Molly Mine, Salmo, Nelson Mining Division, British Columbia, Canadai

Regional Level Types
Molly Mine	Mine
Salmo	Village
Nelson Mining Division	Division
British Columbia	Province
Canada	Country

Small closed mine on the south side of Lost Creek.

The Molly Mine is located at about 1219 metres elevation on the south side of Lost Creek, 12.8 kilometres south-southeast of Salmo, British Columbia.
The following quote is from B.C. Government site “Minfile”- Minfile No. 082FSW 021, current to 1991:
“The Molly mine is hosted by granites of the Lost Creek stock of the Middle to Late Jurassic Nelson Intrusions, which are intruded into a sequence of argillites and limy argillites of the Ordovician Active Formation. The granite is quartz rich and appears to have an upper fine-grained, aplitic chilled zone or border capping in the order of 2 metres thick.
The aplite is sparsely impregnated with molybdenum (sic) but the main molybdenum ore occurs below this capping within a zone about 3 metres thick containing numerous joints parallel to the intrusive contact. The best mineralization appears within this sheeted zone where the intrusive contact dips at low angles and/or where there are prominent fractures intersecting this sheeting. Molybdenite occurs as selvages on the joint planes or disseminated between the joints. The more massive granite below the sheeted zone is host to very little molybdenite. Tungsten, as scheelite, occurs locally disseminated in skarn zones of small size.
Records indicate that the Molly mine produced at least 171 tonnes of ore which carried 3.5 to 5.88 per cent MoS2. From 1914 to 1917, a total of 11,366 kilograms of molybdenum were produced. Minor pyrite, pyrrhotite, and uraninite are also associated with the deposit. A sample assayed 0.13 equivalent uranium (Geological Survey of Canada, Economic Geology #16).”
Comments by Giles Peatfield regarding some of the minerals reported:
Calcite: This was reported only by Bradley and Hoffman (1980), who described it as part of a calcite-wollastonite-diopside-grossular garnet assemblage on the Molly claims.
Biotite: Bradley and Hoffman (1980) described biotite as an accessory mineral in granite and aplite on the Molly claims.
Chlorite: This was reported by Stevenson (1951), who said it is “common”, and by Bradley and Hoffman (1980) as an alteration product of biotite.
Diopside: Bradley and Hoffman (1980) described diopside in a “garnet-diopside skarn” on the Molly claims.
“Garnet”: Stevenson (1943) reported that garnet is common, but was not specific. Bradley and Hoffman (1980), who described garnet as part of a calcite-wollastonite-diopside-grossular garnet assemblage on the Molly claims, but for the most part were not specific.
Microcline: Bradley and Hoffman (1980), described microcline as a minor constituent of the Lost Creek Stock.
Muscovite: Bradley and Hoffman (1980), described muscovite as an alteration product of biotite in the Lost Creek Stock.
Orthoclase: Bradley and Hoffman (1980), described orthoclase with quartz in the Lost Creek Stock.
Plagioclase: Bradley and Hoffman (1980) reported plagioclase as common, but were not specific.
Powellite: Bradley and Hoffman (1980) reported this as subordinate to scheelite on the Molly claims. Although not specifically stated, it seems likely that they based the identification on the colour of fluorescence.
Sphalerite: This was reported only by Stevenson (1943) who described its occurrence as rare.
Titanite: Bradley and Hoffman (1980) reported this (as “sphene”), as an accessory mineral in hornfels.
Tremolite: Bradley and Hoffman (1980) reported this as part of an assemblage of wollastonite, tremolite and garnet diopside skarns, containing scheelite.

Uraninite: This was identified by Stevenson (1951), who described it from several British Columbia properties, including the Molly Mine. He was clear to state that “Colloidal texture such as characterizes pitchblende is entirely absent from the uraninite.”

Wollastonite: See comment above for tremolite.

Zoisite: Bradley and Hoffman (1980) reported this as an accessory mineral in hornfels.

Other Databases

Link to British Columbia Minfile:	082FSW021

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References