This 192-page report includes a 113-page table of 808 mineral deposits in British Columbia with known reserves and resources. The inventory, which is sorted by deposit name, includes the tonnage and grade of metallic minerals, industrial minerals, and coal occurrences. These deposits are cross-referenced with tables sorted by MINFILE Number, alternate names and deposit type. The tables were generated from MINFILE/pc V. 4.5 and reflect the status of the MINFILE database as of January 1999.

MINFILE is a comprehensive, computerized mineral inventory of 12,000 metallic, industrial mineral and coal occurrences in British Columbia. The MINFILE computer database contains a unique record of each documented mineral occurrence in the province, including operating mines. Each record includes location, mineralogy and alteration, geology and hostrocks, bibliography, assay data, reserves/resources and production. Each record also contains a text description (capsule geology) of the mineral deposit.

This publication documents the known reserves and resources of 808 mineral deposits from the MINFILE database. The reserves/resources are reported in tonnes and grade of commodities. The main report (MINFILE Reserves/Resources Inventory), which is generated from MINFILE/pc V. 4.5, reflects the status of the database as of January 1998. Data for each deposit include name, MINFILE number, geographic location, NTS map, status, mining division, deposit type, zone name, year, reference, comments, tonnage, category, grade and commodity. The Reserve category is used only for an inventory in an operating mine or a mine near production. Ore reserves are reported as Proven, Probable and Possible. The Resource category is used for all other inventories. Resources are reported as Measured, Indicated and Inferred. A combination of categories is reported as Combined.

Qualitative and quantitative reporting of deposit economics are affected by several parameters. Some of these are the variable reliability of reporting, differences in interpretation of terms, and changing economic conditions. Reserves and resources are not calculated by Ministry of Energy and Mines personnel but are quoted from referenced industry sources and/or publications. Due to differences in identifying categories in the data sources, Ministry personnel may occasionally interpret into which category the figures are placed. The reader should refer to the original data for detailed information.

Various reports and sorted tables are included for additional information, definitions and cross-references. These include: a Commodity Legend, a sample Master Report, an Alphabetical Index, a MINFILE Number Index, a table of Mineral Deposit Profiles, and a Deposit Type Index. Deposit type is based on British Columbia Mineral Deposit Profiles of the Geological Survey Branch. A sketch map shows the Distribution of Deposits.

This is the most common or historically relevant name for a deposit. In MINFILE, the most important name is listed first followed by up to 16 aliases, in order of importance. Use the Alphabetical Index for cross-reference if a name is not found in the Inventory Report. Once the name has been located in the Alphabetical Index, look up the MINFILE number in the MINFILE Number Index and ascertain the first-ranked name. Use this name to lookup the deposit information in the Inventory Report.

Each mineral occurrence has a unique 9-character MINFILE number consisting of NTS location and a sequential three-digit number. A two-character (NE, NW, SE, SW) designation, where necessary, identifies the appropriate quadrant on the map sheet. Due to a high density of occurrences, most of the map sheets in southern B.C. are plotted at a 1:100,000 scale. The other areas are plotted at a 1:250,000 scale.

Location coordinates for a deposit are expressed in latitude-longitude and Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM). They are also available in North American Datum NAD 27 or NAD 83. The location is the most significant physical reference point. In some cases this will be an adit, portal or similar mine working. In other cases, the location may be defined as the centre of a mineral claim, a trench, sample site, outcrop or drillhole site.

This is the National Topographic System map sheet designation for the 1:50,000 map sheet on which the mineral deposit is located.

This describes the state of development of the deposit as of the date of coding. The status distribution, in this publication of 808 ocurrences, is shown in the last column.

Deposit types are based on the British Columbia Mineral Deposit Profiles of the Geological Survey Branch (see Table 7). The objective of the Profiles is to define, classify and characterize coal, mineral, and industrial mineral deposits that exist, or could exist, within the province.

The principle means of identifying and classifying a mineral deposit type is to note that several mineral deposits appear to have similar characteristics. These include hostrocks, size and grade of orebodies, associated rocks, commodities, geological setting, form and distribution of mineralization, genetic models, mineralogy, age, ore controls and others.

MINFILE accepts up to four Deposit types for any given deposit. Only the first is listed. The Deposit Type index (see Table 8) lists all deposit types associated with the 808 deposits; multiple entries exist in the table.

This is the name of the distinct unit or ore zone of a deposit for which a calculation is made. Several zones may be associated with each deposit and may include categories in both the Reserve and Resource fields. If a deposit has only one ore zone or does not distinguish between ore zones, then the name of the deposit is used for the ore zone name.

This is the year the inventory figures were published. If the reserves or resources were calculated in any year prior to the official publication date, the source and year of the calculations may be identified in the comment field.

This free-format field identifies information on cutoff grades or other data pertinent to the final figures.

The source of the inventory figures is listed.

Reserves or resources are quoted in metric tonnes. General or approximate figures are entered when no other information is available.

Up to six commodities with grade figures are included. These reflect those commodities that can be recovered from a deposit. Commodity codes use the standard elemental chemical symbols or two-letter codes (see Table 1) followed by the grade (precious metals in grams per metric tonne, other commodities in per cent). Some industrial minerals may be quoted in kilograms.

MINFILE is a comprehensive, computerized mineral inventory of 12,000 metallic, industrial mineral and coal occurrences in British Columbia. The MINFILE computer database contains a unique record of each documented mineral occurrence in the province, including operating mines. Each record includes extensive detail on location; mineralogy and alteration; geology and host rocks; assay data, reserves and production records; and further references and information on any given occurrence. Included as part of each record is a variable-length text description of the geology and setting of each occurrence. The data is useful for geoscience research, mineral exploration, prospecting, land-use management and a host of related applications requiring data on the Province's mineral resources and production.

As of January 1999, 94 per cent of the total database has been updated and entered into the computer. Of this, 90 per cent or 98 of the 105 map areas have been released to the public. Professional geologists constantly maintain and expand on the information. Newly compiled information is released periodically by NTS mapsheet and the data for the entire province is released once a year in January.

MINFILE data are distributed on 1.44 MB diskettes or are downloadable free from the Web. MINFILE Reports on CD-ROM ($100.00) and paper maps ($5.00 each) with occurrences plotted on geological and topographic bases are also available. The entire provincial MINFILE database comes on 15 disks ($75.00/set or $7.50/diskette). The 92 Mineral Inventory/MINFILE maps are available on microfiche for $10.00 per set; the microfiche set was last updated January 1997.  A readme.doc file on each disk describes the database.

MINFILE data can be accessed on an IBM-PC compatible computer by using the MINFILE/pc software, which is a menu-driven data-entry, search-and-report program. The program, with its user-friendly interface, is used to search the extensive, constantly changing database; generate a variety of reports either on-screen, to a file or printer; and alter the data as required. MINFILE/pc can also be used to transfer data to other programs such as word processors, plotting packages and Geographic Information Systems. A readme.doc file describes the system and installation.

MINFILE/pc Version 4.5 (January 1998) features: simple installation; twelve search screens based on geological parameters; the ability to easily change, create or delete data; quick viewing of the data; effortless addition and deletion of data-sets; various attractive reports; and importing and exporting data in various formats. A highly efficient text searching system, using software from Proximity Technology Inc., allows automatic input of codes to the database. Additional features include: an improved interface; running under FoxPro with expanded memory; mouse support; password security to restrict access to read only; ability to input anomalies or temporary occurrences; ability to batch delete occurrences; and the ability to create a QuikMap compatible file. The software also includes several new extract files and formats; user-defined region codes; and ability to enter data for any location in the world. All search screens now have code table lookups.

MINFILE/pc is a stand-alone, menu-driven program for IBM-compatible microcomputers. A 486 processor or higher is recommended. The program requires MS-DOS Version 3.21 or higher, a 1.44-megabyte, 3.5-inch floppy drive, and a hard-disk drive with sufficient space to accommodate a configured data set. The MINFILE/pc system requires 4.0 megabytes of disk space and the data require 5 to 10 megabytes of disk space per 1000 occurrences, depending on occurrence details. The province wide database of over 12,000 occurrences occupies 65 megabytes of space. MINFILE data are distributed in ASCII files, which are configured into database (dBASE) files with indices. The ASCII format, along with a data dictionary, allows flexibility for use in many database management systems.

Comments and requests for MINFILE information, MINFILE Coding Manual, MINFILE User's Manual and MINFILE/pc system diskettes should be directed to: MINFILE, Geological Survey Branch, Ministry of Energy and Mines, P.O. Box 9320, STN PROV GOV'T, VICTORIA BC CANADA V8W 9N3; Office location: 5th Floor, 1810 Blanshard Street. Contacts: