Skomac mine, Smith’s Camp, Boundary Falls, Greenwood Mining Division, British Columbia, Canadai

Regional Level Types
Skomac mine	Mine
Smith’s Camp	- not defined -
Boundary Falls	- not defined -
Greenwood Mining Division	Division
British Columbia	Province
Canada	Country

The Skomac mine (also known as the May Mac mine or Robert mine), lies about 1.6 kilometres north-west of Boundary Falls, or 3.5 kilometres south-west of the city of Greenwood, in the so-called “Smith’s Camp”, Greenwood Mining Division, British Columbia, Canada.
Giles Peatfield comments:
The Skomac mine is a small but interesting situation, with a complex history, for details of which interested readers should refer to the Minfile summary and to the various reports cited herein. A word of warning to anyone who choses to dig deeper into the records – one of the principal claims in the group is spelled variously as Non Such, Non-Such, Nonsuch, Nonesuch, and None Such. Just imagine what AI might make of this.
The Skomac mine has been a modest producer of base and precious minerals. Official British Columbia government records show that, from 3,574 tonnes mined between 1904 and 1983 totals of 596 ounces of gold, 27,389 ounces of silver, 58,435 kilograms of lead, 35,911 kilograms of zinc and 864 kilograms of copper. These figures are approximate, and are dependent on who reported the results. Some are based on hand-sorted ore, some on run of mill ore and some on mill concentrate shipments.
Comments on the Minerals Reported:
It is important to note that this list includes “minerals reported”, not in all cases minerals identified through detailed analytical methods.
Acanthite: ‘Argentite’ was reported by McKechnie and Olson (1965), but it is not clear how they identified it. Paxton (1986) noted ‘argentite’ with base metal sulfides, and went on to state that “Exposure of the argentite to the air causes it to turn a dark blue color.” Of interest is the observation by Palache, et al. (1944) that “A polished surface [of ‘argentite’] is darkened on exposure to a strong light.”
Chalcopyrite: Reported by numerous workers. Anon. (1898) and McMynn (1899) both refer to it as ‘copper pyrites’.
Galena: Common, generally with silver values. Paxton (1986) referred to it as ‘argentiferous’. Church (1985) described it in polished section. Paxton (1986) made an interesting observation regarding the relationship between silver and lead grades, noting that “After a bit of practice the grade of the ore can be estimated fairly accurately, mainly by the galena content.” He reported the results of 15 sample runs assayed at the Trail smelter of Cominco Ltd., ranging from 55 to 87 tons, for which there were base and precious metal assays including lead and silver. One of these was an anomaly, with excessive silver; the other 14 ranged from 6.3 to 25.4 ounces/ton silver and 1.6 to 5.1 percent lead. There can be seen to be a reasonable correlation of lead to silver values, reinforcing Paxton’s (1986) contention.
Limonite: Freeland (1923) described ‘oxides of iron’, by which he probably meant limonite. Ball (2016) presented a photograph showing strong limonite staining with pyrite on a vein selvage. It is likely that limonite is common as a weathering product, but not specifically mentioned.
Polybasite: McKechnie and Olson (1965) noted that “A polished section showed some very small spots of polybasite in the galena.”
Pyrite: Common in the mineralized veins. All early workers (pre-1965) referred to it as ‘iron pyrites’.
Quartz: This is the principal vein mineral, generally described as milky white. Ball (2016) shows photographs detailing the veins as banded or with coxcomb textures.
Scapolite: Reported by McKechnie and Olson (1965), who wrote that “In the workings a mylonitic rock composed of quartz grains and scapolite in a talc matrix forms the hangingwall of the vein in the face of No. 4 adit, and a rock composed of anhedral scapolite in a talc matrix is exposed in No. 5 adit.”
Silver: Native silver seems to have been a common sighting in the early days. Hodges (1897) mentioned ‘native silver in sheets.’ Lambly (1897) noted ‘some native silver.’ Anon (1898) noted ‘native silver.’ Later, McKechnie and Olson wrote that “The writer [McKechnie?] was told that native silver has been seen in the vein.” Paxton (1986) wrote that “The silver mineralization comprises argentiferous galena, argentite and native silver.” Finally Ball (2016) noted that “Native silver was observed locally in drill core in very strongly mineralized sections.”
Sphalerite: Anon (1898) noted ‘some blende’. Church (1985) described sphalerite in a polished section. Based on several quoted assay values, it can be said that the mineral is locally common.
Talc: See note above for scapolite.
Tetrahedrite group: Church (1985) described ‘tetrahedrite’ in polished section.
Comments on the rock types Reported:
It is important to note that the rock type names reported are in most cases field identifications.
Argillite: Reported by workers post 1965, but not by earlier authors. Church (1985) described it as ‘carbonaceous’; later (1986), he described it as ‘phyllitic’.
Conglomerate: Describing the host rocks of the Skomac mine, Church (1985) wrote that “The laminar bedded carbonaceous argillites that are most common are interbedded locally with cherty sandstones and chert pebble conglomerate.”
Diorite: Describing the so-called ‘Old Diorite Complex’ lying immediately north of the mine area, Church (1985) wrote that “The rocks of the complex are mostly in the diorite-gabbro range . . . although some contact phases and dyke offshoots trend to granodiorite.”
Gabbro: See note above for diorite.
Granodiorite: See note above for diorite.
‘Greenstone’: Paxton (1986) wrote that “The ore veins lie in a fault bounded block of carbonaceous argillite, greenstone and serpentinized peridotite.” It is not clear from his report what the precursor rock type for the ‘greenstone’ was.
Listwanite: See note below for serpentinite. Also, Freeland (1923) wrote that “The country rocks in the vicinity are greenstones and a highly serpentinized dolomite, overlain by slates and other metamorphosed sedimentary rocks.”; could this ‘serpentinized dolomite’ be equivalent to the ‘listwanite’ of Fyles (1990)?
Microdiorite: Church (1985) wrote that “The most significant Tertiary intrusions are microdiorite dykes found scattered generally throughout the central part of the map-area. Large microdiorite dykes cut through the workings of the Skomac mine . . . .”
Phyllite: Fyles (1990) mapped phyllite in the mine area. See also note above for argillite.
Sandstone: See note above for conglomerate.
Serpentinite: Church (1985) wrote that “Splays and lenses of serpentized periodotite [sic] are found north and south of the mine site on major shear zones near the contacts of the Skomac argillite. The rocks are brownish grey where weathered and greenish black on fresh surfaces. Although little remains of the primary mineralogy, the rocks having been thoroughly altered to antigorite-talc-carbonate schist, norm calculations based on chemical data . . . indicate an original composition of approximately 60 per cent olivine and 40 per cent orthopyroxene.” Paxton (1986) mentioned ‘serpentinized peridotite’, probably following the nomenclature of Church (1985). Fyles (1990) mapped a unit described as ‘serpentinite and listwanite’ in the area of the mine, although there is no detailed information to suggest that the latter rock type occurs here.
Siltstone: Fyles (1990) mapped siltstone as part of the sedimentary rock package.
Slate: Reported by Hodges (1897), Anon (1898) and Freeland (1923), but not by later workers. Obviously, naming conventions change with time.

Research by Giles Peatfield, Courtenay, British Columbia.
edited by Doug Scott, Ottawa
Posting prepared 20 March, 2025.

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Link to British Columbia Minfile:	082ESE045

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References