Torbrit Silver Mine, Kitsault, Alice Arm, Skeena Mining Division, British Columbia, Canadai

Regional Level Types
Torbrit Silver Mine	Group of Mines
Kitsault	Village
Alice Arm	Village
Skeena Mining Division	Division
British Columbia	Province
Canada	Country

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Located 23 km from Alice Arm on the East bank of the Kitsault River
The Torbrit Silver mine is located on the east bank of the Kitsault River, 23.5 kilometres north of Alice Arm, British Columbia. The mine produced silver ore with lead, zinc and gold, between 1949 and 1959.
The following quote is from B.C. Government site “Minfile”- Minfile No. 103P 188, current to 2020:
“The area is underlain by a sequence of volcanics and sediments of the Upper Triassic Stuhini Group and the Lower-Upper Jurassic Hazelton Group. The sequence is folded into the doubly plunging, north-northwest trending Kitsault River syncline. This sequence has been regionally metamorphosed to greenschist facies.
The Torbrit orebody is comprised of a stratiform volcanogenic silver-zinc-barite exhalative horizon developed in a section of Hazelton Group andesitic pyroclastics on the east limb of the Kitsault River syncline. This horizon is enclosed in an overlying plagioclase porphyritic andesitic lapilli-ash tuff and an underlying andesitic crystal vitric (shard) tuff that have been variably propylitized, silicified and carbonatized at least 30 metres outward from the horizon.
The exhalite horizon strikes approximately 050 degrees for at least 300 metres and dips 45 degrees northwest. The deposit is up to 60 metres thick. Within the east end of this horizon lies a pod-shaped ore shoot up to 24 metres thick that plunges 30 degrees for at least 490 metres towards 295 degrees.
Faulting occurs along the footwall of the deposit with dip slip movement. The deposit is also cut by a later set of faults, with right-hand displacement of up to 15 metres, that strikes northwards between 030 and 135 degrees and dips between 65 and 80 degrees. Later horizontal faults displace the deposit up to 43 metres. It is cut by a series of lamprophyre dikes from a few centimetres to 3 metres wide, striking north-northeast and dipping steeply northwest.
Mineralization consists of pyrite, sphalerite and galena with minor chalcopyrite and traces of pyrargyrite, argentite and tetrahedrite interlaminated with quartz, calcite, barite, hematite, jasper, siderite, magnetite and chlorite. This well layered exhalite horizon exhibits local brecciation.”
Comments by Giles Peatfield regarding some of the minerals reported:
It is important to note that the list below is minerals that have been reported by various workers, as far back as 1922. Some of these are questionable, as will be explained below. Minerals not dealt with in these comments have been reported by numerous workers as common.
Acanthite: Campbell (1959) reported “argentite” as X-ray confirmed.
Ankerite: This was reported by Hanson (1929 & 1935) and as possible by Rayer (1957), but there are no hard data, and I would regard ankerite as tentative here.
Baryte: All workers up to the present have referred to this with old name “barite”.
Chalcedony: This was reported and described, as “chalcedonic quartz”, by Rayer (1957) and as chalcedony by Campbell (1959).
Gold: The Kitsault River silver deposits are usually described as being extremely gold poor, and all workers but one in this review have not mentioned its occurrence. However, Mortensen (196?) reported a few small blebs, in pyrite, baryte and galena. Production figures, given in Minfile, show about 18.6 million ounces of silver and only 111 ounces of gold, which suggests that Mortensen was very lucky to see any!
Magnetite: This was reported only by Campbell (1959).
Marcasite: This was reported by Nicholson (1953) and by Rayer (1957), in neither case with strong supporting data; I would regard it as tentative.
Polybasite: This was reported by Nicholson (1953), who stated that “. . . it was not until Dr. [R. M.] Thompson obtained an X-ray pattern of the powdered mineral that it was established as polybasite.” This was the only worker to report polybasite, but based on Thompson’s X-ray determination, I believe it to be a valid occurrence.
Proustite: This was reported by Nicholson (1953), who stated that “The proustite gave a positive microchemical test for arsenic.” However, Campbell stated that “No arsenic-bearing minerals are present and no arsenic is found in the mill concentrates at the mine.” Based on Nicholson’s work, I would suggest that proustite is probably present, if only in minor amounts.
Pyrargyrite: This has been reported by numerous workers and was X-ray confirmed by Campbell (1959). However, Mortensen (196?) reported that the mineral he identified as pyrargyrite gave a positive microchemical test for arsenic.
Stephanite: This was reported by Lanchester (1955), based on reflected light characteristics and by etch tests. Laanela (1960) also described stephanite, but Dr. Thompson suggested that certain observations be checked. Ray (1962) described his “Unknown A”, which he thought might be stephanite, but “. . . etch tests and chemical tests were inconclusive.” I would regard stephanite as tentative here.
Tetrahedrite: This was reported by several workers, and X-ray confirmed by Campbell (1959). Mortensen reported a positive microchemical test for arsenic.

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.

Mineral List

19 valid minerals.

Rock Types Recorded