Blue Bird Mine, Rossland, Trail Creek Mining Division, British Columbia, Canadai

Regional Level Types
Blue Bird Mine	Mine
Rossland	Town
Trail Creek Mining Division	Division
British Columbia	Province
Canada	Country

The former Blue Bird mine is located 2 kilometres south of the city centre of Rossland, British Columbia.
The following quote is from B.C. Government site “Minfile”- Minfile No. 082FSW 145, current to 2020:
“The Blue Bird mine workings are hosted by the Lower Jurassic Rossland Group (Elise Formation) siltstone, argillite, hornfelsed siltstone and hornfels. The showings are located within the zone of thermal metamorphism associated with the Early Jurassic Rossland monzonite intrusion. The grey to black siltstone and argillite grades to hornfels. Ammonites of Early Jurassic age were reported to occur in siltstone on Ivanhoe Ridge.
The mine is hosted by the Bluebird (sic)-Mayflower shear zone which strikes 120 to 130 degrees and dips from 50 to 65 degrees to the northeast, and is traceable for 600 metres. The Blue Bird zone consists of a series of lenses cut by numerous cross-faults and dykes. The ore bodies have a tendency to pinch and swell. As of 1988, underground development and drilling had tested the zone to a depth of 110 metres at which depth the structure and mineralization appear to be present. Limited drilling between the Blue Bird and Mayflower zone (082FSW146) to the east, to a depth of 45 metres has confirmed continuity of the mineralized structure but grades have been low. At the western extent of the shear zone, near the Hattie Brown shaft (082FSW359), the structure is cut by a 12.2 metre wide monzonite dyke of the Middle Eocene Coryell Intrusions. Surface work and drilling has suggested that the structure continues to the west of the dyke and is mineralized.
Mineralization at the Blue Bird consists of quartz veins hosting pyrite, sphalerite, galena, arsenopyrite, stibnite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, and locally, boulangerite. The stibnite occurs as radiating, white metallic needle-like crystals. The vein system is considered as part of the South Belt-type of mineralization (Bulletin 74, page 39 to 40). The principal gangue mineral is quartz, however, carbonate veinlets also host pyrite, sphalerite, and galena mineralization. Tetrahedrite is generally very closely associated with the galena. The vein system strikes between 110 to 115 degrees, dipping steeply south. The veins are on strike with the main veins on the Mayflower claim and are considered as the westerly extension. Boulangerite appears to replace arsenopyrite, pyrite, and sphalerite in the ore from the Blue Bird mine. Small arsenopyrite crystals and plates of pyrrhotite are included in sphalerite and some have been inherited as inclusions in the boulangerite.”
Comments by Giles Peatfield regarding some of the minerals reported:
As an overall caveat, it must be stated that many of the referenced reports from which minerals are reported were written before British Columbia “Minfile” was established. Thus it is not always possible to say whether reported occurrences refer to Mayflower (082FSW 146) or Blue Bird (082FSW 145). Because the two mines are apparently on the same general structure and are reported to have similar mineralogy, I have included most of the reported minerals for both properties – see separate Mindat posting for Mayflower.
Augite: Reported by Fyles (1984) in an altered lamprophyre dyke used for dating; probably also present at Blue Bird.
Biotite: Reported by Fyles (1984) in an altered lamprophyre dyke used for dating; probably also present at Blue Bird.
Boulangerite: Warren and Thompson (1949) reported that this was confirmed at Mayflower by X-ray analysis; it is also common at Blue Bird.
Epidote: Reported by Fyles (1984) in an altered lamprophyre dyke used for dating; probably also present at Blue Bird.
Gold: Reported as occurring in arsenopyrite, especially from and near the Mayflower mine, but likely also at Blue Bird.
Marcasite: Reported only by Cormick (no date), presumably at Mayflower and Blue Bird.
Meneghinite: Reported only by Gonzalez (1952). Unfortunately, it is not fully clear whether the specimen in which he identified meneghinite, associated with galena and boulangerite, was from the Mayflower or nearby Blue Bird. Gonzalez thanked Dr. R. M. Thompson “. . . for his suggestions leading to the identification of Owyheeite and Meneghinite.” I would regard meneghinite as valid for both localities.
Owyheeite: Reported by Cormick (no date) and by Gonzalez (1952), but again with no precise locations given. I would regard owyheeite as valid for both localities.
Pyrargyrite: Several workers reported pyrargyrite as “possible” in the area; I would regard it as tentative for Blue Bird.
Sericite: Reported by Fyles (1984) in an altered lamprophyre dyke used for dating at Mayflower but probably also present at Blue Bird.
Stibnite: This is a problematic attribution at Blue Bird. Drysdale (1915) reported “. . . fine white metallic needle-like crystals of stibnite . . . .” – see the Minfile quote above. White (1950), reporting on the South Belt mines, mentioned that “A soft grey metallic mineral of accicular (sic) habit (possibly mistaken in the past for stibnite) has been identified as boulangerite by R. M. Thompson, Department of Geology and Geography, University of British Columbia.” No other workers, most tellingly Thorpe (1967), who examined specimens for mineralogy reported stibnite, but references to the mineral have been made by several sources, including the Minfile compilers (see quote above), Höy and Dunne (2001) and Howard (2018). I would regard stibnite as tentative at best at Blue Bird.
Tetrahedrite: This is common at both Mayflower and Blue Bird. Thorpe reported it to have a high silver content.

Other Databases

Link to British Columbia Minfile:	082FSW145

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References