Drainage sediment material collected during previous NGR and RGS programs conducted in British Columbia have been routinely saved. Currently over 30,000 samples are stored in Ottawa and over 18,000 samples are stored in Victoria. In addition, there are approximately 8,000 sample pulps saved from Geoscience BC supported surveys. Based on the cost to acquire these samples, the value of this collection is conservatively estimated to exceed 10 million dollars. The material continues to be used and has provided value-added analytical information as part of several reanalysis initiatives (INAA and ICPMS). This type of work has been found to be an extremely cost-effective means of improving older RGS information and is highly regarded by groups that utilize this important exploration resource.
Over time, the collection has become fractured and existing storage containers have weakened or have been improperly stored, which has placed the overall security of the samples at risk.The goal of this project is to repackage the samples to current storage standard and amalgamate the samples into one collection. This project is also supported by the Geological Survey of Canada and the BC Geological Survey.