The data contained in the following reports are historical in nature and date from 1926 to 1987

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The Gypo mine is located on the west side of Highway 97 on the northern outskirts of the town of Oliver. The Gypo Crown Grant (Lot 3098S) was originally staked in 1927 to explore the small amounts of metallic mineralization associated with the quartz veining.

The Gypo pegmatite quartz body occurs within the Jurassic Oliver Plutonic Complex or Oliver granite. This pluton is composed mainly of medium-grained quartz monzonite occurring in three distinct phases; biotite-hornblende quartz monzonite, garnet-muscovite quartz monzonite and porphyritic quartz monzonite. Large quartz veins and plugs, such as the Gypo quartz body, are restricted to a porphyritic quartz monzonite phase. The veins formed mainly by open-space filling although there is some evidence of wallrock replacement.

The quartz body strikes east and dips south at 55 to 60 degrees. At the quarry it has a known strike length of 152 metres, width of 61 metres and approximate true thickness of 85 metres. To the west, a thinner extension of the main body continues for another 90 metres. The hangingwall is a narrow shear zone while the footwall exhibits greisen alteration, consisting of muscovite and lesser quartz, up to 30 metres from the quartz. For further information about the Gypo vein, refer to the Gypo occurrence (082ESW084).

Three stages of quartz mineralization are recognized at the deposit. Stage I consists of grey quartz confined to the country rocks, alteration zones and marginal parts of the orebody. Stage II consists of white quartz comprising up to 95 per cent of the quartz. Where stage II quartz is relatively undeformed, quartz crystals up to 2.0 metres diameter by 0.6 metre length are observed. The deposit is therefore classified as a pegmatite quartz deposit. Stage III quartz occurs as thin delicate boxworks.

A series of irregular pods of colourless or light pink to apple green fluorite, up to 2 metres or more in average diameter, are distributed along a zone that more or less parallels the walls of the quartz body. Impurities include coarse-grained muscovite that is intermixed with quartz near the footwall, small pods of sulphides, small amounts of calcite in thin veinlets, seams and locally filling small drusy cavities, and minor manganese stain. Small amounts of pyrite and chalcopyrite were noted sparsely disseminated in the pegmatite vein.

The greisen of the Gypo deposit is reported to contain considerable thorium and near-equilibrium uranium suggesting it was dominantly a hydrothermal deposit of at least moderate temperature (Assessment Report 6949). Loosely defined patches of anomalous uranium (160 to 600 counts per second) have also been found in fine-grained quartz monzonite hosted within porphyritic biotite quartz monzonite, near the margin of the Oliver intrusion. These anomalies contain no thorium.

In 1958, four samples were taken across the silica quarry faces and analysed. The results are as follows:

  SiO2    Al2O3    Fe
97.40% 0.70% 0.03%
97.48% 0.75% 0.04%
98.12% 0.86% 0.03%
98.78% 0.61% 0.02%
(values are per cent)

The Gypo occurrence was originally staked as the Gypo (Lot 3098s) and Ballaret (Lot 3099s) Crown granted claims owned by Oliver interests. The claims were purchased by Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company, Ltd. in 1926. Exploration consisted of diamond drilling and driving an adit. A 230-tonne shipment of silica flux was made from the adit. The claims were Crown granted in 1927. Silica flux shipments continued until work ceased in 1943. In 1941, R. McKay optioned the property and mined mica and gold and silver-bearing ore from the Gypo occurrence. It is reported 39 tonnes of gold and silver-bearing ore was made and 95 tonnes of mica were mined from a lens along side of a large quartz vein on another part of the property. Mining for mica continued until 1944. The quarry was operated intermittently before 1953 by the Interior Contracting Co. Ltd. Between July 1953 and March 1955, Stucco Supply Company operated the quarry and crushed silica to minus 0.6 centimetre; it was used as stucco-dash and in ornamental work. In 1955, Pacific Silica Ltd. acquired an option from Cominco Ltd. and produced silica continuously between 1955 and 1968. Annual production ranged from 2059 tonnes in 1955 to 49,406 tonnes ore in 1960. Much of this production was shipped to Washington and Oregon metallurgical plants where ferro-silicon and silicon carbide were produced. Other uses included flux, stucco-dash, roofing rock and sander grit. In 1968, a rock slide occurred and the quarry was closed. Shipments of ore continued from the stockpile until 1977. Dump material was processed for granules for roof rock, stucco, filter sand, nursery, decoration, landscape and driveway materials between 1978 and 1984. Small amounts of fluorspar were mined and shipped between 1958 and 1968. Small shipments of landscaping chips were made in the early 1980s. Ownership of the property changed in 1985 and further shipments were made of dump material in 1986 and 1987.

Recorded production for the Gypo occurrence includes 630,568 tonnes ore milled from which about 629,342 tonnes of silica, 658 tonnes of mica, 339 tonnes of fluorite and 16 tonnes of feldspar were shipped. The amount of gold and silver recovered from 39 tonnes of ore shipped in 1941 is 187 grams and 2426 grams, respectively.

Listed below is the total mine production from 1926 to 1987

Mined: 565,547 tonnes 623,408 tons
Milled 630,607 tonnes 695,125 tons

Silver 2,426 grams (78 ounces)
Gold 187 grams (6 ounces)
Silica 629,341,754 kilograms (1,387,461,068 pounds)
Mica 658,389 kilograms (1,451,499 pounds)
Fluorite 338,716 kilograms (746,741 pounds)
Feldspar 16,329 kilograms (35,999 pounds)

Commodities: Silica, Fluorite, Mica, Gold, Silver, Copper, Feldspar

Minerals

Significant: Quartz, Fluorite, Muscovite, Pyrite, Chalcopyrite

Significant Comments: Minor pyrite and chalcopyrite occurs in the vein.

Associated: Feldspar, Calcite

Associated Comments: Manganese staining

Alteration: Fluorite, Muscovite

Alteration Type: Greisen

Mineralization Age: Unknown

Deposit

Character: Massive, Vein, Podiform

Classification: Pegmatite, Magmatic, Epigenetic, Industrial Minerals

Type: O04, Feldspar-quartz pegmatite, O03, Muscovite pegmatite, I06, Cu+/-Ag quartz veins, I02, Intrusion-related Au pyrrhotite veins

Shape: Cylindrical

Dimension: 152x85x61 metres

Strike/Dip: 090/55S

Comments: Quartz body strikes east and dips south at 55 to 60 degrees. The pegmatite vein is exposed over 152
metres length by 61 metres width by 85 metres height.