Vital Creek is a creek located in the

Omineca Country The Omineca Country, also called the Omineca District or the Omineca, is a historical geographic region of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, roughly defined by the basin of the Omineca River but including areas to the south which allowed ...

region of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, flowing eastward from its source in the

Vital Range The Vital Range is a subrange of the Hogem Ranges of the Omineca Mountains, bounded by Fall Creek, Silver Creek and Kenny Creek in northern British Columbia, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three ...

to meet Silver Creek, joining that creek from the west about 5 miles from its mouth into the

Omineca River Omineca River is a river of the North American boreal forest, in northern British Columbia, Canada. It flows into the Williston Lake, and is part of the Peace River basin. It was originally a tributary of the Finlay River before the creation of ...

, about 41 km northeast of

Takla Landing Takla Landing, also known as McLaing Landing is an unincorporated locality and former steamboat landing on the east side of Takla Lake in the Omineca Country of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. In the days of the Omineca Gold Rus ...

History

The gold deposits of Vital Creek were discovered in 1869 by Vital Laforce, who had also been among the four discoverers of gold along Williams Creek, which was the foundation of

Barkerville Barkerville was the main town of the Cariboo Gold Rush in British Columbia, Canada, and is preserved as a historic town. It is located on the north slope of the Cariboo Plateau near the Cariboo Mountains east of Quesnel. BC Highway 26, which ...

. This was the first creek mined in the Omineca. Late in the mining season of 1870, $7,000 was taken out by a party of 15 Chinese miners, giving some hope that significant gold might yet be found in the region. The creek has been mined for gold and silver, which occurred simultaneously and were unusual to find in that way. It has been hydraulicked and mined by Chinese syndicates like Gow Sing and Co. The bulk of the gold was obtained on bedrock and in crevices and cracks. Initial exploration and mining work was carried out by means of

drift Drift or Drifts may refer to: Geography * Drift or ford (crossing) of a river * Drift, Kentucky, unincorporated community in the United States * In Cornwall, England: ** Drift, Cornwall, village ** Drift Reservoir, associated with the village ...

diggings, followed by ground sluicing and hydraulicking later. Drift mining and hydraulicking were both abandoned in the 1930s as there were no dumping facilities for mining waste. Later exploration to bedrock in pursuit of hard-rock ores met with little success. Total gold production from Vital Creek between 1876 and 1900 was 117,091 grams, and between 1926 and 1940 another 143,122 grams of gold were taken from the creek. Early takings were from the creek's present channel downstream from a waterfall 3 km upstream from the mouth of the creek. Gold was later found upstream from the waterfall in a pre-glacial channel, in the form of coarse well-worn flakes on the bedrock. Three

jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...

boulders weighing 2267, 907 and 363 kilograms were reported as having been taken from the creek in 1963.

Geology

The area drained by the creek is underlain by a north-northwest striking, east-dipping metasedimentary/volcanic formation of the Carboniferous to Jurassic Cache Creek Complex.

Phyllite Phyllite ( ) is a type of foliated metamorphic rock created from slate that is further metamorphosed so that very fine grained white mica achieves a preferred orientation.Stephen Marshak ''Essentials of Geology'', 3rd ed. It is primarily compo ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

are common. White quartz veins up to a metre in width were found within these rocks. Arquerite, a native amalgam of silver and mercury, is relatively abundant in the gold-bearing gravels of the creek. BC MINEFILE Record MINFILE No 093N 044 (MINFILE Record Summary)
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References

{{coord, 55, 42, 47, N, 125, 28, 04, W, display=title, source:BCNames/GeoBC Omineca Country Rivers of the Omineca Mountains Mines in British Columbia