I work a lot with QGIS, government data sets, etc, and research is one of my favourite parts of both placer and hard rock prospecting.

Here are some data sets I have found indispensible for building my master QGIS map and data sets for prospecting purposes.

Forgive me if you know any of these data sets already, I just wanted to share all of them.

Source: BC Data Catalogue, iMapBC, Map Place 2, BC Geological Survey

Already Mentioned Above:

MinFile

ARIS - Assessment Report Indexing System (read technical reports for projects and past work programs in your area of interest)

Ones I'll Add:

SOW - Statements of Work - for a fee you can request SOW's submitted for any placer or mineral cell in BC (I have only heard this from someone, I don't have an official source for it).

PF - Property Files are a treasure trove of information for BC.

RGS - Regional Geochemical Survey - shows you multi-element assay results for stream sediment samples taken across BC.

MinFile production

BC Digital Geology - bedrock boundaries, rock group units, faults, etc

LiDar - federal government DEM (digital elevation models) - coverage is nearly non-existent outside major cities though

I use more than these, but I can't give away every data set and tool I have developed over the past two years as part of my research arsenal : )

Good luck, and have fun!

-Pickaxe