 1900 1800 940 - 1200 3100 - 3400 -
Ba 1200 320 280 - loo0 33 - 130 -
ZI 1600
2200 600 - 290
2400 - 2700 -
340 260 140
Nb 510 - 300 - 470 -
100 Y 39 230 6.8 - 5.8 9.5 - 15 -
- 34 - -
~

La - 27044 83 500
Ce 1300
99 - <500 - 780
510 - 540 - 820 -
Nd 310
420 - 330
550 - 630 - 270 -
Yb - 11 6.5 ~ 150 -
5.6sc 7.6
~
7.2 -i 31- 7.8 - 12 < 4 - 6.8 -
*From Currie (1976a)
From Currie (1976b) -all other analyses
A l a - leucocratic nepheline augen syenites;
A l b - nepheline syenite gneisses, pink and white;
Alc -pinkand grey nepheline-biotite syenites
A2 - black alkaline amphibolite;
A3a - grey granular syenite;
A3b - grey syenite; A3c-greenish granular syenite;
D - ocellar biotite lamprophyre dike.

58 Geological Suwey Blanch

 Ministry of Energy, Mines and Pefmleum Resources
"

The aplitic leucosyenites contain albitic plagioclase,
potash feldspar, muscovite and either calcite or diopside.
Biotite, zircon, apatite, pyrite and molybdenitemay be pre-
sent in trace amounts. This rock is the host of the Mount
Copeland molybdenite deposit. In the vicinity ofthe deposit,
molybdenite is more abundantthan elsewhere andepidote
is present.
The third group of syenites are, in general, buff to pink
in colour andgneissic. This is an extremely heterogeneous
unit, exhibiting a great variation in mineralogy. Potash feld-
spar and albitic plagioclase are generally present. Calcite or
fine-grained aggregates of analcite and cancrinite are found
in some specimens.Biotite, aegirine and a hastingsitic am-
phibole are the mafic mineralswhich may occur; they may
~ ~~~~~~ ~ ~~
~~~~~~ ~ ~
0 A1 Syenites
V A3 Syenites
be present in combination or separately. Zircon, magnetite
and apatite are common accessory minerals; tourmaline and
fluorite have also been noted.
GEOCHEMISTRY
Thenepheline syenitegneisses show amarkeclincrease
in silica content fromunit Ala to unit Alc (Table 10) that is
proportional to a decrease in modal nepheline. Unit Ala is
also richer in alkalis than the other nepheline gneimes. Unit
A2 has an extremely high soda and potash content(Table
10) for normal igneous rocksof comparable silicz. and alu-
mina contents.Cume (1976b) feels this could be rlttributed
to fenitization. Major element data (Table 10) fo~. syenites
~ ~~~ ~~~~~~
in unit 3A indicate that they are only mildly alkaline. The
syenites at Mount Copeland all tend to be enriched in in-
compatible elements(e.&Sr, Zr,Nb, Y and REE, Table IO).

-
Subalkaline
rocks L \

30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.1

Si07

0 A1 Syenites
0 A3 Syenites

Corbonatite
0 A1 syen fer
Agpaiticsyenitefomily 0 A3 syen fer

Alkalibasalt
family Subalkaline
rocks

0.00
30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.'
Si09

Figure 46. Alkali-silica and agpaitic index plots, Mount

Copeland
syenites. Figure 47. Major elementternary plots, Mount Copelan syenites.

Bulletin 88 59
British Columbia -

On agpaitic index and alkali-silica plots, nepheline up-section to the south. The carbonatites consist of dixon-
syenites (unit Al) predominantly plot within the miaskitic tinuous lenses associated with mafic (pyroxene-amphhole)
syenite field. The leucocratic nepheline augen syenites (unit and syenitic fenites. Within the volumetrically more abun-
Ala) fall within the agpaitic field on the alkali-silica plot, dantfenites,carbonatites may occuras relatively thick, buff-
but are closer to the miaskitic field on theagpaitic index plot weathering, foliated and laminated layers (Plate 24); as
(Figure 46). The bordering syenites (unit A3) contain sig- swirled, discontinuouslenses (Plate 25); or as small, irregu-
nificantly less alkalis, and plot in the miaskitic syenite to lar coarse-grained pods.
alkali basalt (alkaline gabbro) fields. The bordersyenitesare The carbonatites are sovites and consist of 70 to90%
also somewhat enriched in calcium, magnesium and iron calcite and variable amounts of sodic amphibole (rie-
relative to the nepheline syenites (Figure 47). beckite), apatite and phlogopite. Phlogopites may di:;play
reversed pleochroism. Sphene, aegirine, plagioclase, mag-
GEOCHRONOLOGY netite, pyrrhotite, pyrochlore, chalcopyrite, pyrite,
The isotopic ratios resulting from lead and uranium molybdenite and ilmenite may be present as accessory min-
analyses on zircons separated from Mount Copeland syenite erals.
gneisses yielded an early Hadrynian age of emplacement,
circa 770 Ma (Okulitch et al., 1981). Subsequent analyses FENITES -PERRY RIVER AREA
(R.R. Parrish, personal communication, 1986) are in agree-
ment. Fenites are well layered, probably reflecting oripinal
compositionalvariations in sedimentary strata. Three lypes
are recognized; mafic pyroxene-amphibolefenite, syenitic
CARBONATITES AND ASSOCIATED albite - potassium feldspar fenite and albite fenite. The
ROCKS, WEST FLANK, FRENCHMAN mafic fenite isby far the most abundant;jt has gradational
CAP DOME (82M/2,7,10) contacts with interlayered albite fenite and sharpcoctacts
with syenitic fenites (Plate 26). Remnant metasedimmtary
Carbonatites alongthe western margin of the I'rench- calcsilicate gneiss, quartzofeldspathic paragneiss and nunor
man Cap dome in the Perry River area (latitude 5115'N,
longitude 118"41W Figure 44) were originally described
by McMillan (1970) and McMillan and Moore (1974). W o
types were recognized.Type 1carbonatites are conformable
with bedding inmetasedimentary hostrocks and have meta-
somatic envelopes whichmay extend from l to more than
30 metres beyond the intrusive contacts. They are inter-
preted to be sills or dikes. Type2 carbonatites are concordant
bodies, associated with whitemarbles, which have no con-
tact alteration zones. They crop outin strata which overlie
those hosting Q p e 1 carbonatites. Detailed mappingin the
Mount Grace area north of the Perry River (latitude
51"27'N, longitude 118"49W, Hoy and McMillan, 1979)
led to the discovery of new occurrences of the Type 2 car-
bonatite layer, referred to as the Mount Grace carbonatite
(Hoy and Kwong, 1986) and confirmed the suggestion that
it is an extrusive layer. More recent work (Pilcher, 1983;
Hoy and Pell, 1986; Hoy, 1988) has shown that intrusive
carbonatites occur at two stratigraphic levels. Anew occur-
rence (Pilcher, 1983) is located stratigraphically above the
Mount Graceextrusive layer and is referred to as the Ren,
or Ratchford Creekcarbonatite(latitude5l022'N, longitude
118"44W). Adetailed account of carbonatites on the west
flank ofthe Frenchman Cap Domeis given in Hoy (1988)
and the reader is referred there for additional information.

PERRY RIVER INTRUSIVECARBONATITES

(82Mf7)
Several lenses of intrusive carbonatite are recognized
in the Perry Riverarea (McMillan andMoore, 1974). They
occur low in the mantling gneiss stratigraphy, locally within
a few metres of the core gneisses. These occurrences appear
to be p a t of a single continuous zoneat least 4 kilometres
in length (Figure 3 of McMillan and Moore, 1974)that is Plate 24. Intrusivecarbonatite band (light grey) surrounded
by dark
concordant withlayering, but on a regional scale may cut amphibolite fenite and some grey syenitic fenite, Perry River area.

60 Geological Survey Bi.anck

 ~~ ~~

Plate 25. Swirled carbonatite (light colour) in amphibole

fenite, Perry River area.

Plate 26. Interlayered amphibolitic feni't (dark) and syenitic fenite (light), Perry River area.

Bulletin 88 61
British Columbia

marble layers occur withinthe fenites. In general, the con-

tacts between mafic fenites and quartzofeldspatbic parag-
neisses are sharp, whereas those with more calcareous strata
are gradational. Toward the centre of the fenitized zones,
paragneiss layers may be present but not calcsilicate
gneisses. These relationships suggest that fenitization is se-
lective, preferentially affecting more calcareous layers and
only with increasing intensity affecting quartzofeldspathic
strata to produce syenitic fenites (Hoy, 1988).
Pyroxene amphibolefenites are dark green to black and
may he massiveor foliated. They consist primarily of aegir-
ine-augite, or rarely, aegirine, sodic amphibole, spheneand
biotite. Biotite content ranges from trace amounts to over
50%. Calcite, apatite, plagioclase (albite), epidote, zircon,
chalcopyrite, magnetite and ilmenite may be present as ac-
cessory minerals. Potassium feldspar and nepheline have
also been noted (Hoy, 1988). Pegmatitic lenses consisting
of calcite, amphibole, pyroxene, enhedral sphene, magnetite
and ilmenite are common throughout the fenites. Individual
crystals of these minerals may be in excess of 7 centimetres
long. The maficfenites are locally interlayered and grada-
tional with leucocratic fenites (or albitites) consisting of ap-
proximately 90% albite with aegirine-augite and minor
amounts of biotite, sphene, apatite, epidote, microcline,
magnetite, and locally, coarse molybdenite.
Syenitic fenites are foliated, compositionally handed
and contain rare thin metasedimentarylayers and occasional
small discontinuouscarbonatite lenses. They are composed
of 70 to 80% plagioclase (andesine) and microcline in vary-
ing proportions. TNe syenites are less common that mon-
zonites (microcline is generally less abundant than Plate 27. RatchfordCreek (REN) carbonatite(lightgrey)
aegirine or aegir-
plagioclase). Principal mafic minerals are interlayered with amphibolitic fenite (dark grey) and conlaining
ine-augite with or without biotite. Calcite, muscovite, fenitizedcountry rock fragments (grey), (colourphoto,pug,?136).
sphene, magnetite, apatite, chalcopyrite and allanite are
common accessory minerals. Variable amounts ofnepheline
may also be present.

RATCHFORD CREEK(REN) INTRUSIVE INTRUSIVE SYENITE- PERRYRIVER AREA

CARBONATITE (82M/7)
The Ratchford Creekcarbonatite is a concordantunit
at least 3 kilometres in length and, on average, 10 to 30
metres thick. It is associated with pyroxene-amphibole
fenites similar to those occurring with Type 1 carbonatites.
It crops ont south of Ratchford Creek, in the core of the
Mount Grace syncline (Figure 44) andis intrusive into strata
which overlie those hosting the other known carbonatites
(intrusive and extrusive) and syenites.
The Ren carbonatite weathers to a mottled orange-
brown colourand bas well-handed
a to salt-and-pepper tex-
ture. It is intimately intermixed with pyroxene-amphibole
fenites and locally contains weakly fenitized inclusions of
country rock(Plate 27). The carbonatite comprises, on av-
erage, 60 to 80% carbonate minerals(calcite and dolomite)
and 10 to 30% apatite, with accessory biotite, magnetite,
amphibole, pyroxene and sphene, and minorpyrrhotite, py-
rite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, pyrochloref?) and monazite(?)
(Pilcher, 1983).
(82M/7,10)
A large intrusive syenite body crops out in the Peny
River area(see Figure 44). It is a concordant unit, up 1.0 300
metres thick and 12 kilometres long (McMillan,1973), tbaf.
is internally foliated and layered with alternating bands 01
syenitic and feldspathoidal rock. Country rocks along its
margins are metasomaticallyaltered; a rusty zone en~iched
in feldspar,pyroxene, muscoviteandor pyrrhotite is devel-.
oped adjacent to the syenite. The syenite gneiss infruded
strata which underlie those hosting the extrusive carbona
tite.
The main minerals in the syenite are microcline:, per-.
thite, plagioclase (albite to labradorite) and nepheline. A p
proximately 60% of the rocks contain nepheline, with or
without feldspars. Biotite is the predominant maficmineral
aegirine or aegirine-augite may also be present. Acc~:ssory
minerals include muscovite, phlogopite, calcite, cancrinite,
apatite, sphene, zircon, allanite, pyrochlore, grossnlsr gar..
net, fluorite, molybdenite, magnetite and pyrrhotite.
(McMillan and Moore, 1974).

62 Geological Survey i?ronch

Plate 28. Part of the thickened section
of the Mount Grace extrusive carbonatite; the whole cliff is part of the carbonatite zone; note larg
syenitic inclusions immediatelyabove the person.

MOUNT GRACE EXTRUSIVE CARBONATITE

(82M/7,10)
The Mount Grace carbonatite layer averages 3 to 5 me-
tres in thickness.Locally, it narrows to less than a metre and
near its mapped northernlimit (Figure 44). it isestimated to
be greater than 20 metres thick (Plate 28). An associated
increase in clast sizes here indicates close proximity to a
source or vent area. Although in most places it is a single
layer, it locally comprises a main layer plus a number of
thinner layers separated by paragneiss and marble. It has
been traced or projected beneath overburden for a strike
length of at least 100 kilometres (Hay, 1988).The contacts
of the Mount Gracecarbonatite with overlying and under-
lying calcareous gneisses are sharp, hut in places they grade
through approximately1 metre into grey-weathering, mas-
sive to thin-beddedcalcite marble. In contrast with intrusive
carbonatites in the Perry River area, it has no fenitized mar-
gins. Detailed descriptions of the Mount Gracecarbonatite
have previously been published (Hoy and Kwong, 1986;
Hoy and Pell, 1986; HOy, 1988) and only a brief reviewwill
be presented here.
In the field, the carbonatite is recognized and charac-
terized by an unusual pale to medium brown weathering
colour. Grains of dark brown phlogopite, colourless apatite
and needlesof amphibole weatherin relief. Pyrrhotite, py-
rochlore and zirconare locally developed accessoryminer- Plate 29. Interbedded grey sedimentary marble (light ):rey) with
als. Monazite, barite, strontianite and possibly rare earth buff carbonatite agglomerateand tuff (darkergreys) layers;Mount
carbonate mineralsare present in trace amounts. Grace carbonatite nearBlais Creek.

Bulletin 88 63
 TABLE 11
CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF ALKALINE ROCKS, WEST FLANK, FRENCHMAN CAP DOME

I Z 2 - L
51.44 57.34
0.27 0.30
46.18
0.94
Nepheline syenite gneiss
2- 2 2 2- -2- -~
0.28
55.67 51.33
0.38
41.77
0.52
53.02
0.21 0.60
Mount Grace

&
carbanatite
5.1
6.77
1.32
,,P

5,1
River
inrmsivs carbonatitn
5.1 5.1
0.39 6.38 0.79 4.10
<0.01 0.86 0.03 0.05
5.1 5.1 5.1
Ren InWsIve
cartonatite
5.1
1.51 4.57
0.06 0.04
0.85
0.04
5 1
4.15
0.06
24.42 22.98 28.1123.5923.57 31.71 27.12 19.76 0.36 0.16 1.57 0.30 0.91 0.22 0.55 0.07 0.72
1.40 0.59 4.08
0.63
0.44 0.29 1.14 4.10 4.14 0.38 4.66 0.68 1.20 3.45 2.87 2.71 3.29
1.32 1.33 2.57 1.45 2.37 1.49 0.46 1.30 . .
0.10 0.07 0.29 0.09 0.09 0.10 0.09 0.15 0.38 0.44 0.44
0.17 0.99 0.310.43 0.41
0.43
0.15 0.24 1.12 0.15 0.79 0.46 0.31 0.37 2.38 0.46 1.85
0.62 0.10 6.30 17.30 16.6915.40
4.23 0.59 4.63 2.06 2.97 3.47 6.33 2.79 45.34 51.0442.7252.44 45.2943.8231.05 33.8332.86
9.44 5.06 3.00 4.12 7.51 12.23 4.24 6.04 0.37 0.13 0.64 0.14 0.37
0.08
0.24 0.04 0.16
10.18
3.55
5.80 8.99 6.41
4.70
6.69 10.90
10.30 4 3 0.38
1.74
1.41
0.63
0.97
1.08 1.23 1.53 0.50
1.42
0.36 0.50
0.53
0.41
1.22
0.12
2.17
0.35
2.49 0.62 0.7040.72
31.10
0.16 0.60 0.10 0.36 0.1s 0.31 ~ 0 8 COS 0.06 0.06
Im7r
~

%.0s~l00.00iw.l2 99.02 99.4698.54 101:70 9.5498.6898.63

. " . " " . . . " . . . . .

. . _ . - - 33W
57W 46M 54M) 6600 58W 16w 31W
2103 1wO 5188
4628
4271
4828
. . " - .3500
28W
31W 3500
3203 36w
162
676
1133
213
1205
2539
1217
1155
1403
LIS0
23W
3700
1915 2540 2185 - . . - 'i - - . . - 297208 % 92 108
IZW - 2380 - 1 2 w lZm . - . <IO 1W 3W IW Zm
30 502038 50 clW M) 27 25 1516

S-.
1
A B B B Fy~x~e-amphibolcfenilc~
55.70 ~63.9662.29 63.23 59.02
62.81 "6262 "49.19
53.76
56.5857.45
64.31
57.66
61.26
55.91
62.87
35.66
38.44
41.9438.88
37.2435.64 I-~talironuyrr~Ul.~Fa203
2.22 0.86 0.68 0.54 1.17 0.78 0.46 0.04 0.22 0.01 0.31 0.03 0.22 0.37 0.06 4.35 2.34
2.17
2.64
2.86
4.01 2-fmmMcMihundMoorrflPM
15.24
18.14
17.72
17.91
17.19
17.08
17.92
13.18
16.09
16.41
20.53
19.75
17.35 1858 19.3720.02 8.50
1.44
7.27
1.37
7.64
8.M 3-hHdyundPdlf1986)
2.90
7.05 5.76
3.76
5.59
5.39 4.60 0.65 3.71
0.89
3.14 0.52
0.43 1.65 2.70 0.66 15.74
10.73 11.66 11.40
13.62
10.72 4-/mnHdyundXw~~(l9S5)
:,04B B B C i 5 -h
. Hm. .119871.
0.22 0.07 0.16 0.13 0.15 0.15 0.12 0.12 2.22 0.28 0.14 0.04 0.10 0.06 0.10 0.02 0.31
0.15
0.23 0.15 0.27 0.25
1.61 0.56 0.19 0.37 0.91 0.35 0.50 1.02 3.16 0.33 1.76 0.08 0.16 0.41 0.66 0.36 8.20
12.41 6.82 1237 9.527.91 A.A~~~~"a~~~~rrdw;huunuiw~.~~~,~~P~rryRiur
3.72 2.81 1.90 1.58 2.54 1.68 1.99 15.79 9.14 8.12 2.24 3.16 6.93 3.58 3.55 3.48 13.6621.7016.70 21.80
12.05
14.63 B - l ~ ~ ~ f ~ " i i ~ ( ~ j , ~ , ~ J ~ ~ " ~ " M ~ ~ G *
7.38 9.22 7.21 7.45 7.97 6.48 7.83 7.06 9.14 9.24 7.82 6.61 4.81 7.69 5.90 9.04 3.12
1.84
4.11 4.10
1.41
2.63 C-rU6j,~/mdrauaiurdv~,hR~h/~~C,~~fRln)in(nuivr~nr&-'.;
1.34 0.78 4.27 3.57 2.02 4.01 3.12 0.32 1.16 0.30 2.01 5.12 6.40 3.36 5.36 1.34 1.43 0.43
0.80 0.53
3.64
3.46

2.94 1.32 0.88

0.21
0.41 0.84
7.441
6.61
4.64
5.30
5.89
1.611
4.07
4.08
2.50
5.76
2.38
3.39
6.46
3.21
0.791
8.%
0.37 0.07 0.03 0.02 0.06
0.02 -. 2.68
0.03 0.24 0.16
0.36
0.08
0.75 0.0s 0.35 0.05/ 3.19
1.81
3.32
2.12 0.99 1.82
97.79 100.69 101.09 98.80 96.99 99.59 99.01 101.45 99.373% 102.28
99.88
99.36 98.35 99.511 97.16
98.69
98.81
101.07
98.81
96.541
99.98)
. . " " " . . " " "

10 c10 <IO <IO 17 c 10 I5 <IO 10 <IO 13 <IO <IO c10 c t 0 <IO 14124 25202
242IS
" " . " . . . . " " .
71p.l A??< 77n7 n a p 7 y n .am 77011 hM? X7A 7.767 R?7 1 9 6 1 2251 1693
1674 1446 2616
2654
3120 2 M O 5307
6785
851 560 962 1074 613 628 996 183 IWO 1060 5227
5732
2928
830 3 m2961
2701
229
423
187
521
995
476 352 713 1275 1613 569 117 8181 22 67528 388157928630 loxl 1142
203 w) 937
1116
S2 1% i3c 179 248 139 47 i 4 592 339 559 8% 6:5 2
I W 493 ? !?S 22 24 ?3 74 I17
I. 36 37 32 43 65 31 19 62 9 18 16 10 18 10 28 15 79 47 79 47 65 85
 ~- ~ " ~ ~ I _

,'
Minisfry ofEnergy, Minesand Petmleun!Resomes

CHONDRITE-NORMALIZED REE Pl.OT

PERRY
RIVER INTRUSIVE CARBONAITES

Figure 48. Carbonatite plot, Mount Graceand Perry River area.

l I I I I I I i I I I I I I I i I I Trr
I I I , , I I I
Lo Ce Pr Nd Sm Eu Tb Dy Ho Yb
Tm I.
R a r e - e a r t hE l e m e n t s
~ ~~ ~~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~~ ~~
~.
CHONDRITE-NORMALIZED REE PLOT CHONDRITE-NORMALIZED REE PLOT
RENCARBONAllTES MOUNT GRACE INTRUSIVECAREONLTITES

103

i
j 102

I
ri

La Ce Pr Nd Sm Eu Tb [ly Ho Yb
Tm LI
10

La Ce Pr Nd Srn Eu Tb Dy Ho
\

z
Tnr Yb i
R a r e - e a r t hE l e m e n t s R a r e - e a r t hE l e m e n t s

Figure 49. Chondrite normalized rare earthplots, carbonatites, west flank, Frenchman Cap Dome. (A) Chondrite-normalizedKEE plot -
Perry River intrusive carbonatites;(B) Chondrite-normalized REE plot- Ren carbonatites; (C) Chondrite-normalized REE plot- Mount
Grace extrusive carbonatites.

Buliefin 88 65
Brifish Columbia

The carbonatite is commonly internally banded, with characteristicofcarhonatiteselsewhere(e.g.,LeBas,1981).

one or several layers of 'blocky' tephra interbedded with All the carbonatites show typical light rare-earth element
finer grained, massive or laminated carhonatite (Plate 29). enrichment patterns on chondrite-normalizedplots (Figure
The blocky tephra layers contain three types of matrix-sup- 49a, b, and c). Light rare-earth enrichment is not as marked
ported clasts: small granular albitite clasts, commonly upto as that displayedby samples fromthe Aleyor Rock Canyon
3 centimetres in diameter, consisting of pure albite or albite Creek showings;however, total rare-earth values andslope
with variable amounts of phlogopite; syenite clasts, gener- (measure of enrichment) aregreater than those for car'mna-
ally 1 to 10centimetres in diameter,consisting of potassium
feldspar with variable amounts of plagioclase, calcite, apa- tites hosted byPrecambrian or Early Cambrian strata in the
tite and rare feldspathoids; and larger rounded to sub- Omineca Belt.
rounded biotite-plagioclase gneiss, schist and quartzite The Mount Gracecarbonatite has total rare-earth ele-
clasts that are commonly up to 20 centimetres in diameter. ment concentrations ranging from approximately6oE1ppm
The lithic clasts may be internally folded and have a pro- to greater than So00 ppm (AppendixI), significantly h igher
nounced layering or foliation that is randomly oriented with
respect to the regional mineral foliation. The lithic and al-
bitite clasts are generally randomly distributed throughout
a tephra layer, hut in some layers they are concentratedin
the centre or occasionally graded withclast size increasing
up-section. Near the northern mapped limit of the carbona-
tite layer, where it is thickest, unusually large syenitic clasts,
over 1 metre in diameter, occur within it.

GEOCHEMISTRY
Carbonatites from the Perry River, Mount Grace and
Ratchford Creek (Ren) areas display a large compositional
range with respect to major and trace elements (Table 11; /
Appendix 1). The majority of the Mount Grace extrusive
and Perry River intrusive carhonatites are sovites while at
the Ratchford Creek showing magnesio-carbonatites pre-
dominate (Figure 48). All are highly enriched in strontium,
barium, niobiumand rare-earth elements relative to carbon- Subalkaline
ates of sedimentaryorigin (Table 11).These high values are rocks

rT
30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.
Si07
x overageintrusive
syenite, Perry
River area

Marble
impuremarble,coic. schist
0- a
locality
Sample 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70,
Si09
Figure 50. Detailed sectionof the Mount Grace carbonatite,Blais
Creek showing. La, Ce and Nd values of selected samples from Figure 51. Alkali-silica and agpaiticindex plots, Peny River
HBy (1988). syenites.

66 Geological Survey Branch

 Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources

b syenites
MI. Grace corbonotite A k-feldspar-albito
fenite
/ I I R&
' 'carbonatite albitefenite
fenit*

/ \

Veniter amphibole

Figure 52. Major element ternary plots, Perry River and Mount Grace area alkaline rocks. (A) CaO-Na20-KZO plot, Pen) River and
Mount Grace areas;(B)A F M diagram, Perry River syenites and fenites.

Figure 53.Fenite plots,Perry River area. (A) CaO-Na20-KZO-MgO+Fez03fenite plot, Perry River area; (B) NazO-KzO-Fez03 fenite
plot, Perry River area.
than sedimentary marbles;rare-earth element analyses can
be used to differentiate the layered Mount Grace carbonatite
from its hostrocks (Figure 50). Thin tuff layers, with high
rare-earth element concentrations, are present within me-
tasedimentary marble at the top of the carbonatite unit (sam-
ple H85P25B) and some of the fine-grained marble layers
within the basal part of the carbonatite unit (those that have
low REE concentrations, e.&, H85F'26B, H85P261)may be
largely of sedimentaryorigin with only a minor tuff compo-
nent (Hoy and Pell, 1986). This intimate interlayering of
carbonatite and sedimentary marblesupports argument for
an extrusive origin for the Mount Gracecarbonatite.
Intrusive syenites are quite varied in major element
composition (Table 1; Figures 51 and 52); both agpaitic and
miaskitic varieties are present, but on average, the Perry
River syenites are miaskitic in nature (Figure 51). Alkali and
iron-magnesium fenites occur in the Perry Riverarea, and
can be clearly differentiated on ternary plots (Figure 53).
The alkali fenites may be further subdivided intc, soda-rich
(albite) fenites and soda andpotash-rich (albite - potassium
feldspar or 'syenitic') fenites; however, these two typesare
compositionally gradational (Figure 53). Syenitic fenites
cannot be easily distinguished from igneous syenites on
AFM or Naz0-Kz0-Ca0 ternary plots (Figure 52). Albite
fenites are most common as clasts in the Mount (Gracecar-
bonatite and Hoy (1988) suggests that this mayindicate that
sodium fenitization is more importantat depth adjacent to

Bulletin 88 67
the parent magmas, and the more potassic and iron-magne- which it is intruded by). A Lower Cambrianlead-lead date
sinm fenitization occurs at higher structural levels. obtained from galena in the stratiform Cottonbelt lead-zinc
deposit higher in the succession (H6y and Godwin, 1988)
GEOCHRONOLOGY supports the interpretation that the age of the mafitling
Uranium-lead analyses of zircons from the Mount gneiss succession spans Late Proterozoic to early Pa1a)zoic
Grace carbonatite produce nearly concordant agesof 70 to time (Hoy, 1988). The Mount Grace carbonatite also must
100 Ma (R.R. Parrish, personal communication, 1987) be Late Proterozoic to early Paleozoic in age. It occurs high
which indicates that the zircons are mainly metamorphic in in the mantling gneiss stratigraphy, only 110 metres below
origin. Uranium-lead systematics on pyrochlore from the the Cottonbelt deposit; and based on this, it is reasonable to
Mount Gracecarbonatite yield a 60 Ma date, which is also assume that it is close in age to the Cottonbeltdeposit, ]?rob-
indicative ofmetamorphism. ably latest Hadrynian to Eocambrian (circa 570 Ma). Addi-
tional work on uranium-lead systematics is currenlly in
Because absolute dating methods have notbeen effec- progress in an attemptto verify these conclusions.
tive in establishing the age of Mount Grace and Perry River
carbouatites, other methods must be attempted. The Mount
Grace andPerry River carbonatites are hosted in the man-
THREE VALLEY GAP (82L/16)
tling gneisses of the Frenchman Capdome, a rock sequence Carbonatites and leucosyenites are found alongthe Vic-
that also contains the Mount Copelandsyenite gneiss (un- tor Lake Main logging road(latitude 5055'34"N, longitude
derlying the carhonatites) and the Cottonbelt stratiform
lead-zinc layer (overlying the carbonatites). The Mount TABLE 12
Grace carbonatite, which is extrusive, must be the same age CHEMICAL ANALYSES, THREE VALLEY GAP
as the sediments with whichit is interbedded. ALKALINE ROCKS
The date of approximately 770 Ma, obtained fromzir-
cons in the Mount Copelandsyenite gneiss (Oknlitch et al., wi % 1 2 3 4 5
1981) whichintrudes the basal part of the succession in the Si02 18.70
21.60
33.40
46.50
50.96
Ti02 0.68 0.67
0.81
0.72 0.64 0.42
Jordan River area, suggests that the basal part of the succes- A1203
6.29
8.29
11.02
13.80
21.26
17.62
sion is Late Proterozoic (it must be at least as old as rocks Fe203T
8.16
8.7 6.20
8.33 2.70
4.34
MnO 0.26 0.23 0.16 0.21 0.08 0.07
IMeO 2.70 2.42 2.44 2.15 1.85 0.891
Cab 33.20 29.80 21.95 18.90 11.29 5.17
Na20 0.92 1.60 1.93 2.18 3.35 3.64
K20 2.85 3.26 3.59 2.40 2.37 6.76
LO1 22.25 20.75 14.63 2.26 1.29
P205 3.21 3.20 2.10 2.40 2.27
Tofal 99.80 100.1 98.09 99.81 99.7
ppm
Ni <2 <2 1 30 1
Cr 3 3 <20 63 <20 e20
20 12 co15 13 14 28
%St 1313
1730
1418
3279
3135
3433
Ba 1643
826836
2405
1726
1568
Zr 207 296 79 21731 177
Nb 429 114 110 9692 33
Y 51 47 37 3424 42
La 212 55206
60 131148
Ce 140
275
256396401 154!
.1Nd 140 151 - 111
' yb 4.2 4.4 - 2.8
sc 24 29 20
Ta 82 1 <2 19 1 21
'Th 0 10 6 < 6 4 4
1. - 3VG136A - biotite sovite; 2. - 3VG135A - sovile;
3. - 3VG139A - biotite sovite
4. - 3VG137 - border zonebehveen carbonatite
and associated syeniiic rocks;
5. - 3VG137B - syenificfenite, confabzone;
6. - 3VG139B -pegmaiiiic sphene-rich syenite.
Major elements analysed by ICAP, alkalinefusion,
in samples 1,2,4:All irace elemenis analysed
Plate 30. Large feldspar clots in biotite-rich carbonatite, T h r e e by XRF except REE in 1,2, & 4 which
Valley Gap area. were analysedby INAA.

68 Geological Survey 1:ranch

 Minisfy of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources

Figure 54. CaO-MgO-FQOjt+MnO carhonatite plot,

Three Valley
Gap.

1
Lo Ce Pr N d Sm Eu Tb Dy Ho Tm Yb LI
Rare-earth
Elements ___
Figure 56. Chondrite-normalizedREE plot - Three Valley Gap.
118"23'29"W) which joinsthe TransCanada Highwayfrom
the south, approximately 3 kilometres east of Three Valley
Gap. Outcrop is limited to roadcuts, at elevations between
900 and 1500metres. The road is in good condi:ion, pass-
able by conventional vehicles.
The carbonatites and syenites occur as thin, discontinu-
ous bedding-parallel lenses in pelitic metasedimentary
rocks. Both the intrusions and hostrocks have been meta-
morphosed to upper amphibolite facies (sillimanite zone)
and the pelites have been extensively migmatized. The host-
rocks are of uncertain affiliation, they crop out near the
mapped boundary (Joumeay and Brown, 1986) between
Hadrynian Horsethief Creek Group strat;r and the
autochthonous 'mantling gneiss' succession of I'renchman
Cap dome. Tentatively they are assigned to tht: mantling
gneisses. Carhonatite lenses are generally 20 to 63 centime-
tres in width andhave envelopesof mafic feniter, 10 to 30
centimetres thick, developed between them and adjacent
rocks. Everywhere observed, thefenites inare dirxt contact
with, and gradational to, syenites. Commonly th- carbona-
tite occurs as lenses within the fenite.

CARBONATITES, FENITES, SYENITES

Figure 55. Major element ternary plots,
Three Valley Gap.
The carbonatites are buff to brown-weathering rocks
that are primarily composed of calcite (45-50%), biotite
(5-20%). apatite (5-15%), perthite (up to lo%), hornblende
(5-30%),augite(1-10%)andtracesofsphene.In]~lacesthey
contain feldspathic lenses or augen (Plate 30). sirnilar inap-
pearance to migmatitic leucosomes. Hornblende and augite

Bullefin88 69
are more abundant at the marginsof the carbonatite lenses:
biotite is the dominant maficsilicate mineral in the centre.
All carbonatites display a well-defined biotite-amphibole
foliation.
Fenites are green on weathered and fresh surfaces and
generally containabnndant augite, hornblende, calcite(25%
or less), scapolite and plagioclase. Accessory mineralsin-
clude biotite, apatite, sphene andnepheline. Potassiumfeld-
spar, perthite, allanite, zircon and garnet (coarse grained,
brown body-colour) mayalso be present.
The leucosyenites are massive, white, medium to
coarse-grained rocks that generally contain potassium feld-
sparzplagioclasehugite+sphene.Their origin is unclear;
unambiguous field relationships are not exposed. These
syenites may actually be syenitic fenites, rather than intrn-
sive phases.
GEOCHEMISTRY
The carbonatites at Three Valley Gapare calcitic (high
Ca0:MgO ratio), but tendto have moresilicate phases de-
70
veloped within them than is typical and hence have high
Si02 (Table 12). They are also relatively enriched in iron
and plot within the ferrocarbonatite field on a Ca0-Ivlg0-
Fez03+MnO ternary plot (Figure 54). Samples collectcd ad-
j a c e n t to t h e c a r b o n a t i t e s h a v e m a j o r e l e l n e n t
concentrations intermediate between the carbonatites and
the syeniticrocks (Figure 55). Rare-earth element contents
are low, relative to Perry River, Ren and MountGrac: car-
bonatites (Appendix 1) and slopes on chondrite-nomillized
rare-earth plots (Figure 56) are flatter than for carbonatites
on the west flank of the Frenchman Cap dome (less light
rare-earth enrichment).
GEOCHRONOLOGY
Uranium-lead analyses of zircons separated from the
Three Valley Gap carbonatite produce nearly conccrdant
ages of 70to 100Ma, as was the case withthe Mount Grace
carbonatite, indicating that the zircons are mainly metamor-
phic in origin.
Geologicul Survey Binnch