Open Collections

 PART F
ANNUAL REPORT
MINISTER OF MINES
OF   THE   PROVINCE   OF
BRITISH COLUMBIA
for the
Year Ended 31st December
1937
PRINTED by
authority of the legislative assembly.
VICTORIA,   B.C. :
Printed by Charles F. Banfield, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty.
1938. BRITISH COLUMBIA DEPARTMENT OF MINES.
VICTORIA, B.C.
Hon. W. J. Asselstine, Minister.
John F. Walker, Deputy Minister.
James Dickson, Chief Inspector of Mines.
D. E. Whittaker, Provincial Assayer and Analyst.
P. B. Freeland, Chief Mining Engineer.
R. J. Steenson, Chief Gold Commissioner.   WESTERN DISTRICT   (No. 6). F 3
PART F.
WESTERN MINERAL SURVEY DISTRICT  (No. 6).
BY
B. T. O'Grady.
GENERAL SUMMARY.
In the Bridge River area large-scale production was continued at the Pioneer and
Bralorne, and in the latter case was substantially increased.
Mining and milling were discontinued at the Minto and Wayside and exploratory work
was suspended at some other properties.
Prospecting and small-scale exploratory activities were conducted in certain areas.
Stibnite and cinnabar prospects are being seriously investigated and tested.
In the Chilcotin area seasonal activities with small crews occurred at the following
properties: Homathko Gold Mines, Limited, Morris, Langara, Vick, Hi Do, and Taylor-
Windfall. Prospecting was actively conducted in the Black Horn Mountain area, which
includes the Homathko Gold Mines, Limited, property, and in the Lord River area south of
Taseko Lake.
The Zeballos area on the west coast of Vancouver Island rapidly developed as a new
gold-mining camp during the year. A bulletin entitled " Lode-gold Deposits of the Zeballos
Area, West Coast of Vancouver Island," by J. S. Stevenson, has been published. No reference, therefore, is being made to the area in the following report.
LODE-GOLD DEPOSITS.
Chilcotin District.
Black Horn Mountain Area.
The property of this company, in the Clinton Mining Division, is stated
Homathko Gold    to consist of thirty mineral claims and fractions, being held by location.
Mines, Ltd.        Associated with the company are L. Butler, N. Pohlman, and C. Mackill,
who, with some associates, represent the original owners.    The property is
situated on the western side of the valley at the head of Wolverine Creek, a tributary of
Mosley Creek (West Branch of the Homathko River), or about 24 miles south-south-west of
Tatla Lake Post-office.    The latter point is about 150 miles westerly from Williams Lake, on
the Pacific Great Eastern Railway.
The claims cover the steep, rocky, eastern slopes of Black Horn Mountain, a conspicuous
feature of the district, which rises to over 9,000 feet elevation. The tent camp, at 5,455 feet
elevation, adjoins a lake, about 4,500 feet in length and up to 1,400 feet wide, which occupies
a glacial depression at the head of Wolverine Creek. To the east of the lake the ground rises
steeply towards Razorback Mountain, which culminates in a peak 10,667 feet above sea-level.
Adjoining the camp, immediately below the property, there is a limited amount of balsam up
to 10 inches in diameter, timber for mining purposes being available farther down the valley.
The workings, at elevations ranging from 7,094 to 7,300 feet, are above timber-line, being
situated on steep to precipitous ground covered by talus and rock bluffs. There are two
shallow glaciers on the claims and others, more extensive, can be seen to the south.
Access to the area is first by the Chilcotin Motor-road 151.8 miles westerly from Williams
Lake; thence by rough road, over which trucks are operated, about 15 miles in length to the
northern end of Bluff Lake. A pack-trail, 17 miles in length, roughly estimated, extends
from the latter point to the claims. The first 2 miles of this trail, located along the rocky
eastern side of Bluff Lake, includes a bad section, about 450 yards in length, where rock-work
is needed to build a safe grade. From the southern end of the lake the trail traverses wooded
ground, side-hill slopes being gentle to moderate. The pack-trail was cheaply and hastily
built by N. Pohlman and associates in 1936, sections damaged by slides being reconstructed
in 1937.    It is generally a rough and meandering trail which needs relocating to improve F 4 REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF MINES, 1937.
grades and shorten total distance. When justified by development, an aerial tram would be
the best means of transportation from the vicinity of the showings to the valley below.
The geology of the district is described in Geological Survey of Canada Summary Report,
1924, Part A, under " Chilco Lake and Vicinity." The claims are largely underlain by
greenstone which, below the workings, is intercalated with bands of argillite and conglomerate,
the series being highly metamorphosed. The conglomerate is a rusty-weathering, sericitized,
greenish rock, silicified in part, the pebbles being flattened and elongated. As appreciable
gold assays had, according to report, been obtained from the conglomerate, three samples were
taken by the writer, but these only gave traces in gold and silver. These rocks are intruded
by and adjoin the eastern margin of the Coast Range batholith, the contact being markedly
irregular. The deposits examined occur in Triassic greenstones about a mile north-east of a
large area of granodiorite occupying the south-western part of Black Horn Mountain. In the
vicinity of the showings there are several dykes, ranging in composition from andesite
porphyry to quartz porphyry, and varying in width from 2 to 20 feet, some of which cut the
veins. The general strike of the stratified formation is northerly and dips are westerly
generally at from 40 to 45 degrees. In places the dykes strike westerly with vertical or steep
northerly dips and at other points strike with the formation, dips not being definitely revealed.
The veins examined apparently conform in attitude with the strike and dip of the
enclosing greenstone, which is schistose in part. They consist of quartz containing small
amounts of sulphides, specified later, together with native gold. A large proportion of the
gold is free from the sulphides and specimens containing visible gold have frequently been
found. As the character of the ore is unusual, the results of the microscopic investigation
on a polished section is given in full: "Metallic minerals identified in order of abundance:
Arsenopyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, pyrite, and gold. Arsenopyrite occurs
largely as small disseminated crystals, forming in places nearly solid bands and masses of
the mineral. Pyrrhotite occurs as irregular masses, associated with chalcopyrite and sphalerite and occupying fractures in gangue, these minerals veining and replacing arsenopyrite
in places. Chalcopyrite and sphalerite occur as described, but are somewhat rare in the
section examined. A few crystals of pyrite occur similarly to arsenopyrite. Gold is relatively abundant in the section examined. The following tables illustrate its size-distribution
and mode of occurrence:—
Size-distribution. Greatest Dimension.
No. Grains Gold. Mesh.
2   Plus 100.
19   Minus 100 plus 200.
35   Minus 200 plus 325.
103   Minus 325.
" The largest grain noted was in the form of a veinlet about 350 microns long and 15
microns wide; the smallest ranged down to 1 or 2 microns, with the bulk of the minus 325
mesh gold between 10 and 30 microns in size.
Mode of Occurrence. No. of Grains.
(1.)   Grains in quartz  23
(2.)   Grains in carbonate gangue  58
(3.)   Grains on contact carbonate and quartz     4
(4.)  Veinlets in quartz  41
(5.)   Veinlets in quartz containing carbonate gangue  10
(6.)   Veinlets in quartz containing carbonate and pyrrhotite and   (or)
sphalerite _:     8
(7.)   Contact of arsenopyrite     5
(8.)   Contact of pyrrhotite     3
(9.)   Inclusions in arsenopyrite     4
(10.)   Veinlets in pyrrhotite     2
" From the above analysis it would appear that a fairly large proportion of gold occurs
in quartz alone. Actually, however, all the occurrences noted were in the proximity of
fractures containing carbonate gangue. As judged by the section, gold bears little or no
relationship to arsenopyrite, being controlled by carbonate-bearing fractures through the ore. WESTERN DISTRICT   (No. 6). F 5
" These same fractures carry pyrrhotite, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite, but gold is believed
to belong to a separate and later stage of mineralization, in that it was noted veining fractures in pyrrhotite in two places."
At the time of examination, in July, 1937, this type of ore was restricted to one open-cut,
from which a few tons had been extracted and sent to the Gibson prospector's mill, referred
to later, indicating that such material was of exceptional occurrence. Some or all of the
sulphides specified, with, in addition, galena in places, occur in the vein, or veins, at other
points, but assays in these other cases did not show proportionately high gold values, suggesting a possibility that there has been enrichment with gold at certain points during a later
stage of mineralization. In this connection similar high-grade ore is reported to have been
uncovered at and beyond the southern end of the property since the writer's visit.
The discoveries were made in the summer of 1936 by N. Pohlman and claims were staked
by him and three partners, L. Butler, C. Mackill, and W. Pohlman. After some preliminary
exploration, which revealed ore containing free gold, the owners installed a Gibson prospector's mill, driven by a water-wheel, on Wolverine Creek at a point about 1,500 feet downstream from the camp.
Since the summer of 1936, approximately 3.5 tons is stated to have been milled from
which gold, recovered by amalgamation, returned a value of about $275. Milling was then
discontinued and about 5.5 tons of similar ore, containing numerous specimens showing native
gold, remains at the mill-site. Up to the time of the writer's examination, development,
including a 45-foot adit, was very limited. The Homathko Gold Mines, Limited, a public
company, was incorporated in May, 1937.
The principal working, from which the high-grade ore was extracted, is a large open-cut,
at 7,180 feet elevation, on a narrow, rocky bench forming the top of a bluff, at the foot of
which is located the incompleted adit-crosscut referred to later. These and adjacent workings, described hereinafter, are at the head of a glacial cirque which locally interrupts the
uniform easterly slope. The open-cut, described as point A for convenience, exposes a lightly-
mineralized quartz-showing 21 feet long which, in its central part, was up to 6 feet wide
where it spread out against an apparent fault-plane striking north 10 degrees west and
dipping westerly at from 50 to 60 degrees.
At both extremities of the showing the width of the quartz was reduced to 8 inches.
Structural conditions were somewhat indefinite, the hanging-wall fracture apparently dipping
30 degrees westerly. In later, and deeper, work, however, the vein is reported to have
become steeper.
Sampling results were:—Across 6 feet in the centre of this open-cut: Gold, 0.235 oz. per
ton; silver, trace; across 8 inches at southern end: Gold, 0.56 oz. per ton; silver, 0.12 oz.
per ton; across 8 inches at northern end: Gold, 0.06 oz. per ton; silver, trace. A grab
sample from a small pile of quartz containing disseminated sulphides assayed: Gold, 0.32 oz.
per ton; silver, 0.1 oz. per ton. Going southerly along the contour from location A, the
outcrop is covered by talus up to a point 258 feet distant, where it was partially exposed in a
shallow cut. Here a sample across 8 inches assayed: Gold, 0.14 oz. per ton; silver, trace;
and a grab sample gave: Gold, 0.02 oz. per ton; silver, trace. At 85 feet farther to the
south the vein reappears in bluffs, where a sample across 7 inches assayed: Gold, 0.17 oz.
per ton; silver, trace. From this point to 51 feet farther south the vein, from 3 to 12 inches
wide, is continuously exposed in the bluffs, and at the latter point a sample across 12 inches
assayed:   Gold, 0.82 oz. per ton;   silver, 0.1 oz. per ton.
For another 100 feet going south along the rock-face the vein appears in the form of
connected short lenses swelling in width from 3 to 12 inches. At the last-mentioned or
farthest-south location a sample across 8 inches assayed: Gold, 0.06 oz. per ton; silver, trace.
All the above exposures, south of point A, are at elevations varying from 7,180 to 7,165 feet
and are on the edge of the precipitous slope to the glacial cirque. Southerly from the last-
mentioned sample location the vein was not examined, its extension being covered by a shallow
glacier, about 1,000 feet across, roughly estimated. In subsequent prospecting it is reliably
reported that vein-outcrops have been found at intervals, sometimes very widely separated,
southerly beyond the glacier across two claims of the Homathko property and farther south
on to the separately-owned Homestake group adjoining the granodiorite. Some open-cuts are
said to have been made exposing vein-sections which, in some cases, vary appreciably in F 6 REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF MINES, 1937.
elevation, suggesting displacement if they belong to the same vein, or separate veins of
similar attitude.
Reverting to the large open-cut at A and going northerly along the strike there is deep
talus. Going 48 feet north 44 degrees east from point A, at 7,155 feet elevation and in a
narrow gulch, there is a mineralized quartz-showing, 10 to 12 inches wide and 3 feet long,
striking south-westerly towards the open-cut at A and dipping at 75 degrees to the south-east.
A sample across 1 foot at this location, described as point B, assayed: Gold, 0.09 oz.
per ton; silver, trace. A and B showings are stated to connect in former stripping, but the
ground between was covered with boulders. Differing in attitude from all other exposures
seen, this latter vein-section may have been broken over by erosion adjoining the gulch.
The portal of the adit, at 7,094 feet elevation, is distant 90 feet along a bearing of south
77 degrees east from the large open-cut at A. It had been driven north 65 degrees west for
45 feet in massive greenstone, being directed towards the centre between A and B showings.
At 12 feet in from the portal a quartz-calcite stringer was encountered and continued to the
face. It varied in width from 2 to 12 inches, being sparingly mineralized with pyrite.
A sample across 10 inches near the face gave a trace in gold and silver. Going north 56
degrees east for 80 feet from the adit-portal there is a band of iron-stained, silicified rock,
20 feet wide, which, on sampling, gave traces in gold and silver. This is apparently an
extension of the conglomerate sampled at other points, though at this location pebbles are
widely separated or absent.
About 1,000 feet, estimated, north-easterly from point A, and at 7,300 feet elevation,
there is an open-cut, partly caved when examined, in a rock-slide sloping steeply to the east.
Here there are lenticular quartz-showings, over a length of 12 feet, conforming to the
45-degree westerly dip of the schistose greenstone. This is known as the " galena-showing,"
this mineral being present in places with pyrite and sphalerite in the quartz which, at the
northern end, is 24 inches wide and 20 inches wide at the southern end. A grab sample from
a pile of about 1 ton of mineralized quartz extracted from this cut assayed: Gold, 0.805 oz.
per ton; silver, 1.2 oz. per ton; lead, trace; zinc, 2 per cent. Between this working and the
open-cut at A there are poorly-exposed outcrops of iron-stained quartz in places, indicating
the possibility of other lenses or vein-sections along the strike.
Samples were taken at the mill-site as follows: From a pile of about 5.5 tons, excluding
obviously rich specimens, a grab sample assayed: Gold, 1.52 oz. per ton; silver, 0.5 oz. per
ton; lead, nil; zinc, 0.6 per cent.; arsenic, 0.59 per cent. As stated before, this ore was
derived from the vicinity of the large open-cut at A. Pannings from a small quantity of
tailings assayed: Gold, 38.60 oz. per ton; silver, 8.8 oz. per ton; lead, 1.1 per cent.; zinc,
1 per cent.;   arsenic, 20.3 per cent.
Exploratory work was at a very early stage when the property was visited. The showings and indications are such that, in addition to tracing the " bedded " veins, thorough
prospecting of the area may lead to the discovery of other veins, and in this connection a vein
cutting the formation is indicated at one point. Since the writer's examination several other
showings are stated to have been exposed principally towards the southern end of the ground.
Taseko Lake Area.
This group of thirteen claims, in the Clinton Mining Division, is held by
Hi Do. location and owned by A.  Pelletier, A. J.  Allaire, and  associates.    The
property is distant about 5 miles south-westerly from the southern end of
Taseko Lake and on the south-eastern side of Falls Creek, the most northerly tributary of
the Lor 1 River from the west. The name " Falls " is in local use, this creek being officially
unnamed. The camp, at 6,525 feet elevation and in the edge of timber-line, is on the steep
wooded ground sloping north-westerly towards the creek. The workings, at elevations ranging from 7,740 to 8,150 feet, are on a bare, rocky, or talus-strewn ridge to the south-east of
the camp and separated from it by an extensively-glaciated basin, surrounding peaks rising
to 9,000 feet elevation, or higher.
Access is by means of a fair pack-trail, 7 miles in length, roughly estimated, which first
follows the western side of Lord River and then turns up the valley of Falls Creek. From
the camp a switchback trail, about 1.5 miles in length, leads to the workings. WESTERN DISTRICT   (No. 6). F 7
General transportation facilities are as follows: A recently-completed road, about 60
miles in length, connects Hanceville, a point 60 miles westerly from Williams Lake, on the
Pacific Great Eastern Railway, with the northern end of Taseko Lake. This road is passable
for trucks, and in August, 1937, a motor-boat was hauled in over it and used to reach the
southern end of the lake, about 15 miles distant. This route now affords the best means of
access to the " Whitewater " Camp, formerly reached by trail crossing the summits from the
Bridge River. Passengers and supplies have frequently been taken to Taseko Lake by aeroplane, for which floats are provided at the southern end of the lake.
The formation in which the deposits have been found consists of granodiorite (post-
Triassic) of the Coast Range batholith, which, not far to the north-east, forms an irregular
contact with Triassic rocks, including greenstone, the marginal zone being marked by tongues
of quartz diorite and hornblende diorite extending into the intruded rocks. Of five quartz
veins, which strike north-easterly, four have steep north-westerly dips, the dip of the fifth
being uncertain.
The superficial workings have not yet exposed primary mineralization, the showings
from which gold assays are obtained being all more or less oxidized or shattered and
decomposed.
Exceptionally high gold values, as in the case of No. 2 vein, are associated with iron-
stained, oxidized, brecciated quartz. In the case of No. 1 vein the rusty quartz contains
sulphide casts, together with small crystals of garnet and rare specks of pyrite and
molybdenite. The oxidized quartz of the No. 5 vein shows occasional spots of chalcopyrite
and, rarely, bornite.
Float and vein outcrops were discovered by Pelletier and Allaire in the summer of 1936,
most of the work having been done during the 1937 season. In connection with this undertaking the Hi Do Gold Mines, Limited, was incorporated in December, 1937.
The following description of conditions is based on a pace and compass survey, aneroid
elevations being approximate: The No. 1 vein strikes north 68 degrees east and dips northwesterly 75 to 80 degrees. It is exposed by three open-cuts and intervening outcrops on steep,
talus-covered ground sloping north-east to a basin occupied by a shallow remnant of a
glacier. In the lowest open-cut, at 8,080 feet elevation, or approximately 100 feet above
the basin, the vein is 4.3 feet wide. From foot-wall to hanging-wall there is first a 3-inch
band of oxidized quartz containing sulphide casts and small scattered crystals of garnet; then
a 21-inch parting of altered silicified wall-rock; and, lastly, a 28-inch band of oxidized
quartz containing sulphide casts, disseminated garnet crystals, and rare specks of pyrite
and molybdenite.
A sample across the foot-wall band assayed: Gold, 0.01 oz. per ton; silver, trace; and
a sample across the hanging-wall band gave traces in gold and silver. Going south-westerly
up the steep slope for 15 feet there is an outcrop, at 8,100 feet elevation, where the vein, up
to 5 feet wide, is composed of iron-stained quartz. A sample across 4.5 feet assayed: Gold,
0.01 oz. per ton; silver, trace. Continuing in the same direction for 20 feet, an open-cut, at
8,120 feet elevation, had been started, solid rock not having been reached. Continuity of the
vein, however, was indicated by residual shattered quartz over a width of 4 feet. Going 35
feet south-westerly, and at 8,150 feet elevation, there is an eroded, decomposed, iron-stained
quartz-outcrop of indefinite attitude, the cut not being deep enough to indicate the true
conditions. Above this point there is deep talus to the summit of the ridge at 8,200 feet
elevati"n.    The vein was similarly covered below the lowest cut and by ice in the basin below.
The No. 2 vein workings, distant about 250 feet westerly from the open-cuts on the No. 1
vein and situated on the steep, rock-strewn ground sloping north-westerly to Falls Creek,
comprise four open-cuts extending south-westerly along the 8,060-foot contour. At the
north-eastern end there is a partly-timbered open-cut, 40 feet long, extending to south 45
degrees east, the depth at the face being 16 feet. This working, which had just penetrated
the deep talus, exposed a shattered, oxidized, and partially-decomposed quartz-outcrop. The
dip of the vein was uncertain as it was broken over in a folded, generally flat-lying attitude.
Judging from the alignment of this showing with those in the other cuts, the strike is northeasterly. The granodiorite appeared to be coming up in the face, indicating a north-westerly
dip, but more work was required to definitely ascertain this point. A sample across 7.5 feet
of shattered, iron-stained quartz and decomposed siliceous material assayed:   Gold, 0.42 oz. F 8 REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF MINES, 1937.
per ton; silver, 0.8 oz. per ton; and a selected sample of heavily-oxidized quartz containing
sulphide casts assayed: Gold, 17.10 oz. per ton; silver, 21.8 oz. per ton. Going south-westerly
for 55 feet there is a parallel open-cut, 20 feet long, in the face of which there was a similar
flat-lying showing apparently varying in width from 2 to 4 feet. A grab sample from this
exposure assayed: Gold, 0.2 oz. per ton; silver, 0.7 oz. per ton. Continuing in the same
direction for 20 feet, stripping showed shattered quartz and oxidized material, apparently
flat-lying. Going 35 feet farther to the south-west there is an open-cut extending southeasterly for 20 feet. In this working the iron-stained shattered quartz, of undetermined
width, was irregularly folded. A selected sample of quartz gave traces in gold and silver
per ton.
Going north-easterly from the 40-foot open-cut for 400 feet along the ridge, and at 7,975
feet elevation, there is a shallow cut in talus from whioh loose masses of siliceous, oxidized
material showing copper-carbonate stains were extracted and piled on the dump. Continuing
in the same direction for 400 feet, and on the apex of the sharp ridge overlooking Falls Creek
to the north-west, there is an open-cut at 7,810 feet elevation. This imperfectly exposes a
vein, known as the No. 3, which apparently strikes north 60 degrees east with steep northwesterly dip. A sample of the quartz, lightly iron-stained and containing occasional sulphide
casts, assayed traces in gold and silver per ton. Between this cut and the previous or " float "
location, several poorly-exposed basic dykes strike westerly across the apex of the ridge.
Going north 65 degrees east from the No. 3 vein cut down the steep talus-slope towards the
shallow glacier previously mentioned, and at 7,760 feet elevation, an iron-stained, shattered,
and partly-decomposed quartz-showing up to 7 feet wide has been stripped. A sample across
7 feet assayed: Gold and silver, trace per ton; this occurrence being located along the trend
of the No, 3 vein, and the strike and dip are similar. The ground between the two showings,
and along the strike in both directions, is covered by talus.
In a north 65 degrees east direction about 800 feet from the last-mentioned location and
looking across the glacial basin is the contact between the batholithic rocks and greenstone
of the Triassic series, the granitic formation plunging steeply to the north-west.
Going north-easterly 375 feet from the No. 3 vein-location on the ridge there are outcrops
and small bluffs of quartz, known as No. 4 vein, on the slope to the glacial basin. This is at
7,740 feet elevation, the summit of the ridge above being at 7,840 feet elevation. The iron-
stained quartz, visible for a length of 200 feet or more, and from 3 to 8 feet in width, strikes
north-easterly with north-westerly dips of from 45 to 70 degrees. A chip sample from an
exposure 3 to 7 feet wide and 30 feet long assayed: Gold, trace; silver, 0.4 oz. per ton.
There are also quartz-outcrops along the trend of this No. 4 vein crossing the summit of the
ridge. Going north-easterly along the summit from this last location there is, at 7,860 feet
elevation, an outcrop of iron-stained quartz, containing sulphide casts, 6 feet wide. Disseminated through the quartz there are occasional spots of chalcopyrite and, more rarely,
bornite. A selected sample from this showing, which is covered by talus along its strike,
assayed: Gold, 11.90 oz. per ton; silver, 39.2 oz. per ton. This No. 5 vein apparently follows
the usual north-east by east strike with an indicated north-westerly dip of 40 degrees.
When visited in the summer of 1937 the property was in a very early stage of exploration. The high gold assays were in both cases from oxidized material and may represent
local concentration of gold due to oxidation. The character of the primary mineralization
had not then been revealed.
Bridge River Area.
This property, in the Lillooet Mining Division, consists of twelve mineral
Jewel. claims held by location  and owned by the  Jewel  Prospectors'  Syndicate.
The camp buildings are situated about 4.3 miles north-west of a point where
Walk Creek flows into the north-western side of Gun Lake. The developed area lies to the
south-east of, and about 500 feet above, Roxey Creek, a north-easterly-flowing tributary of
Gun Creek, the smaller stream being officially unnamed.
The workings, at elevations varying from 5,580 to 5,990 feet, are on the very steep or
precipitous slope facing Roxey Creek, the ground being covered with bluffs and rock-slides,
among which are scattered small evergreens, including a few trees from 1 to 2 feet in
diameter. The elevation of the summit, back of the workings, is about 6,050 feet and the
camp, at 5,360 feet elevation, is in lightly-wooded ground adjoining Gem Creek, at the foot of WESTERN DISTRICT   (No. 6). F 9
the steep south-westerly slope of the same ridge. To be more explicit, the claims cover both
slopes of the ridge which lies between Roxey and Gem Creeks, the latter stream being a
branch of Roxey Creek.
The property can be reached by two different trails, and a caterpillar-tractor road,
affording a third route, was under construction when the property was visited in August, 1937.
The quickest means of access is by pack-trail, about 5 miles in length, roughly estimated,
which extends north-westerly from the road at the Pilot mine, situated towards the centre of
the western side of Gun Lake. The other routes are from the Gun Creek side, transportation
conditions being difficult to describe accurately due to available plans being incomplete or
incorrect. During 1936 and 1937 a length of several miles of the Gun Creek trunk trail has
been converted into a narrow road over which trucks are used. The Tyaughton Lake Road,
which branches off the highway at a point about 33.5 miles from Bridge River Station on the
Pacific Great Eastern Railway, is followed for a distance of about 3 miles to its junction with
the recently-extended Gun Creek Road. The latter is followed westerly for about 4 miles to
a short distance beyond Freiberg Creek, where the road-width ends.
The old trunk trail, which at the time of the writer's visit was being widened by J. M.
Taylor for the Jewel Prospectors' Syndicate, is then followed westerly for a further 3.5 miles,
roughly estimated, to the bridge over Gun Creek at Herb Taylor's cabin. From the bridge a
steep switchback trail, about 2.5 miles in length, extends to the camp. From the latter point
a switchback trail, partly built on a good grade, leads to the summit above the workings.
From the summit a foot-trail, connected in places with ladders, goes diagonally down to the
principal workings. The caterpillar-tractor road, under construction, was located so as to
connect the property with a proposed bridge over Gun Creek, at approximately 3,500 feet
elevation and 1.5 miles down-stream from the existing bridge. The estimated distances
given above are subject to revision when an accurate survey becomes available.
The deposits, in serpentine, occur as fissure-veins associated with dykes related to the
near-by Bendor batholith. The area containing the deposits adjoins and roughly parallels
the main contact of the quartz diorite, which, trending easterly, occupies the higher ground
situated between 80 and 150 feet southerly from the showings examined.
The main dyke system, with which the fissures are associated, strikes from easterly to
north-east by east, prevailing dips being southerly at angles ranging from 60 to 85 degrees.
Occasionally these dykes, which are dioritic or composed of fine-grained quartz diorite, dip
vertically or steeply northerly. The mineralized fissures generally adjoin the dykes on one
or other wall, but structural relationships are often irregular and there are branching veins
or stringers extending into the serpentine in places.
Mineralization consists chiefly of arsenopyrite distributed in streaks, kidneys, and small
masses in the sheared, siliceous gangue, which is generally oxidized and decomposed. Quartz
and calcite streaks are occasionally present as in the lowest adit where chalcopyrite and
pyrite are associated with remnants of arsenopyrite in an oxidized matrix. Vein-widths,
generally narrow, vary from a few inches to 2.5 feet, one exceptional showing, 5 feet wide,
being exposed in a shallow cut.
The stakings date back a few years, part of the development-work, including the two
shafts and intermediate adit, having been done by Bralco, Limited, when this company held
an option in 1934.
An irregular vein-zone has been traced for a length of about 660 feet. Commencing at
the eastern end of the showings, adjoining the blacksmith-shop, and going south 71 degrees
west, the vein, from 0.3 to 2 feet wide, is exposed by open-cuts and stripping at short intervals
for a length of 105 feet between elevations of 5,990 and 5,980 feet. For part of the length
specified it follows the northern wall of a 7-foot dyke which dips 60 to 70 degrees southerly,
the vein appearing to conform to the attitude of the dyke. At the lower or westerly point
specified, a 65-degree inclined shaft, said to be down 15 feet but largely filled with muck, has
been sunk on the vein where it has crossed to the southern side of the dyke, the latter forming the foot-wall. A sample across 0.6 feet at the shaft-collar assayed: Gold, 1.58 oz. per
ton; silver, 1 oz. per ton; and a sample across 2 feet on the outcrop, 10 feet easterly from
the shaft, assayed: Gold, 2.2 oz. per ton; silver, trace. Going south 44 degrees west for
100 feet from the above shaft, and at 5,950 feet elevation, there is a similar working sunk
southerly for 20 feet on a 40-degree incline. F 10 REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF MINES, 1937.
From the collar to 10 feet down it exposes the steeply-dipping vein which, at the latter
point, is joined by a vein dipping 30 degrees southerly, the lower section of the shaft being
obscured by muck. A sample across 1.5 feet, at the junction of the veins, assayed: Gold,
1.26 oz. per ton; silver, trace. Between the two shafts the vein-outcrop, from 1 to 2 feet
wide, is almost continuously exposed by stripping and open-cuts. A sample across an
oxidized exposure, 1.5 feet wide, in an open-cut at a point 45 feet north-easterly from the
lower shaft assayed:   Gold, 4.46 oz. per ton;   silver, trace.
A little below this showing, the upper adit-portal, at 5,930 feet elevation, is situated 35
feet north 28 degrees east from the collar of the westerly shaft. It extends first as a crosscut for 22 feet to south 72 degrees east, where the vein is encountered. From the crosscut,
drifting has been done in both directions, the southerly drift being 15 feet long to south 15
degrees west. The opposite drift extends first north 37 degrees east for 34 feet, then north
77 degrees east for 40 feet, and finally north 85 degrees east for 18 feet to the face, where
the vein is 4 inches wide. Timbering in the back of both drifts and piles of ore stored in
the southern drift obscured conditions, the vein, where visible, being from 0.3 to 2.2 feet
wide and dipping easterly or south-easterly at angles varying from 35 to 70 degrees. The
general relationship of the vein and dyke was not clearly exposed, but in the north-eastern
drift-face the dyke was on the foot-wall side of the vein. A sample across 0.75 feet, 32 feet
back of this face, assayed: Gold, 1.54 oz. per ton; silver, 0.4 oz. per ton; and a grab sample
from a pile of oxidized ore in the southern drift, containing 35 tons, roughly estimated,
assayed:   Gold, 1.06 oz. per ton;   silver, trace.
At 5,900 feet elevation the portal of another adit, known as the " intermediate " tunnel,
is 100 feet south 63 degrees west from the upper adit-portal. It extends north 65 degrees
east for 17 feet to point A; east for 17 feet to B; north 82 degrees east for 66 feet to C;
north 73 degrees east for 50 feet to D; north for 60.5 feet to E; and finally north 5 degrees
west for 14 feet to the face at F. At a point 13 feet past C, going towards D, a crosscut,
being extended, was in 25 feet to south 15 degrees east. The vein is continuous, where
visible between lagging, from the portal to where it goes into the wall at the sharp bend.
At the latter point the vein is 0.3 foot wide and at the portal it is 2.5 feet wide, the average
width being less than 1 foot. It follows the northern side of a dyke, which, from 2.5 to 3 feet
wide, dips 65 to 75 degrees northerly.
At D it conforms to the attitude of the dyke, but at the portal the vein dips steeply southerly, converging with the dyke. At the latter point there is, in addition, a 3-inch mineralized
streak on the foot-wall side of the dyke. In the above adit, between D and the face, dyke-rock
is exposed at several points, the most definite dyke intersection, 6 feet wide, being at a point
37 feet north of D. A sample across 0.3 foot at D assayed: Gold, 0.02 oz. per ton; silver,
trace. Another sample, across 1 foot, at a point 24 feet westerly from C, going towards B,
gave: Gold, 1.08 oz. per ton; silver, trace; and a sample across 0.5 foot, 15 feet in from the
portal, assayed: Gold, 1.12 oz. per ton; silver, trace. In a gulch, 65 feet south 81 degrees
west from the portal of this adit, and at 5,850 feet elevation, a shallow cut exposes oxidized
material with streaks of quartz and arsenopyrite on each wall, the showing being up to 5 feet
wide. It is poorly exposed, but evidently dips southerly and is underlain by a dyke. A
selected sample from this cut assayed: Gold, 2.06 oz. per ton; silver, 0.1 oz. per ton. Beyond
this showing fracturing in serpentine is exposed at intervals by stripping and outcrops for a
length of 250 feet, going first west and then north-west by west.
Mineralization, in places, consists of streaks and kidneys of arsenopyrite in sheared,
oxidized showings which are from 0.25 to 0.7 foot wide. A sample across 0.5 foot near the
western end of the section described, and at 5,830 feet elevation, assayed: Gold, 0.72 oz. per
ton;   silver, 0.6 oz. per ton.    Dips are southerly, varying from 80 to 85 degrees.
The lowest adit, at 5,580 feet elevation, is about 390 feet north 71 degrees west from the
intermediate adit-portal. It has been driven as follows: From the portal to station 1, south
70 degrees east for 37 feet; from 1 to 2, south 25 degrees east for 40 feet; from 2 to the face
at 3, south 15 degrees east for 67 feet. At station 2 there is a branch whhh extends as
follows: From 2 to 2-A, east for 36 feet; from 2-A to 2-B, north 43 degrees east for 15 feet;
from 2-B to 2-C, south 60 degrees east for 31 feet; and from 2-C to 2-D, south 45 degrees east
for 25 feet to the face. From the portal to station 1, an irregular vein, containing streaks
and kidneys of sulphides, including chalcopyrite, is followed to where it goes into the wall at WESTERN DISTRICT   (No. 6). F 11
the latter point. In this section, dioritic rock, possibly a dyke, is exposed along the northeastern side of the vein, which varies from a stringer to 2.5 feet in width and generally dips
75 to 80 degrees south-westerly, but, where left at station 1, rolls over and dips north-easterly
at a flat angle.
What appears to be the same vein, or stringer, is intersected at 2-B, and followed to 2-D,
throughout which section it is vertical and varies in width from a stringer to 1.1 feet, the
dioritic rock extending along the south-western side of the vein. No appreciable mineralization was noted in the section between 2-B and 2-D. Two selected samples from the sulphide
kidneys in the drift-section adjoining the portal included a sample of mixed sulphides which
assayed: Gold, 0.66 oz. per ton; silver, 0.1 oz. per ton; and massive chalcopyrite with minor
amounts of quartz which assayed: Gold, 0.20 oz. per ton; silver, 4 oz. per ton; copper, 19.25
per cent. The course between stations 2 and 2-A follows a stringer, containing rusty quartz
and calcite streaks, which dips 70 to 75 degrees south, dioritic rock being exposed on both
sides. The same rock is exposed on the western side of the face at 3, this location being
apparently close to the contact of the batholith. On the reverse slope of the ridge, above the
camp, and at 5,600 feet elevation, a prospect-adit has been driven west for 33 feet, having
just reached solid rock which consists of altered feldspar porphyry.
Summarizing conditions, the heavy sulphide ore, consisting mainly of arsenopyrite, presents a problem under present conditions, as it cannot be substantially beneficiated by concentration and the gold values are not high enough to make an appreciable profit by shipping
crude to distant smelters.
The property of this company, in the Lillooet Mining Division, consists of
Peerless Gold    thirteen mineral claims and fractions held by location.    The area examined
Mines, Ltd.      adjoins the Tyaughton Lake Road, the camp buildings being about 0.25 mile
southerly from the lake.    The workings, at elevations varying from 3,300 to
3,441 feet, are on lightly-wooded, gently-undulating ground.    Access is by the highway from
Bridge River Station on the Pacific Great Eastern Railway for approximately 33.5 miles to the
Tyaughton Lake Road, which is followed for about 4.25 miles to the camp near the workings.
The area is underlain by rocks of the Bridge River series, the deposits being associated
with shearing in greenstone which, in one case, continues along the contact of greenstone and
sediments. Exposures are generally limited in the vicinity of the workings, greenstone being
apparently the prevailing formation. A small area of argillite and cherty quartzite is intersected towards the inner end of the lower adit. Local strikes and dips of the rocks are
obscure, structural relationships between the greenstone and sediments in the lower adit being
complex. The shearing is generally irregular, strikes being north-easterly with northwesterly dips varying from 35 to 65 degrees. Mineralization consists chiefly of pyrite and
sphalerite, the latter mineral being abundant in massive streaks and bunches or in disseminations, and the gangue is composed of ankeritic carbonate accompanied by quartz and calcite.
In a few samples taken by the writer, values ranged from a trace to 0.30 oz. in gold per ton;
from 0.4 to 2.7 oz. in silver per ton; and from 1.5 to 10.4 per cent, in zinc. Away from the
shearing the greenstone is frequently pyritized and silicified, but samples of such material
showed only traces in gold and silver.
The stakings date back a few years to the period of intensive exploratory activity in the
Bridge River Camp.
The upper workings, on the gentle southerly slope just below the apex of a low ridge,
will be described with relation to the portal of the upper adit, at 3,426 feet elevation. A point
20 feet north 80 degrees east from the point specified, and at 3,441 feet elevation, marks the
centre of a shallow trench extending north-south for a length of 20 feet. It has only just
reached bed-rock, which consists of rusty-weathered greenstone.
No mineralization was noted in place, but on the dump there were specimens of quartz
containing pyrite and sphalerite. Another shallow cut, full of debris, is situated at 3,431 feet
elevation 18 feet south-west of the upper adit-portal. Similarly mineralized specimens are on
the dump. Other shallow cuts in close vicinity are in soil. The upper adit, driven 17 feet
to north 13 degrees west, is in greenstone, pyritized in places, no definite structure being in
evidence. Outside and adjoining the portal the locally silicified greenstone contains disseminated pyrite.    Two samples, from the face and outside the portal respectively, assayed traces F 12 REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF MINES, 1937.
in gold and silver.    Selected sphalerite  and pyrite in quartzose material from the  dump
assayed:   Gold, 0.12 oz. per ton;   silver, 2.7 oz. per ton;   zinc, 10.2 per cent.
The portal of the lower adit, at 3,400 feet elevation, is 98 feet south 26 degrees west from
the upper adit-portal. This lower working has been driven as follows: From the portal to
A, 100 feet to north 10 degrees east; from A to B, 21 feet to north 14 degrees west; from
B to C, 28 feet to north 75 degrees east; C to D, 63 feet to north 60 degrees east; D to E, 29
feet to north 66 degrees east; E to the face at F, 48 feet to north 47 degrees 30 minutes east.
Branch workings are as follows: From B to B-l, 14.5 feet to north 30 degrees west; D to
D-l, 13 feet to north 33 degrees west; and D to D-2, 23 feet to south 55 degrees east. The
area explored between the portal and D is in greenstone. In the course between the portal
and A, a mineralized shear is intersected at an acute angle. First encountered in the western
wall at 52 feet in from the portal, it crosses to the opposite wall and is left in the floor at 68
feet in from the portal. The showing, from 0.3 to 1 foot in width, is irregular in attitude, the
strike being north-easterly and the dip averaging about 50 degrees north-westerly. A sample
across 7 inches, at 54 feet in from the portal, assayed: Gold, 0.28 oz. per ton; silver, 2.7 oz.
per ton;  zinc, 10.4 per cent.
In the branch between B and B-l there is a north-easterly-striking shear, accompanied
by quartz and calcite, which dips steeply south-easterly. The main working at D and the
branch between D and D-l are in argillite, siliceous in part, and the D-2 section is in greenstone. Between D and the face at F there are cherty sediments along the north-western wall
and greenstone extends along the south-eastern wall. Immediately south-east of D, at the
contact, and extending north-easterly along it, there is a zone of shearing which dips 35 to 65
degrees north-westerly. Adjoining D the shearing is mineralized for a length up to 20 feet
and over a width up to 2 feet. A sample across 1.8 feet, near the centre of this lens, assayed:
Gold, 0.30 oz. per ton; silver, 2.7 oz. per ton; zinc, 8.6 per cent. The shearing becomes
indefinite towards the face, a sample across 3.7 feet at the latter point assaying: Gold, trace;
silver, 0.4 oz. per ton; zinc, 1.5 per cent. A point on flat ground, at 3,300 feet elevation, 575
feet south 84 degrees 30 minutes west from the lower adit-portal, marks the position of the
collar of a shaft, steeply inclined to the north-east, which was full of water. Adjacent
trenches are in soil and boulders, the underlying rock being evidently greenstone.
This   group,   in   the   Lillooet   Mining   Division,   consists   of   six   surveyed
Benboe. mineral claims,  held by location  and owned by the  Benboe  Deep   Mines
Syndicate. The property is situated on the western side of Tommy Creek,
about 4 miles southerly from the confluence of this stream with Bridge River. Except in
slide areas, the Tommy Creek Valley is well wooded up to the cabin, situated on a bench at
4,500 feet elevation. The workings, at elevations of from 4,650 to 4,750 feet, are on the steep
to precipitous, rocky slope, brushy or sparsely wooded in part. Access is first by means of the
highway which is followed for a distance of about 23 miles from Bridge River Station on the
Pacific Great Eastern Railway to the cable crossing over the river at Swang's (formerly
Beaubien's) ranch. From the latter point a trail, about 4.5 miles in length, extends to the
claims. The lower 3-mile section of the original trail, used at the time of the writer's visit,
was built along the steep side-hill forming the eastern side of Tommy Creek Valley, and was
very poorly located, grades being prohibitive for loaded pack-horses.
The creek is then crossed and the remaining 1.5-mile section, following the western side
of the valley, is on a fair grade. The lower, and bad, part of the trail is being reconstructed.
Trail or road locations are necessarily confined to this valley, which is narrow with steep
walls intersected in places by slide areas. While preliminary operations can be carried out
during the summer and early winter months, slides at other periods may seriously interfere
with transportation.
The claims are underlain by rocks of the Bridge River series, which, less than 2 miles to
the south, are intruded by the Bendor batholith. The deposits are found in a vein in greenstone, schistose or shattered in part. Local exposures are limited and the strike of the
greenstone was not definitely ascertained. At the adjoining Stromb erg-Shepherd property
interbanded greenstone and sediments strike north-westerly, dips being north-easterly at
steep angles. The vein strikes about north 15 degrees east and dips 45 to 55 degrees westerly
into the hill forming the western wall of the valley. It has been traced by shallow cuts for
a length of 672 feet, its extension beyond these limits being covered by overburden. WESTERN DISTRICT   (No. 6). F 13
The vein is formed along well-defined fracture-planes, but in no case has an open-cut
been sunk deep enough to penetrate the oxidized zone, nor have any cuts been made large
enough to expose a complete section of the deposit. As all the accessible outcrops are more
or less oxidized, the exact nature of the mineralization cannot be determined, but must be
inferred from similarities to related deposits in the area. The only sulphide recognized was
stibnite, which occurred in disseminations in a quartzose gangue at one point, all other
showings consisting of oxidized streaks and bands in altered silicified greenstone, calcite
being present at some points. The six samples taken by the writer showed generally low
gold and silver values.
Stakings in the area apparently date back to 1933. The Benboe Deep Mines Syndicate
commenced development in 1935, since when work has been continued intermittently.
The vein has been traced by a series of open-cuts at approximately the same elevation
or adjoining the 4,750-foot contour.
Commencing at the southern end and chaining northerly, conditions are as follows: At
zero, rusty-weathered outcrop, 3.3 feet wide, associated with well-defined fracturing; at 43
feet, rusty-weathered, sheared, altered greenstone with no definite walls exposed; at 104
feet, similar conditions over a width of 3 feet; at 123 feet, similar material containing
appreciable quartz; and at 152 feet, 2.5 feet of oxidized siliceous material, including calcite-
streaks, which assayed: Gold, 0.10 oz. per ton; silver, 0.5 oz. per ton. A selected sample
from the same place, showing disseminated specks of stibnite in quartzose gangue, assayed:
Gold, 0.02 oz. per ton; silver, 8.8 oz. per ton. Resuming the chainage, the vein is poorly
exposed in cuts at 194 and 212 feet. In the vicinity of the latter point massive stibnite is
reported to have been found in an outcrop. At chainage 249 feet there is a width up to 4.5
feet of oxidized, silicified material. A sample across 4 feet here gave: Gold, 0.24 oz. per
ton; silver, 0.4 oz. per ton. At chainage points 314, 430, and 475 feet there are oxidized
outcrop^ up to 6 feet wide. At 559 feet there is an oxidized, partial exposure 2 feet wide,
a sample across this width assaying: Gold, 0.18 oz. per ton; silver, 0.6 oz. per ton. At 580
feet a sample across a section 2.5 feet wide, made up of interbanded oxidized streaks and
silicified greenstone, assayed: Gold, 0.05 oz. per ton; silver, 0.4 oz. per ton. At 642 feet an
oxidized showing, 1.3 feet wide, assayed: Gold, 0.36 oz. per ton; silver, 0.5 oz. per ton. The
vein is again partially exposed at 672 feet, beyond which it is covered.
Opposite, or south 65 degrees east from, the southernmost cut at zero, and at 4,650 feet
elevation, there is an adit-crosscut driven for a distance of 48 feet to north 40 degrees west.
Caving prevented inspection beyond the 40-foot point, this accessible portion being all in
overburden. It is estimated that this working will have to be extended to 270 feet to intersect
the ve'n.    Exploration is at too early a stage to warrant any useful appraisal of possibilities.
Continuity of the structure is evident for an appreciable distance along the surface, but
further work is necessary to determine if values in the oxidized material are enhanced by
residual enrichment or impoverished by leaching. Mineralization may occur over greater
widths than those exposed, and future work should include deep trenching at intervals to
expose complete sections of the vein-zone and obtain information on which to base further
plans.    In this connection the steepness of the side-hill is an advantageous factor.
Vancouver Island.
The Vulcan group is owned by the Crown Gold Mining Syndicate of Victoria
Vulcan Group. * and comprises the Vulcan Crown-granted claim and Vulcan Nos. 1 and 2
mineral claims. The Vulcan claim was Crown-granted in 1898 and most of
the work on it done about that time. Subsequently it reverted to the Crown and was again
Crown-granted to Angelo Lorinde and Edgar S. Parr in September, 1937. The Vulcan Nos.
1 and 2 were staked by Lorinde and Parr in December, 1936. The work on the Vulcan has
been described in the Annual Reports of the Minister of Mines, British Columbia, for 1899,
pages 826 and 851;  1904, page 302;  and 1930, page 303.
The present camp and workings are at an elevation of approximately 2,100 feet and 6%
miles by good trail north-westerly from the Second Nanaimo Lake, which is 17 miles by motor-
road up the Nanaimo River from Nanaimo.
* Report by John S. Stevenson. F 14
REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF MINES, 1937.
The camp is on a heavily-wooded hillside sloping gently north-westward into Robbins
Creek, a small creek which flows south-westerly and westerly into Deadhorse Creek, and
thence via Dash Creek into the Upper Nanaimo Lake. The workings, consisting of a shaft
and drift from it, are on the north-westerly bank of Robbins Creek, approximately 450 feet
north-eastward from the new cabin. Up-stream from the shaft the creek cascades over
boulders and bed-rock on a relatively gentle grade, whereas down-stream from the shaft it
flows over a series of cascades and falls to a point that is 80 feet below the collar of the shaft
and some 165 feet westerly therefrom.    From here the grade again becomes less steep.
Collar EI.2I00'
Barometric
OWater level
Section showing
South-west wall of Shaft
along A-A
LEGEND
Quartz-sulphide lenses
Shear-zone
Gouge-seam
Andesitic greenstone
No.
Width C
z.Gold 0
z.Silver
Description
1
12"
0.32
0.1
Shear, some pyrite and quartz
2
18"
0.6
0.4
3
14"
Tr
Tr
sheared   rock  only
4
24"
Tr
Tr
5
£4"
Tr
Tr.
shear, a little quartz and calcite
G
32"
Tr
Tr.
7
30"
Tr
Tr
	
B
3"
5.9
1.6
quartz sulphide lens in foot-wall
g
2"
1.24
04
.,   hanging-wa
10
3"
0.8B
0.2
..   foot-wall
n
2"
0.76
0.6
foot-wall   gouge
12
2"
Tr
Tr
hanging-wall  of shear
13
i
0.6
0.6
heavy sulphide in hanging-wall
14
30"
Tr.
0.4
andesite in the face
15
12"
2.0
1.2
mineralized shear
16
12"
0.12
Tr
junction of main and branch shears
17
6"
0.22
Tr.
branch shear
18
IB"
0.06
0.4
junction of main and branch shears
19
14"
3.26
2.0
full width of shear, well mineralized
20
38"
0.8
0.6
full width  of shear
Vulcan.    Plan and section of workings from chain and compass survey.
The workings consist of an inclined shaft, reported to be 105 feet deep (at the time of
examination the surface of the water in the shaft was 81 feet from the collar), and a drift
138 feet long driven north-easterly from a point 16 feet down from the collar of the shaft.
The reader is referred to the sketch-plan and section for the details as described below.
Mineralization occurs in a strong shear-zone in andesitic greenstone. The zone ranges
from 1 to 3 feet in width; it consists of highly-crushed, unmineralized greenstone and two
quartz-sulphide bands, a hanging-wall and foot-wall band, each of which ranges from 2 inches
to sometimes 6 inches in width. These bands are very lenticular and discontinuous; short
lenses of what might be called a third band sometimes occur between the other two. The
material of these bands is quartz, associated with abundant pyrite and smaller amounts of
galena and sphalerite.
The drift follows the shear-zone from the shaft to a point 15 feet from the face. Here
the shear is cut at a small angle by a narrow gouge-slip that comes into the wall 25 feet from
the face, gradually crosses the shear and its contained quartz, and then continues in greenstone to the face.    The face is not in the shear-zone.
The shaft follows the shear-zone as far as it was examined (namely, 81 feet). The
sheared material increases from 18 inches at the collar to 3 feet at 81 feet, and contains
discontinuous bands and lenses of quartz similar to those in the drift. At points 25 and 30
feet from the collar, two branch shears, each averaging 1 foot in width and containing
lenticular quartz, join the main shear and develop a good grade of material at the junction. WESTERN DISTRICT   (No. 6). F 15
The gold values are confined to the quartz-sulphide bands and lenses, the sheared greenstone being practically barren. This would indicate that the grade and amount of ore
depend on the presence of sufficient width and frequency of quartz-sulphide lenses. The
distribution of these along the shear determines the grade of the material in any long section
of the shear.    The reader is referred to the assays on the accompanying plan.
GOLD-SILVER DEPOSITS.
Pacific Great Eastern Railway.
Birkenhead River Area.
This group, in the Lillooet Mining Division, comprises seven claims held by
Gridiron. location and owned by G. Moffat and A. J. Hendry. The property is situated on the southern side of Tenquille Creek, about 4 miles westerly from
Birkenhead River, or about 14 miles by trail north-westerly from Poole Creek, a flag-station
on the Pacific Great Eastern Railway, near Mile 72, from Squamish. It should be noted that
all available maps of the area, which include the Birkenhead River and its tributaries from
the west, Fowl and Tenquille Creeks, are extremely inaccurate. For instance, the junction
of Tenquille Creek with the river is shown as being 3 miles from Poole Creek, whereas the
actual distance is nearer 9 miles. Beyond Tenquille Creek the river actually extends towards
the head of Noel Creek in the Bridge River area. The claims cover the rough ground, interspersed with small bluffs and patches of slide-rock, sloping steeply to the north towards Tenquille Creek, elevations ranging from 4,600 to 6,400 feet on the claims and to about 7,000 feet
on the summits above. The camp buildings, at 5,400 feet elevation, or 900 feet above the
creek, are at the edge of timber-line, the lower slopes being well wooded. Ample water for
mine and domestic use is available near the camp and adit-workings.
The property is reached by a fair pack-trail following the Birkenhead River Valley for
about 9 miles and then up Tenquille Creek for about 5 miles, the last section extending in a
series of switchbacks up the steep side-hill to the camp. A reconnaissance made by C. E.
Cairnes was published in Geological Survey of Canada Summary Report, 1924, Part A. As
shown in Fig. 6, " Pemberton Area, Lillooet District," accompanying this publication, the
basin of Tenquille Creek and the areas immediately surrounding it are largely underlain by
Mesozoic rocks. To the south of the creek the formations are: Sandstones, slates, and conglomerates, tentatively assigned to the Cretaceous; batholithic intrusives, chiefly granodiorite
and quartz diorite, of post-Upper Triassic age; andesitic lavas, tuffs, and breccias, intercalated with sediments, including limestone and argillite; the last series, definitely referred
to the Upper Triassic, having been correlated with the Cadwallader series of the Bridge River
Map-area.
On the Gridiron property structural conditions are rendered complex through deformation accompanied by much shearing and faulting. The general trend of the stratified rocks
apparently varies from north 30 degrees west to north 40 degrees west, the average dip being
north-easterly at 40 degrees. The prevailing exposures, in which most of the deposits have
been found, are massive to schistose greenstones of volcanic origin. Included with them are
belts of porphyritic, grey to reddish, volcanic flows. The series are strongly sheared along
a north-westerly direction approximately conforming to their strike and, approximately at
right angles to this, there is a second system of shearing and faulting, much of which is considered to be pre-mineral. Cutting the greenstones, there are occasional dykes of varying
.composition, including quartz porphj'ry, which do not appear to have any direct bearing on
the mineralization. The deposits in the greenstones consist of lenses of quartz or silicified
rock containing varying amounts of sulphide minerals, including pyrite, arsenopyrite, galena,
sphalerite, chalcopyrite, and tetrahedrite, the mineralization being frequently associated with
sheared or brecciated wall-rock. Polybasite, a silver mineral, was identified in specimens by
Cairnes; native silver, of secondary origin, also being noted in fracture-planes at one point.
Chief values are in silver, gold values being generally low.
The property was originally staked in 1923 under the name of the Li-li-kel group. Work
was done under option by the Federal Mining and Smelting Company in 1926 and 1927.
Subsequently the ground was acquired by the present owners and renamed Gridiron group.
Past references are contained in the Annual Reports of the Minister of Mines, British
Columbia, for the years 1923, 1925, 1926, and 1927. F 16
REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF MINES, 1937.
The principal showings, situated on the Gridiron claim, follow the line of cross-faulting
and shearing which trends in a general south-westerly direction up the slope of the hill from
an elevation of 5,250 feet or less to 5,925 feet. Above the upper adit-portal, which is at 5,540
feet elevation, the shear-zone strikes approximately north 35 degrees east and dips southeasterly at from 65 to 75 degrees. Below the point specified, it turns and strikes from north
55 degrees east to north 40 degrees east, dips being variable and ranging from vertical to 80
degrees to south-east and to from 67 to 85 degrees to north-west. The shearing is irregular,
fracture-planes frequently being offset a few feet in closely-spaced cuts. The above description of structural conditions applies more especially to surface exposures, the shearing at
underground points being generally indefinite. The wall-rock, whi?.h in places forms a large
proportion of the gangue, is dark-green, fine-grained, massive greenstone, strongly brecciated
in places.
>}. Moffat Ad it
w    cn'
20
#67'        1     .    3
EI.58S0'u
LEGEND
Open-cut «
Stripping <■".
Strike & Dip
Shear-zone
(underground)
No.l Adit
El.5540'   es^JL^5'
85'   EI.54S0'
El.5750'6 ji4^
4 -^
^    El.5790
U        13^   Adit
Formation is composed of greenstone
Approx.Sc.ale
2D0
=3 Feet
Gridiron.    Pace and compass survey of workings.
Referring to the accompanying illustration, and commencing at the north-eastern end,
surface and underground conditions are as follows: Of the five closely-spaced cuts above No.
2 adit, Nos. 12 and 13, which showed quartz with bands or disseminations of galena and
pyrite, were sampled. In the No. 12 cut the sample across 2.5 feet assayed: Gold, 0.02 oz.
per ton; silver, 14 oz. per ton; lead, 15 per cent.; zinc, 7.6 per cent.; and a sample across
1.5 feet in No. 13 cut gave: Gold, 0.06 oz. per ton; silver, 24 oz. per ton; lead, 4.6 per cent.;
zinc, 4.6 per cent. The latter sample also contained chalcopyrite, but not in important
amount. In Nos. 14, 11, and 10 cuts shearing was apparent without appreciable quartz or
sulphide mineralization. At No. 9 location there are open-cuts and stripping extending over
a total combined length of 90 feet, much of which is obscured by debris.
Two samples, taken 10 feet apart at the south-western end of the exposures, respectively
assayed: Gold, 0.10 oz. per ton; silver, 58 oz. per ton; lead, 27.8 per cent.; zinc, 4.2 per
cent, across 1.5 feet; and: Gold, 0.06 oz. per ton; silver, 100.5 oz. per ton; lead, 8.3 per
cent.; zinc, 6.9 per cent, across 1.8 feet. Similar mineralization is visible at the north-eastern
end of No. 9 location, the section between the mineralized extremities being poorly exposed.
Above No. 1 adit, Nos. 6, 7, and 8 cuts, enclosed within a length of 70 feet, expose mineralized
quartz and silicified rock averaging 2.7 feet in width. A sample taken across 1.2 feet at No.
6 location assayed: Gold, 0.04 oz. per ton; silver, 110 oz. per ton; lead, 3.9 per cent. No. 5
open-cut exposes up to 8 feet of sheared, rusty-weathered greenstone, silicified in part. At
No. 4 cut a sample across 1.6 feet assayed: Gold, 0.06 oz. per ton; silver, 60 oz. per ton.
At Nos. 3 and 2 cuts, which are caved, there is evidence of continuity of shearing and silicification. At No. 1 location mineralization is locally developed along two intersecting zones
of shearing, one striking north-easterly and the other approximately east-west. A sample
across 2.5 feet immediately adjoining the face of the cut developing the north-easterly
shearing assayed: Gold and silver, trace; and a sample representing 1.5 feet associated with
cross-shearing assayed: Gold, 0.38 oz. per ton; silver, 22 oz. per ton. These showings,
where appreciable gold values have been obtained in previous sampling, are at the foot of
rock bluffs, including porphyritic intrusives, into which it was not possible to trace any
definite shearing. WESTERN DISTRICT   (No. 6). F 17
In the lower adit there is nothing corresponding with conditions in the surface cuts above
it, there being no definite structure or mineralization in evidence. In general this working,
apart from crosscuts, is driven along various weak, south-westerly-striking fractures, with
from vertical to steep dips to either north-west or south-east. There is no evident explanation of the lack of continuity of the mineralized shear-zone to this horizon, which must be
attributed to structural weakness or to displacement by some unobserved faulting.
The first section of the upper adit, from near the portal to the first south crosscut, is
driven along an indefinite zone of south-westerly-striking shearing, dips being south-easterly
at from 75 to 80 degrees. No appreciable silicification or sulphide mineralization was noted
in the back of this drift, the weak structure fading as the crosscut specified is approached.
A parallel shear-zone was found in the south crosscut and followed for 85 feet to the southwestern face of the adit.
In the back of this drift-section the wall-rock is irregularly silicified, disseminated pyrite
being of common occurrence. In the floor, at a point 32 feet back from the face, there is a
short exposure of well-mineralized quartz, a sample across 2.5 feet at this point assaying:
Gold, 0.10 oz. per ton; silver, 3.5 oz. per ton; lead, 3 per cent. Specks of chalcopyrite,
associated with the pyrite and galena, were also noted here. In the face, where structural
conditions were more definite than at any other point in these workings,-two samples taken
over a combined width of 4.25 feet of silicified, pyritized, sheared greenstone gave a trace in
gold and from 0.4 to 1.2 oz. per ton in silver. As shown on the sketch, adjacent workings,
also in greenstone, extend along a zone of shearing and silicification which strikes north 10
degrees east to north 13 degrees east with easterly dips of from 60 to 75 degrees. In No.
15 cut, over the Moffat adit, rusty, sheared rock is exposed. Similar conditions are evident
in No. 16 cut, together with irregular silicification and indefinite scattered mineralization.
A sample across 2.8 feet on the hanging-wall side, in the face of the cut, assayed: Gold,
trace;  silver, 8.2 oz. per ton.
Cuts Nos. 17, 18, and 19 trace the continuity of the shearing, silicification being irregular
with sparse mineralization. At open-cut No. 20, situated at the foot of the bluffs previously
mentioned in connection with No. 1 cut, the silicified greenstone contains streaks of sulphide
mineralization on both walls of an exposure 3.5 feet wide, the assay over this width being:
Gold, 1 oz. per ton; silver, 9.5 oz. per ton; lead, 7.2 per cent. No definite shearing was
noted in the bluffs southerly from No. 20 cut.
The Moffat adit is first driven south 13 degrees west for 82.5 feet, then south 2 degrees
east for 22.5 feet to the face. From the portal to the bend it follows a well-defined wall
dipping easterly at from 60 to 65 degrees. This is left at the bend and in the face of the
adit there is an indefinite, approximately parallel fracture. Between a point 10 feet
northerly from the bend and the face there are indefinite narrow areas of irregular silicification mineralized with disseminated pyrite.
In the absence of a more comprehensive plan, other scattered showings will be described
approximately with relation to the several claim boundaries. Six of the claims are staked
in a double row trending south-westerly.
The Roosevelt claim adjoins the Gridiron (which contains most of the previously-
described occurrences) to the south-west and the former claim is adjoined to the north-west
by the Hoover. The seventh claim, named Jubilee, adjoins both the Roosevelt and Hoover to
the south-west, being equally distributed on each side of the line dividing those claims. On
the Hoover claim, at 6,200 feet elevation, and about 1,000 feet westerly from open-cut No. 20
on the sketch, there is a small cut at the top of a rock-slide sloping north-easterly towards
Tenquille Creek. Here a short exposure, 2 feet wide, of silicified iron-stained greenstone and
quartz containing disseminated pyrite is associated with shearing which strikes north 40
degrees east and dips 75 degrees south-easterly. A sample across 2 feet gave traces in gold
and silver. On the Jubilee claim, adjoining the dividing line between the Hoover and Roosevelt claims, or approximately 800 feet south-westerly from the last previously-described
showing, there are two open-cuts at 6,200 feet elevation, situated on the north-eastern slope
of the glacial basin. The cuts, 83 feet apart, partially develop a wide zone of mineralization
which occurs in a belt of sheared, fine-grained, banded, siliceous rock, adjoining and overlying a band of north-easterly-dipping limestone. Mineralization consists chiefly of disseminated pyrite in a siliceous gangue.
2 F 18 REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF MINES, 1937.
A sample across 4.5 feet (partial exposure) in the south-easterly cut assayed: Gold,
0.18 oz. per ton; silver, 1 oz. per ton; and a selected sample from the north-westerly cut
gave: Gold, 0.22 oz. per ton; silver, 1.6 oz. per ton. The continuation of this zone and its
full width have not been explored. A few hundred feet northerly from these cuts the ground
falls precipitously for 300 feet to a bench containing two small adjoining lakes. At 6,200
feet elevation and approximately 1,500 feet to the south-west of the last described workings
there is, also on the Jubilee claim, a shallow cut. This location is on a grassy hump separating two glacial basins sloping towards Tenquille Creek. This cut exposes a 4-foot width of
heavily oxidized and pyritized rock adjoining a small outcrop of limestone which apparently
strikes north 70 degrees west with vertical dip. A sample across 3.75 feet assayed: Gold,
0.06 oz. per ton; silver, 0.8 oz. per ton; and a selected sample of pyrite gave: Gold, 0.16 oz.
per ton; silver, 0.6 oz. per ton. No other work has been done to trace the continuity of this
occurrence, which is apparently wider than the exposure.
Summarizing conditions at the present stage of development, the irregular ore occurrences on the Gridiron claim appear to be lenses developed along shearing and fracture planes
which lack evidence of regularity and continuity. The comparatively good structural conditions in the inner end of the No. 1 adit suggest the extension of this drift-section to test
the downward continuation of the good showing in No. 4 open-cut. At higher elevations the
wide zone of mineralization in the two adjacent cuts on the Jubilee claim is of interest and
could be further explored to ascertain its extent and continuity. Objectives for future
exploration also include testing of intersections of the variously-striking systems of shearing
and fracturing for possible mineral concentrations.
GOLD-ZINC-ANTIMONY DEPOSITS.
Bridge River Area.
The property of this syndicate, in the Lillooet Mining Division, consists of
Summit eleven mineral claims  and fractions held by location  and known as the
■ Gold Mining Summit, Summit Nos. 1 to 9, inclusive, and Zada. The owners include J.
Syndicate. Marron, F. Joubin, and J. L. Stewart, the last named being the trustee.
The property lies to the west and south-west of the head of Fergusson
Creek, which, at a short distance above Gold Bridge, flows into Bridge River from the southeast. The claims cover the rocky and talus-strewn summit country forming the watershed
between Fergusson and Cadwallader Creeks.
The showings, at elevations ranging from 7,250 to 7,700 feet, are above timber-line, being
situated on the summit or on the adjoining upper slopes towards the streams specified. The
area forming the summit is, in a general way, smoothly rounded, but is divided into two
narrow ridges about 1,500 feet apart, which roughly parallel the Fergusson Creek Valley.
At the south-eastern end of the ground the two ridges are joined by a northerly-trending
ridge up to 600 feet wide.
The north-easterly ridge continues south-easterly beyond the junction for a few thousand
feet to the summit of Mount Fergusson at approximately 8,500 feet. The bare and abrupt
northern slopes are interrupted by a wide bench facing Fergusson Creek, on which the tent
camp-site is located at 7,430 feet elevation. The southern slopes are more uniform and
gradually flatten towards the Cadwallader Creek Valley, the ground between elevations of
6,500 and 5,000 feet being lightly wooded. Below the latter elevation there is an abundance
of useful mining-timber.
The camp-site is reached by pack-trail, 6 miles in length, roughly estimated, from Fish
Lake settlement on the main road, about 53 miles from Bridge River Station on the Pacific
Great Eastern Railway. As most of the discoveries have been made on the Fergusson Creek
slope the above route is the natural one, but the Summit prospect can be more quickly and
conveniently reached from the Cadwallader Creek side, first by branch road leading northeasterly from the south-eastern section of the Bralorne holdings for about 1.75 miles to a
point near the northern boundary of the Braeberne property, adjacent to the 4,500-foot contour; thence by switchback trail extending north-easterly for a distance of approximately
2.5 miles.
The claims are almost entirely underlain by rocks of the Bridge River series, referred to
the Pennsylvanian-Permian.    They have been staked so as to cover an irregularly-shaped WESTERN DISTRICT   (No. 6).
F 19
area of greenstone-basalt complex, comprising about 450 acres in extent, this formation being
bordered by argillites and cherty quartzites, except in the north-east corner of the property,
adjoining Fergusson Creek, where the greenstone is invaded by quartz diorite of the Bendor
batholith. The latter formation is also exposed along the northern edge of the ground, where
a narrow belt of the altered sediments lies between it and the greenstone. Rocks of the Bridge
River series are complexly folded, local strikes in the greenstone-basalt area being easterly
with northerly dips averaging 45 degrees.
The deposits occur in the vicinity of wide dioritic dykes which cut the greenstone as shown
on the accompanying sketch. These dykes are poorly exposed and the relationship between
the segments is not known. One vein cuts a syenite dyke 7 feet wide as shown at No. 3
location. The mineralization in this case, and in that of the vein developed by Nos. 4 and 5
open-cuts and the adit, consists of arsenopyrite and sphalerite with oxidized streaks and
occasional pyrite, the gangue being composed of quartz containing sulphide casts or silicified
wall-rock. Gold assays in these veins, as shown on the sketch, were up to 0.40 oz. per ton
across narrow widths.
LEGEND
Open-cut
Stripping
Dioritic dykes
Strike &. dip
Vein
Shear-zone
65"  Adit
. -ȣ       No.4
No.5
65"
Post - El.7475
N0.2
Formation is composed of
greenstone-basalt complex
^Syenite dyke
f 7 feet wide-
No5|55-
~"1EI.76I0'
El.7700
Description Width Oz.Gold 0z.Silver%Zinc %Stibnite
NO. 1                  14'
Tr.
Tr.
-
Tr.
No.2      Selected
Tr.
Tr.
-
8.0
JN0.3              1.7'
0.18
1.2
1.3
-
\No.3             0.6'
0.34
1.0
O.S
No.4            4.8'
0.12
0.1
0.5
No.5 (Foot-
-wall streak)     0.7'
0.4
0.2
3.3
No.5 (Hanging-
-wall streak)    0.15'
Adit         Grab
0.3B
0.3
Tr.
Tr.
1.9
Summit Gold Mining Syndicate.    Plan of workings from pace and compass survey.
In the case of the shear-zone at Nos. 1 and 2 locations stibnite-streaks and finely-disseminated arsenopyrite are associated with chalcedonic quartz in sheared and chloritized
greenstone, the showings being largely oxidized. Samples of such material gave traces in
gold and silver, one of the samples containing 8 per cent, antimony.
The stakings date back a few years to the period of intense prospecting activity in the
Bridge River Camp.
At the No. 1 location an open-cut exposes the shear-zone 14 feet wide striking north 60
degrees east and dipping 60 degrees south-easterly. The apparent extension of this mineralized shearing is poorly exposed at No. 2 location, where stibnite-streaks are associated with
quartz in a pile of weathered material. Both locations are on the Cadwallader Creek slope,
the latter being close to the summit. At No. 3 location, on the high ground overlooking the
Fergusson Creek slope, a vein has been stripped for a length of 160 feet down the slope
between 7,700 and 7,610 feet elevation. Well defined and consistently mineralized throughout
over an average width of 1 foot, it strikes north 85 degrees east and dips 55 degrees northerly.
The 7-foot syenite dyke cut by the vein near the lower end of the exposure contains fine disseminations of iron sulphides.   The open-cuts at Nos. 5 and 4 locations and the drift-adit, F 20 REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF MINES, 1937.
26 feet long, develop a vein, from 4 to 5 feet wide, which strikes north 80 degrees east and
dips 65 degrees northerly.
In No. 4 open-cut it is made up of two 4-inch quartz-bands mineralized with arsenopyrite
and sphalerite, on the foot-wall and hanging-wall respectively, which are separated by 44
inches of silicified greenstone containing sulphides lightly disseminated or in scattered streaks.
In No. 5 cut, conditions from foot-wall to hanging-wall are: Quartz-band 8 inches wide mineralized with arsenopyrite and sphalerite; 44 inches of silicified, lightly mineralized, greenstone; and 2-inch oxidized streak. At the adit location the rocks are shattered and erosion
has occurred in the plane of the vein. The foot-wall " pay-streak," largely oxidized, is in
evidence at the portal and in the face, conditions in the section between being obscured by
timbering. The assay shown on the sketch at the adit location represents a grab sample
from a pile of about 2 tons of mineralized quartz.
Summarizing conditions, the vein at the No. 3 location is well defined, though narrow,
and shows uniformly strong sulphide mineralization throughout the exposure, the ground
being covered at both ends. The " adit vein " shows evidence of continuity in isolated outcrops in the talus along the strike to the west. Both veins lack stibnite, which is present in
small amounts in the shear-zone.
SILVER-COPPER  AND   SILVER-COPPER-LEAD-ZINC   DEPOSITS.
Pacific Great Eastern Railway.
Squamish Area.
This property, in the Vancouver Mining Division, consists of twelve mineral
McVicar-Manson. claims and fractions held by location and owned by J. H. McVicar and J. G.
Manson.    The holdings are situated on the south-western side of Raffuse
(Goat)   Creek, approximately 6.5 miles south 63 degrees east from Squamish, the southerly
terminus of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway.    The claims cover part of the uneven ground
forming the ridge between the Stawamus River and Raffuse Creek and extend along the steep
upper slopes to the latter stream, which is a tributary of the Mamquam River.    The area,
in which elevations range from 2,800 feet to 4,750 feet above sea-level, is heavily timbered on
the lower slopes, the higher ground being covered with irregular wooded patches separated
by open, grassy spaces.    Several small tributaries of Raffuse Creek intersect the claims.
Access is first by means of a logging-road which extends easterly for approximately
2 miles from Squamish to the Mamquam trail, which is then followed for about 2.5 miles
along the southern side of the Mamquam River Valley to the Raffuse Creek branch trail.
This last section, 5 miles in length, roughly estimated, follows the timbered slope along the
south-western side of Raffuse Creek Valley to the cabin. The road, used for truck-haulage,
reaches an elevation of about 130 feet above sea-level at its junction with the Mamquam trail,
which is a fairly good pack-trail. The Raffuse Creek trail is poorly located, being steep,
rough, and rocky, with some unnecessary adverse grades. From the camp, at 2,800 feet
elevation, a steep switchback trail is followed for about 1.5 miles to the upper camp, or tent-
site, at 4,315 feet elevation, which adjoins the principal group of original workings. The
Merrill and Ring logging-railway (standard gauge) serves the Upper Mamquam River
Valley, including the area opposite the outlet of Raffuse Creek.
The area has not yet been geologically mapped, but an opportunity to interpret the local
formations is afforded through the proximity of Geological Survey of Canada Map 199-A,
accompanying Memoir No. 158, " Britannia Beach Map-area," which extends to the headwaters of Indian River, less than 2 miles, roughly estimated, to the south of the property.
The general formation underlying the claims and extending north-westerly over to Ray Creek
consists of a wide belt of Mesozoic volcanics and sedimentaries, probably corresponding to the
Goat Mountain formation of the Britannia group, tentatively referred to the Triassic.
The rocks are largely metamorphosed, the series being enclosed within the Coast Range
batholith. Prominent bluffs and outcrops of granite and granodiorite are exposed adjoining
Howe Sound at Squamish and at points along the road up to 2 miles or more easterly, and
granodiorite is also exposed along the southern side of the Ray Creek Basin about 2 miles
to the north-west of the property. Batholithic rocks, as mapped on the Britannia sheet to
the south and south-west of the ground examined, include granodiorite and quartz diorite, a WESTERN DISTRICT   (No. 6). F 21
large dyke of the latter rock being shown crossing the Indian River near its source. Locally
rock-exposures are comparatively rare, but in outcrops and wherever surface work has been
done the formation consists of greenstone, rusty-weathered and schistose in part, silicification
generally being pronounced in the mineralized sections. The greenstone, probably originally
a porphyritic volcanic rock, is highly metamorphosed and in specimens examined microscopically contains abundant disseminated sulphides with veinlets and irregular masses of
secondary quartz. The ground-mass, too altered for definite determination, is largely feld-
spathic and contains much chloritic and sericitic material. " Ghosts " of original feldspar
phenocrysts are discernible, these being plagioclase. Occasional narrow basic dykes cut the
formation but do not appear to have any economic significance.
The deposits examined are exposed at numerous points within a zone of regional shearing up to 2,300 feet wide and over a length up to 3,000 feet, these being the limits of the
writer's investigation.
Mineralization, largely of replacement type, conforms in general with the planes of
shearing or schistosity which, with rare exceptions, strike north-westerly, dips being from
vertical to steep north-easterly or occasionally steep south-westerly. The associated minerals
are pyrite and chalcopyrite, which, in many places, are accompanied by varying amounts of
sphalerite and galena, the gangue consisting of silicified greenstone. Silver values are low,
the gold content being negligible, judging from the writer's samples. Pyrite and chalcopyrite
mineralization is of widespread occurrence, frequently forming wide showings of fair to good
copper content. Oxidation is local or shallow, being confined to occasional decomposed streaks
or iron-stain. The mineralization, of irregular character, is generally associated with one or
more fractures or planes of shearing, but definite structural boundaries, such as might influence major concentrations, have not yet been revealed by the exploratory work done, much of
which is scattered.
Claims in the Raffuse Creek area were first staked by J. H. McVicar and J. Brown in
1923, and a limited amount of diamond-drilling, comprising all the holes referred to later in
this report, was done on the McVicar-Manson ground by the Britannia Mining and Smelting
Company, Limited, in 1925 and 1928, the option of this company subsequently having been
dropped. Since that time work done by the owners has been confined to annual assessment
requirements.
As no detailed plan is available, the respective positions of the workings will be approximately described in relation to the several claim boundaries. The claims and fractions are
staked along the strike of the major shearing, the ground of chief interest, from south-east
to north-west, being covered successively by the Whistler, Grouse Fraction, Harding, and
Rainstorm, together with the Violet adjoining the Rainstorm to the south-west, the Lily
adjoining the Whistler to the north-east, and the Rose adjoining the Harding to the north-east.
The earlier workings are at 4,300 feet elevation on top of the ridge on the Whistler claim
adjoining the upper camp, or tent-site, which is located at a point approximately 550 feet
from the western boundary and 200 feet from the northern boundary of this claim.
A compass survey of this group of trenches was made as follows: Chaining north 29
degrees west along a base-line from the first trench at point A, trenches B, C, D, and E are
situated at points 23.5, 41.5, 54.5, and 65 feet distant respectively. These trenches extend
approximately at right angles to the general trend of the mineralized zone. Chaining north
70 degrees east along-A trench from zero at A, the first 6-foot section is largely covered with
debris in which ribs of rusty, silicified greenstone are exposed. The next 5-foot section,
adjoining the face, consists first of massive banded galena and sphalerite 1.25 feet wide, the
balance consisting of scattered pyrite and chalcopyrite streaks and oxidized seams. A sample
across the 5 feet assayed: Gold, 0.04 oz. per ton; silver, 1.5 oz. per ton; copper, 1 per cent.;
lead, 5.6 per cent.; zinc, 6 per cent. Chaining north 77 degrees east along B trench from
point B, mineralization, first encountered at 11.5 feet, extends to 21.75 feet, where there is
a northerly-striking, approximately vertical shear. In this section, 10.25 feet wide, there is
first a width of 3.5 feet of heavy sulphide mineralization which assayed: Gold, trace; silver,
2.5 oz. per ton; copper, 3.2 per cent.; lead, trace; zinc, 14.9 per cent. The remaining 6.75
feet consists of silicified, rusty greenstone containing scattered streaks of pyrite, chalcopyrite,
and sphalerite with occasional specks of galena. F 22
REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF MINES, 1937.
The next 21 feet, beyond the shear-wall, consists of silicified greenstone, iron-stained in
part. The last 5-foot section, in which there are disseminated streaks of pyrite and chalcopyrite with masses of sphalerite, assayed: Gold, 0.01 oz. per ton; silver, 1.5 oz. per ton;
copper, 1.7 per cent.; zinc, 39.9 per cent. Chaining north 70 degrees east along C trench
from C, the first 10-foot section, partially exposed, consists of silicified, rusty greenstone.
This is followed by a band, 2.1 feet wide, of massive sulphides consisting chiefly of galena
and sphalerite which assayed: Gold, trace; silver, 1.7 oz. per ton; lead, 25.8 per cent.; zinc,
12 per cent. Chaining north 60 degrees east along D trench from D, there is first a 6-foot
section which is oxidized and partially decomposed. At 6 feet from the initial point there
is an irregularly-dipping, approximately-vertical, shear which strikes north 25 degrees west.
A selected sample from a mineralized streak formed along this shear assayed: Gold, trace;
silver, 1.5 oz. per ton; copper, 1.5 per cent.; lead, 3.9 per cent.; zinc, 4.5 per cent. Beyond
the shear, the next 13-foot section consists of rusty, silicified greenstone containing sparsely-
disseminated sulphides. Between this point and the face, a 6-foot section of irregularly-
disseminated mineralization assayed: Gold, trace; silver, 1.4 oz. per ton; copper, 1.6 per
cent.;   zinc, 3.3 per cent.
E trench, 10 feet long to north 60 degrees east, is largely covered by debris, the face being
in rusty, silicified greenstone with occasional oxidized decomposed streaks. Chaining south
10 degrees east for 23 feet from the eastern end of B trench, there is a small open-cut at F,
elevation 4,320 feet, where a 7-foot width of mineralization is exposed on the south-western
side of a vertical shear striking north 60 degrees west. Of this a 12-inch width of massive
sulphides, immediately adjoining the shear-wall, assayed: Gold, 0.005 oz. per ton; silver,
8.8 oz. per ton; copper, 6.3 per cent.; lead, 69.5 per cent.; zinc, 1.6 per cent.; and the
remaining 6 feet assayed: Gold, trace; silver, 2.8 oz. per ton; copper, nil; lead, 0.6 per cent.;
zinc, 5 per cent. Chaining south 55 degrees east 22 feet from this open-cut, a long trench is
intersected at point G, elevation 4,320 feet. From G this trench extends north 55 degrees
east for 15.5 feet to H, then north 80 degrees .east for 34 feet to J, and finally north 70'
degrees east for 27 feet to K. The continuation of this trench extends south 55 degrees west
for 20 feet from point G, which is the centre of a 4.75-foot width of vertical north-westerly-
striking mineralization made up of massive streaks of galena and sphalerite, with scattered
streaks of pyrite and chalcopyrite and oxidized decomposed seams. A sample across the
width specified assayed: Gold, trace; silver, 3.5 oz. per ton; copper, 3.3 per cent.; lead, 14.5
per cent.;   zinc, 14.4 per cent.
Another section of interest cut by the trench begins at a point 9 feet north 80 degrees
east from H. This is the western side of a 12-foot width of irregular mineralization associated with northerly-striking, approximately-vertical fracturing. A sample taken across
12 feet on the southern side of the trench, where the mineralization is noticeably stronger
than on the opposite side, assayed: Gold, trace; silver, 2.8 oz. per ton; copper, 4.9 per cent.;
lead, 2.7 per cent.; zinc, 7.4 per cent. In other parts of the trench there is exposed rusty
silicified greenstone which, in the most easterly course, is sparsely mineralized with scattered
sulphides.    Easterly from this trench the ground falls off steeply towards Raffuse Creek.
To test the downward and lateral continuity of the above-described group of trenches,
three diamond-drill holes were put down in 1928, the boxed cores remaining on the ground.
New showings, recently opened up by the owners, are situated on the Lily claim about 1,400
feet north-easterly from the previously-described trench-workings on the Whistler claim.
In this new location at point L, elevation 4,220 feet, on the timbered ground sloping gently
towards Raffuse Creek, a trench extends easterly for a length of 25 feet, crosscutting a
mineralized zone associated with planes of shearing which strike north 25 degrees west with
70-degree north-easterly dips. This showing, irregularly mineralized with banded streaks,
masses, and disseminations of pyrite and chalcopyrite, was sampled along the southern side
of the trench in 5-foot sections, which, from east to west, assayed as follows:—
Gold.
Silver.
Copper.
Gold.
Silver.
Copper.
Oz. per Ton.
Trace
Trace
Trace
Oz. per Ton.
1.0
1.4
1.8
Per Cent.
0.9
2.4
6.6
Oz. per Ton.
Trace
Trace
Oz. per Ton.
1.8
1.2
Per Cent.
7.6
5.8 WESTERN DISTRICT  (No. 6). F 23
On the northern side of the trench the sulphide content is noticeably lower and a sample
taken across that side would probably reduce the average values. The total width of the
exposure, at right angles to the strike, would be 22.5 feet, reducing each sampled section
to 4.5 feet actual width. No work has been done to trace the continuity of this showing
along the strike, but going north 25 degrees west, 26 feet from the trench, there is an outcrop,
6 by 4 feet, of silicified greenstone, rusty-weathered in part, containing scattered streaks of
pyrite and chalcopyrite. Going south 25 degrees east for 35 feet from the trench, there is
a small outcrop of similar silicified rock, no mineralization being apparent. It is to be noted,
however, that in this vicinity, as at other points on the claims, the mineralized host-rock
is capped with from a few inches to 1 foot or more of white, bleached rock, which, when
broken into, generally reveals sulphide occurrences.
On a local bench, about 160 feet east of L trench and at 4,180 feet elevation, a trench
extends easterly for 20 feet from point M. In the westerly 15-foot section of this trench
the silicified greenstone is irregularly mineralized, chiefly with pyrite and chalcopyrite,
some galena and sphalerite being present in places. A chip sample across this 15-foot
section, which is associated with irregular fracturing apparently striking about north 20
degrees west with uncertain dip, assayed: Gold, trace; silver, 2 oz. per ton; copper, 5.2
per cent,; lead, 2.6 per cent.; zinc, 1.1 per cent. Chaining along the bench north 15 degrees
west for 60 feet from point M, a trench extends easterly for 10 feet from point N. The
silicified host-rock is similarly mineralized, but includes a band of massive galena, up to
4 inches wide, at a point 4 feet from the eastern end of the trench, which has not reached
the limits of the mineralization in this direction. The western end, at point N, is bounded
by a smooth wall striking north 20 degrees east with 85-degree south-easterly dip, shearing
planes within the exposure being parallel. A chip sample across the 10 feet assayed: Gold,
trace; silver, 1 oz. per ton; copper, 1 per cent.; lead, 11.1 per cent.; zinc, 1.3 per cent.;
and a selected sample from the galena-streak gave: Gold, trace; silver, 3 oz. per ton; copper,
nil;  lead, 66.4 per cent.;  zinc, 5 per cent.
Chaining along the narrowing bench north 11 degrees east for 39 feet from point N, a
trench extends easterly for 10 feet from point O. Its western end is bounded by a smooth
wall striking north 20 degrees east with 65-degree south-easterly dip. Conditions of mineralization here resemble those in N trench, there being a galena-streak near the centre of the
showing. A chip sample across the 10 feet assayed: Gold, trace; silver, 1 oz. per ton;
copper, 0.9 per cent.; lead, 1.6 per cent.; zinc, 5.9 per cent. Mineralization may extend
beyond the eastern end where the rock is covered. Streaks and narrow bands of red jasper
are associated with the silicification in this trench.
A point 10 feet north 20 degrees east of the eastern end of O trench marks the western
extremity of a narrow, partly-oxidized outcrop 20 feet long, disseminated pyrite and
chalcopyrite mineralization being present where the shallow, bleached capping has been
lightly broken into.
At 4,165 feet elevation, 100 feet east of M trench and on the edge of the steep slope
to Raffuse Creek, there is a small open-cut at P. Here there is exposed heavy pyrite mineralization, with light chalcopyrite, in silicified greenstone. A sample across this showing,
2.5 feet wide, which is associated with approximately vertical shearing striking north 30
degrees west, gave:   Gold, trace;   silver, 0.5 oz. per ton;   copper, 1.1 per cent.
From P chaining north 30 degrees west for 55 feet a small excavation at Q has been
made exposing a 4-foot width of rusty-weathered rock containing oxidized, decomposed
streaks. Continuing along the same bearing for 25 feet from Q and at 4,170 feet elevation,
there is a small outcrop mineralized with streaks and bands of pyrite with accompanying
chalcopyrite. On the Rose claim, at 4,140 feet elevation and 600 feet (paced) along a north
25 degrees west bearing from Q, there is, at point R, an outcrop of white bleached rock,
10 feet long and up to 6 feet wide, which is well mineralized with chalcopyrite where it
has been lightly broken into at both extremities. A sample across 2 feet at the southern
end of this capping assayed: Gold, trace; silver, 4 oz. per ton; copper, 12.5 per cent.
Continuity of this occurrence is indicated by closely-spaced outcrops, well mineralized with
chalcopyrite in places, for an additional length of 90 feet going north 15 degrees west,
which bearing appears to mark the strike, the dip being uncertain but apparently steep,
approximating vertical.    The " R " line of outcrops is along the edge of the bench where F 24 REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF MINES, 1937.
the ground breaks away steeply towards Raffuse Creek. Discussing the above-described
new discoveries on the Lily claim and their indicated extension on to the Rose claim, an
excellent opportunity is afforded for systematic prospecting, the overburden being generally
light.
The area in the vicinity of the convergence of the north-westerly and north-easterly
shearing warrants intensive surface exploration, some continuity of the mineralization
associated with the converging fractures being indicated. It is probable that much more
mineralization could be exposed through closely-spaced trenching carried across the full
width of mineralized occurrences.
Other showings examined are as follows: At 4,320 feet elevation on the Grouse Fraction
claim and on the side-hill just above a local bench, south 10 degrees east 70 feet from the
stake marking the centre of the southern boundary of the Harding claim, an open-cut at S
exposed a patch, 8 by 10 feet, of oxidized, highly-silicified rock containing scattered disseminations of pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, and sphalerite. This showing, the structure of
which is uncertain, underlies in part a 2-foot dyke of fine-grained porphyritic rock which
strikes easterly and dips southerly at 50 degrees. At 4,290 feet elevation, on the Harding
claim 50 feet north-west of the same stake, a small cut exposes a 15-inch width of pyrite-
chalcopyrite mineralization associated with a vertical shear striking north 25 degrees west.
A sample across the width specified assayed: Gold, trace; silver, 2 oz. per ton; copper, 7.4
per cent. At 4,255 feet elevation, 60 feet north 25 degrees west from the last described
location, there is a 2-foot width of sparsely-disseminated iron and copper sulphides, no
definite shearing being exposed.
At 4,130 feet elevation, going north 25 degrees west for 225 feet (paced), similar
sulphides are distributed in alternating narrow bands over a width up to 3.5 feet. This
showing adjoins an apparent fault striking north 75 degrees west with 70-degree southwesterly dip. At 4,030 feet elevation, 125 feet north 25 degrees west from the last-described
showing, there is an open-cut with a rock-face 8 feet wide and up to 11 feet high. The
exposure here comprises two bands of mineralization, 2.5 and 3 feet wide respectively,
separated by 2.5 feet of rusty-weathered rock. These bands are heavily sheared along a
north 25 degrees west strike and vertical dip and contain alternating streaks of pyrite and
oxidized material, jasper being present in small amounts in the siliceous gangue. A diamond-
drill hole was put down under this showing. At 3,980 feet elevation, 60 feet away along
the same north 25 degrees west bearing, there is an open-cut with a face 10 feet wide and
up to 12 feet high. This showing, associated with indefinite, north-westerly-striking shearing
with steep north-easterly dip, includes a 5-foot section on the hanging-wall side made up of
pyrite in masses and closely-spaced banded streaks. In the floor on both sides of the cut
there are small massive occurrences of pyrite and chalcopyrite. Selected chalcopyrite
assayed: Gold, trace; silver, 3 oz. per ton; copper, 19.6 per cent. Two diamond-drill holes
were put down under this open-cut.
At 3,900 feet elevation and 150 feet north 25 degrees west from the last-described
location there is an open-cut which extends northerly for 32 feet. Of this the southerly 20-
foot section, containing scattered streaks and disseminations of pyrite and chalcopyrite,
is associated with shearing striking north 25 degrees west with 65- to 70-dgree south-westerly
dip. At 3,875 feet elevation and 50 feet north-westerly from the last-described showing
there is an open-cut extending north for 30 feet which also cuts diagonally across similar
sparse mineralization, chiefly pyrite, associated with indefinite shearing striking northwesterly with steep south-westerly dip. At 3,850 feet elevation and 30 feet farther to the
north-west generally similar conditions are exposed in an open-cut, where, however, there
is some appreciable oxidation associated with streaks of pyrite. All the above-described
showings on the Harding claim are on ground sloping from moderately to steeply to the
north-west.
On the Violet claim, at a point on a line bisecting it from north-east to south-west and
approximately 500 feet from the Harding boundary, stripping has been done, at 3,880 feet
elevation, on the edge of the steep northerly slope. In this exposure, which trends north 80
degrees east for a length of 12 feet, no definite shearing is in evidence, but the strike of the
banding of the  silicification  and  accompanying  sulphides  is northerly with  a  70-degree WESTERN DISTRICT   (No. 6). F 25
westerly dip.    A sample across the  central 4.5-foot section, where the mineralization is
comparatively concentrated, assayed:   Gold, trace;   silver, 2 oz. per ton;   copper, 7 per cent.
At 3,885 feet elevation, and 25 feet to the west of the last-described stripping, sparsely-
disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite are exposed in an outcrop 10 feet long extending to
north 80 degrees east, the mineralization being somewhat concentrated over the westerly
4.75 feet of the showing, which is apparently associated with shearing striking north 15
degrees west and dipping westerly at 70 degrees. The remaining portion of the exposure is
composed of the usual bleached capping. At another point on the same claim, about 430
feet northerly from the last previously described location, and at 3,750 feet elevation, there
is, in a small cut, a 12-inch width of mineralization adjoining an irregular wall striking about
north 15 degrees west with steep westerly dip, a sample of which assayed: Gold, trace;
silver, 1 oz. per ton;  copper, 2.4 per cent.
In the north-westerly corner of the Harding claim, at 3,000 feet elevation, there are
disseminations of pyrite and chalcopyrite over a width up to 8 feet. No structural boundaries
are exposed, but the mineralization follows the usual northerly to north-westerly trend,
diamond-drilling also having been done in this vicinity.
Another location, adjoining which two diamond-drill holes were put down, is known as the
" iron showing," which is situated on the gentle northerly slope on the Rainstorm claim close
to its southern boundary and adjoining the No. 1 post of the Harding claim. Here there
is a 9-foot width of heavy mineralization, chiefly pyrite, which is associated with shearing
striking north 20 degrees west with 70-degree easterly dip. A sample across the 9 feet
assayed: Gold, trace; silver, 0.6 oz. per ton; copper, 1.6 per cent. In addition to those
described, other showings are reported as being situated at scattered points on the various
claims comprising the group.
Summarizing conditions, mineralization, more especially pyrite and chalcopyrite, has
been found at numerous, frequently widely-separated, points in the greenstone, which, except
for the narrow dykes previously mentioned, is the only rock-type seen during the writer's
examination. A large amount of useful prospecting remains to be done, which, if successful
in revealing important mineral concentrations, could be followed by underground work to test
continuity at depth. This would be more conclusive than diamond-drilling in an area where
deposits appear to be generally lenticular or irregular in outline. In this connection the
new showings on the Lily and Rose claims afford interesting objectives for initial efforts.
This group of five claims, in the Vancouver Mining Division, is held by
Christina.       location and owned by Basil Zurbriggen.    The claims adjoin the Whistler
and Heather claims of the McVicar-Manson property to the south and
south-east and are situated about 7.5 miles south 60 degrees east from Squamish.
The superficial workings examined are on the uneven ground forming part of the ridge
between Indian River and Raffuse (Goat) Creek, and on the upper slopes overlooking the
latter stream to the north-east. The area is covered by wooded patches separated by open,
grassy spaces, elevations ranging from 4,500 to 4,800 feet above sea-level. The temporary
camp, or tent-site, at 4,550 feet elevation, is reached by a short extension of the trail southeasterly from the upper camp of the McVicar-Manson group at 4,320 feet elevation. General
means of access and transportation facilities have been described in the foregoing report on
the latter property.
The formation in which the deposits are found, consisting of greenstone, schistose or
sheared in part, and chloritic schist, is part of the same wide belt of Mesozoic rocks, probably
members of the Goat Mountain formation of the Britannia group, tentatively assigned to
the Triassic. These rocks are sheared along planes striking northerly with steep easterly
dips. A thin section of the greenstone examined under the microscope was found to be a
very fine-grained rock composed of chlorite, sericite, and indeterminable material, being too
highly altered for definite determination. The specimen contained veinlets and irregular
masses of quartz, disseminated sulphides being present in abundance. The workings expose
mineralization of replacement-type, conforming in general to the shearing planes of the
enclosing rocks, the associated minerals being pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and, rarely,
galena.    Silicification is less in evidence than at the adjoining property.
The claims were staked in 1937 and the work done consists of a few trenches and open-
cuts.
3 F 26 REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF MINES, 1937.
Commencing at the northerly end of the showings examined, there is, at 4,720 feet
elevation, an open-cut in rusty-weathered greenstone containing scattered disseminations and
streaks of pyrite adjoining a fracture striking north and dipping at 65 degrees to the east,
the mineralization being distributed over a width of several feet on both sides of the fracture,
though silicification of the rock is restricted to the western side of the exposure. At the
same elevation and 200 feet southerly, on a small bench adjoining a pond, there is a trench
extending east-west for a length of 20 feet. Similar rock here is silicified and mineralized
with widely-separated streaks of mixed pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and galena, the
sulphides being somewhat more concentrated over the 6-foot central portion of the 20-foot
showing. A selected sample of the better material assayed: Gold, 0.02 oz. per ton; silver,
6.2 oz. per ton; copper, 1.6 per cent.; lead, 11 per cent.; zinc, 16.5 per cent. In a bare
outcrop just north of the trench no mineralization is in evidence. At 4,715 feet elevation,
and 35 feet to the south of the trench, there is a small open-cut exposing similar silicified
rock, schistose in part, containing widely-separated sulphide-streaks, chiefly composed of
sphalerite. At 4,500 feet elevation, and 500 feet easterly from the 20-foot trench, there is
a small open-cut exposing similar sparse mineralization in shattered, silicified greenstone,
from which a grab sample of the better material assayed: Gold, trace; silver, 0.6 oz. per ton;
copper, 0.2 per cent.; zinc, 4.2 per cent. Between the latter point and the 20-foot trench,
quartzite, containing finely-disseminated specks of pyrite, is exposed in a shallow cut. At the
time of the writer's examination in September, 1937, no mineral concentrations of importance
had been indicated by the limited amount of prospecting done, the results, however, considered
with the McVivar-Manson showings, demonstrating the widespread nature of the generally
irregular mineralization.
This group of eight claims, in the Vancouver Mining Division, is held by
Ray Creek. location in the name of J. H. Crane, of Vancouver. The property is
situated approximately 4 miles south 80 degrees east from Squamish, the
southern terminus of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway. The claims cover the basin at the
head of Ray Creek and the adjacent ground sloping westerly towards the Stawamus River, of
which Ray Creek is a small tributary with a steep gradient. Elevations range from 3,200 feet
at the camp buildings to 4,020 feet at the uppermost showing examined in the basin, surrounding
which the ground rises steeply to an elevation of about 4,500 feet. The area is well wooded, the
larger trees, up to 4 feet in diameter, being chiefly larch and hemlock, with some yellow
cedar at higher levels. Access is first by logging (truck) road for about 2.6 miles easterly
from Squamish to a point adjacent to the city power plant on the Stawamus River; thence
by steep pack-trail, approximately 2.5 miles long, to the camp. The workings in the upper
part of the basin are reached by an extension of this trail about 1 mile in length.
The deposits occur in pale-green tuffaceous schist which is part of a wide belt of altered
volcanics and sedimentaries which strike north-westerly, local dips being steep south-westerly.
The area has not yet been mapped geologically, but from its proximity to Geological Survey of
Canada Map No. 158, " Britannia Beach Map-area," it can reasonably be inferred that the
local rocks are members of the Goat Mountain formation of the Britannia group, tentatively
referred to the Triassic. The schists are intruded by granodiorite of the Coast Range batholith which outcrops along the south-western side of the Ray Creek Basin, apparently representing the north-eastern margin of the wide band of granitic rocks flanking the head of
Howe Sound, as indicated by Camsell in Geological Survey, Canada, Publication No. 1711,
" Diagram showing the geology along the route traversed by the Pacific Great Eastern
Railway between Squamish and Lillooet, British Columbia." Microscopic examination of
specimens of the host-rock, taken from several points, indicate that it is tuff, highly altered
in part, being a fine-grained rock composed essentially of feldspar and quartz, both occurring
in all variations from anhedral crystals to broken fragments. Feldspar, largely plagioclase,
predominates and is quite altered. Fine sericite is common. The mineralized schists form
a belt, up to 1,450 feet wide, roughly paralleling the granodiorite-contact and lying between it
and sedimentary strata, including quartzites, slates, and conglomerates.
The schists are frequently impregnated with pyrite in zones of shearing which
correspond in general to the bedding or schistosity of the rocks. The iron sulphide is
accompanied in places by chalcopyrite and occasionally sphalerite. Of two polished sections
prepared from selected mineralized specimens, one section consisted of massive pyrite, highly WESTERN DISTRICT   (No. 6). F 27
shattered in places and veined and replaced by chalcopyrite. About 5 per cent, of the pyrite
occurred surrounded by chalcopyrite, which was minus 200 mesh in size. The other section
showed disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite in a siliceous gangue, the former being present
in greater abundance. In this case the two sulphides were not intimately associated, about
15 per cent, of the chalcopyrite present being minus 200 mesh in size. In the few selective
samples taken by the writer, gold values were a trace, silver ranged from 1 to 5 oz. to the
ton, and the copper content varied from 2.3 to 10.9 per cent. One assay included 2 per cent,
zinc.
The ground was staked by O. W. Rafuse in 1924. The Radiant Copper Company, formed
in 1928, was dissolved in 1932. An electrical (Radiore) survey was made in 1929 and the
work done since has largely been directed towards testing the " conductors" indicated
graphically on a plan and marked on the ground. The McKinnon group, adjoining the Ray
Creek property to the west, was diamond-drilled in 1927, this area being off the strike of the
deposits dealt with in this report.
The following description of conditions is based on the Radiore plan which was used to
identify the various workings. Commencing at the north-westerly extremity of the ground
examined, and at 3,465 feet elevation, a long northerly-extending trench exposed a wide
pyritized zone in schist, the iron sulphide being highly concentrated over a width of 15 feet.
Going north-westerly down the medium slope for approximately 100 feet to 3,450 feet
elevation there is an adit 10 feet long extending south-easterly. This working is in heavily
pyritized rock, up to 10 feet wide at the portal, chalcopyrite being in evidence at widely-
separated points in the floor of the adit where the sulphides are intimately associated. At
'3,560 feet elevation, 765 feet south 43 degrees 30 minutes east from the mineralized section
of the long trench, and on the southern side of the bed of Ray Creek, there is a caved cut
adjacent to the granodiorite-contact, the dump here including a pile of about 1 ton of
quartzose material containing disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite. A grab sample from
this pile assayed: Gold, trace; silver, 4 oz. per ton; copper, 10.9 per cent. A point in the
creek-bed, at 3,880 feet elevation, 1,060 feet north 60 degrees 30 minutes east from the caved
cut, and 180 feet up-stream from a waterfall, mai-ks the centre between two adjoining adits,
situated on the northern and southern banks of the creek respectively.
The adits are 50 feet apart along the north 30 degrees west trend of the sheared rock, the
dip being south-westerly at 70 degrees. The northern adit, driven 10 feet as a crosscut to
north 60 degrees east, is just reaching solid rock. The southern adit is a drift to south 30
degrees east, said to be 20 feet long, the inner 10 feet being caved. In the accessible section
the rock is pyritized and silicified in part, and a grab sample from a small pile of the better
material derived from this working assayed: Gold, trace; silver, 5 oz. per ton; copper,
9.9 per cent.
In the basin, 380 feet along a bearing of south 27 degrees 30 minutes east from the last
point adopted for descriptive purposes, and at 3,920 feet elevation, there is the collar of a
vertical shaft which, lagged and half-full of water, is said to be 50 feet deep, 47 feet of
which was through overburden. Rock on the dump, derived from the bottom of the shaft
and containing finely-disseminated pyrite, is similar to the prevailing schist but more massive.
Continuing along the basin, and at 3,935 feet elevation, 1,450 feet south 36 degrees 30 minutes
east from the last-described point, there is located the collar of a vertical shaft, now full of
water, but said to be 30 feet deep, of which the first 20 feet was through overburden. A
selected sample of schist, containing abundant pyrite and lesser chalcopyrite, from the
dump assayed:   Gold, trace;   silver, 1 oz. per ton;   copper, 2.3 per cent.
This location is not far from bluffs of granodiorite which, 250 feet on a bearing of south
35 degrees east from the shaft-collar, is cut by a prominent and wide south-easterly-striking,
approximately vertical fracture. At 3,940 feet elevation, and 30 feet north of the last-
mentioned shaft location, there is the collar of an 18-foot vertical shaft, now full of water.
At 4,020 feet elevation, near the head of the basin, and adjoining Ray Creek near its
source, or 1,675 feet measured along a bearing of south 70 degrees east from the 30-foot
shaft-collar, there is a shallow caved cut. A selected sample of material derived from this
cut, consisting of disseminated pyrite, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite in the schistose gangue,
assayed:   Gold, trace;   silver, 2 oz. per ton;   copper, 5.1 per cent.;  zinc, 2 per cent. F 28 REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF MINES, 1937.
A short distance easterly, up-stream from this cut, there appears to be a change of
formation, judging from the evidence of boulders and shattered masses of coarse breccia.
Summarizing conditions, mineralization, chiefly consisting of pyrite with occasional
chalcopyrite, has been found where the rock has been exposed at widely-separated points in
an area up to 1,050 feet wide and over a length of 4,700 feet, this area being roughly parallel
with the north-westerly trend of the granodiorite-contact. Much ground, covered with overburden, remains to be prospected.
Mainland Coast.
Pender Harbour-Sakinaw Lake Area.
This group, in the Vancouver Mining Division, consists of seven mineral
Cambrian       claims held by location and owned by F. Klein and associates.    The property
Chieftain.        is situated about 4 miles north-easterly from the head of Pender Harbour,
which  latter  point is  approximately  46  miles  north-westerly from Vancouver.    The showings, at about 3,200 feet elevation, are on flat to gently-sloping ground,
forming the top of the ridge, and adjoin the general steep slope westerly to the " foot-hill"
country which extends between Pender  Harbour and  Sakinaw Lake.    The mountain-sides
below the claims have been logged off and burned over, but the property includes a good stand
of hemlock, white fir, cedar, and cypress.    On the flat area back of, or easterly from, the
claims there is a large aggregate acreage of shallow to moderately-deep lakes which are
drained by Anderson and Chieftain Creeks.    The former stream, which flows into Pender
Harbour, carries a large volume of water during part of the year, presenting power possibilities since it falls over 2,400 feet to the low ground bordering the coast in a comparatively
short distance.    Chieftain Creek, which passes within 300 yards of the cabin and flows into
Sakinaw Lake, is said to be torrential in the spring season.
Present means of access is by a trail which leads from Kleindale, at the head of Pender
Harbour, over the low, irregular ground, dotted with granite knolls, for a distance of about
3 miles to the foot of the mountain. From this point a switchback trail extends up the steep
ground for possibly half the way up to the cabin, the trail not having been completed. Pender
Harbour is a port of call for boats of the Union Steamship Company, the current service being
three times weekly. The " Harbour " is a narrow inlet with deep water for about 3 miles
from its entrance. As yet there is no dock near the head of this inlet, but one is said to be
planned, and a partially-constructed road extends from its proposed site to a connection with
a completed section of the road being built along the coast, which will eventually connect
Powell River and North Vancouver. An old skid-road, which could probably be converted
into a truck-road without much expense, could be utilized and extended in planning improved
transportation to the foot of the mountain below the Cambrian Chieftain group.
The deposits occur in a zone of alteration bordering a band of limestone which is part
of an extensive belt of Mesozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks included within the Coast
Range batholith. A mass of great volume is indicated by the roof-pendant formation which
locally strikes northerly with vertical or steep dips to the east. Along the route followed by
the trail, granite extends north-easterly from Pender Harbour up to approximately the 1,500-
foot contour and the intruded rocks rise to about 3,300 feet elevation. To what depth the
latter may extend is not known, but judging from their areal extent and the presence of
remnants of calcareous strata at 425 feet elevation on the King Midas prospect, adjoining
Sakinaw Lake, they might bottom at or near sea-level. In the vicinity of the showings the
limestone-band is some distance, probably from 1,500 to 2,000 feet, easterly from the granite
body, being separated from it by a belt of silicified rocks, believed to be altered volcanics.
There is a belt of greenstone, a mile wide or more, to the east of the limestone. The latter,
including the altered zone bordering its western side, is apparently about 200 feet wide. It
strikes from north 7 degrees east to north 10 degrees east and dips from vertical to steeply
to the east. The full width of the altered and mineralized zone is not exposed, but in places
it appears to be 100 feet wide or more. It has been definitely traced for a length of 1,100
feet and, judging from widely-separated outcrops, extends for an additional length of 2,000
feet or more.
In this zone there is a considerable development of epidote and garnetite, with, in places,
much magnetite, and cutting it and the mineralization there are numerous  dykes, mostly WESTERN DISTRICT   (No. 6). F 29
narrow, which strike north-westerly with vertical or steep south-westerly dips. The dykes
are all more or less altered, the narrow ones grading from andesite porphyry to greenstone.
The 15-foot dyke, shown west of the cabin on the accompanying sketch, approaches porphyritic
diorite in composition. A thin section of this rock, examined microscopically, consisted of a
medium- to fine-grained feldspathic ground-mass composed largely of plagioclase laths and
containing altered phenocrysts of plagioclase. Masses of chlorite, biotite, and epidote probably mark sites of original phenocrysts.
In the northern section of the workings, mineralization, of replacement type, chiefly consists of chalcopyrite in bands and lenticular masses, or streaks and disseminations, accompanied in places by pyrite and occasionally by minor amounts of sphalerite, the altered gangue
including epidote and garnetite with little or no magnetite. A polished section of selected
mineralization, examined under the microscope, was found to consist of chalcopyrite as relatively large irregular masses and veinlets in a siliceous gangue, a few grains of sphalerite
occurring with the chalcopyrite.
Selected chalcopyrite assayed: Gold, 0.02 oz. per ton; silver, 10.4 oz. per ton; copper,
24.4 per cent.; and other samples indicate consistently fair silver values associated with the
copper sulphide. Going towards the southern extremity of the exposures there are extensive
areas of mineralization, including segregations of magnetite, separate zones of pyrite and
sphalerite, and finally pyrite containing scattered or lightly-disseminated chalcopyrite.
Oxidation is generally light or shallow, the primary minerals being exposed at most points
where work has been done.
Copper ore was first discovered by Fred Klein late in 1934, when the first claims were
staked. Subsequently a limited amount of surface work was done and in November, 1935,
three diamond-drill holes, aggregating 140 feet in length, were put down to test the better
showings. In the summer of 1937 the property was optioned by the Sheep Creek Gold Mines,
Limited, and an aggregate amount of about 90 feet of underground work is reported to have
been done at two points, this being since the time of the writer's examination.
No underground work had been done at the time of the writer's visit in May, 1937, and
the mineralized areas were only indicated or partially exposed by the superficial workings.
Referring to the accompanying plan, the salient features, described from north to south,
are as follows: At point A three closely-spaced open-cuts expose a band of massive chalcopyrite, 8 to 18 inches wide and 25 feet long. The adjacent cut, immediately to the north,
shows a lens of chalcopyrite up to 2 feet wide. The pit at B, partially filled with snow when
examined, but said to be 18 feet deep, was made by enlarging a natural crevice or small cave.
Here the massive chalcopyrite, up to 3 feet wide, is continuously exposed between two dykes,
6 feet apart, and its extension in the form of narrow lenses or banded streaks is indicated
beyond the dykes, more especially going southerly to the open-cut situated between B and C
locations. At C a large open-cut had just reached the western edge of a zone of mineralization, up to 17 feet wide, including a width of 10.5 inches of practically massive chalcopyrite,
the length of the latter being 21 feet going northerly to a dyke. In the opposite or southerly
direction the big showing splits up into bands and streaks of chalcopyrite extending towards
the open-cuts at E and F and the shallow pit at D. In this vicinity there is indicated a zone
of chalcopyrite mineralization, chiefly disseminated, over a width up to 50 feet, the rocks not
being exposed beyond these limits.
At points G and H shallow cuts expose oxidized capping containing disseminated chalcopyrite and pyrite, the showing at G being 3 feet wide and adjoining marbleized limestone to
the east. Going southerly, between point H and the southern margin of the sketch, extensive
areas of mineralization, adjoining or adjacent to the 15-foot dyke previously mentioned, are
indicated by partial exposures in stripping and open-cuts. The approximate distribution of
the mineralization is shown on the plan, magnetite areas being distinguished from pyritic
zones and from pyrite-sphalerite exposures. The sphalerite occurs disseminated through the
pyrite and separately in considerable masses.
Summarizing conditions, the limited amount of work done has exposed chalcopyrite
mineralization at numerous points, more especially in the northerly 480-foot section of the
altered zone, only part of its total width of 100 feet, or more, having been superficially tested
at a limited number of points. An initial development programme, including crosscutting of
the full width of the zone, followed by drifting at points where copper mineralization is con- 5£
El.3160'
Area in which
Chalcopyrite occurs   J
in lenses & streaks
or   disseminations
Width    Oz.Gold   Oz.Silver %Copper
0.7' 1.5        Tr. 7.5 22.6
Selected
Tr.
7.5
18.3
8'
Tr.
6.3
16.5
'S elected
Tr.
10.4
24.4
'       6'
Tr.
10.0
15.0
LEGEND
C~T~^>
JAndesite porphyry to greenstone
\Porphyritic diorite (?)
El. 3200' -$F
f#
Chiefly pyrite
and sphalerite
Chiefly pyrite
with scattered
chalcopyrite
El.3200
> Magnetite
pen-cut
Stripping
Dykes
Massive chalcopyrite
Mineralized areas (disseminated
chalcopyrite except where
differentiated)
Formation is altered zone in limestone,
marked by extensive developement of epidote
and garnetite, but includes occasional small
areas of marbleized limestone. Dykes are
vertical  except where  dips are shown.
Description
of sample
Grab
Oz.Gold  Oz.Silver %Copper %Zinc
Tr. Tr. 1.15 2,1
Selected
Tr.
Tr.
56.6
Grab
Tr.
Tr.
0.02
El. 3200
Pyrite &
occasional   <
chalcopyrite
El. 3122'
r oEI.3166'
Magnetite J  /;•}[
/.v.v.7
□ Cabin
Scale
50
25
Feet
/•?*]    Pyrite &
>•'.. V      r^rplv
rarely
>iilJ chalcopyrite
Cambrian Chieftain.    Plan of workings. WESTERN DISTRICT   (No. 6). F 31
centrated, would indicate the possibilities of this property. The property is well situated for
cheap transportation, conditions being ideal for an aerial tram from the vicinity of the
workings to the foot of the mountain. Construction of a road is under consideration to
complete connection of the latter point with the proposed wharf-site on Pender Harbour.
This group of eight claims, in the Vancouver Mining Division, is owned by
King Midas. W. Klein, D. Jeremiason, and associates. The property is within a quarter
of a mile of the south-eastern side of Sakinaw Lake, apparently in the
vicinity of Lot 4695, or about 48 miles north-westerly from Vancouver. The workings, at
elevations of from 425 to 500 feet elevation, are just below the brow of a hill and at the
top of the wooded ground sloping gently towards the lake. Access is from Kleindale, at the
head of Pender Harbour, first westerly for 0.75 mile along the Government road, then by trail
1.75 miles in length.
Granite, grading into granodiorite, apparently underlies all or most of the area between
Pender Harbour and the surface workings which develop mineralization along the irregular
contact of the granitic formation with a zone of alteration in a calcareous remnant of roof-
pendant rocks. The local trend of the contact is from north 65 degrees east to east. There
is much overburden in the vicinity of the workings, which are closely spaced, and the general
extent of the zone of alteration was not ascertained.
Where exposed it is composed largely of epidote, garnetite, and calcite, with scattered
streaks and small masses of magnetite. In this matrix there are irregular, scattered streaks
of chalcopyrite and pyrite, with occasional pockety occurrences of native copper in thin fernlike plates in cleavage-planes of the altered rock. The average copper content of the showings is evidently very light. Selected chalcopyrite assayed: Gold, 0.02 oz. per ton; silver,
11 oz. per ton; copper, 17.2 per cent. A polished section of specimen material, examined
under the microscope, consisted largely of chalcopyrite containing fairly abundant hematite
in the form of elongated radiating crystals. A few grains of magnetite and pyrite were ■
also noted.
At 425 feet elevation, and just below the low bluffs forming the summit, the principal
working is an open-cut extending 35 feet to south 30 degrees east, the depth at the face being
25 feet. This first crosscuts altered calcareous rock, silicified in part, for 18 feet, the inner
17-foot length being irregularly mineralized with scattered streaks of chalcopyrite, together
with occasional light scales of native copper, in the gangue of contact metamorphic minerals
previously specified, with, in addition, fairly abundant calcite.
The stratification of the original rock is obscure, but the mineralization is associated with
closely-spaced, irregular fractures, which strike easterly and dip northerly at steep angles.
A grab sample from a pile of a few tons of the better material assayed: Gold, trace; silver,
trace; copper, 10.5 per cent. Selected mixed chalcopyrite and pyrite assayed: Gold, 0.02 oz.
per ton; silver, 11 oz. per ton; copper, 17.2 per cent.; and rock containing native copper
gave: Gold, trace; silver, trace; copper, 0.6 per cent. At 460 feet elevation two open-cuts,
50 and 60 feet easterly, respectively, from the face of the big cut, expose the contact-zone
with mineralization of the same general character but more irregular and indefinite. At 500
feet elevation and 70 feet westerly from the face of the big cut there is an open-cut in altered
granitic rock containing indefinite and widely-separated streaks and stringers of epidote and
magnetite, chalcopyrite being rare. A selected sample from this location assayed: Gold,
0.02 oz. per ton; silver, 6 oz. per ton; copper, 16.8 per cent. Below the showings adjoining
the granitic formation the rocks are covered with deep overburden on the gentle slope towards
the lake.
CINNABAR DEPOSITS.
Bridge River Area.
The property of this syndicate, in the Lillooet Mining Division, is known as
Conardon the Lillomer group and consists of five claims held by location, the owners
Mercury Mines,     being C. E.  Cartwright and associates.    The claims are situated on the
north-eastern side of Pearson Creek, 3 miles north-westerly from the southern end of Tyaughton Lake. The workings, at elevations ranging from 6,900 to 7,100 feet,
are situated on open ground above timber-line, the locally gentle, southerly slope being covered
with grass and a scattered, shrub-like growth of small evergreens.    They adjoin a shallow, F 32 REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF MINES, 1937.
dry ravine trending southerly, slopes varying from 25 to 30 degrees in the vicinity of the
workings becoming steeper at lower elevations.
The camp, in wooded ground at 6,200 feet elevation, is reached by pack-trail, 3 miles in
length, which leaves the Tyaughton Lake Road at a point about half a mile south of the lake.
From the camp a switchback trail on a good grade extends to the adit at 6,900 feet elevation.
The section of the Tyaughton Lake Road giving access to the Pearson Creek Trail is about
4 miles in length. It branches off the Bridge River Road east of the Pearson Ponds at a point
about 33.5 miles from Bridge River Station on the Pacific Great Eastern Railway.
The area is underlain by metamorphosed sediments and intercalated volcanic rocks of
the Bridge River series, which are locally represented by quartzites, schists, and argillites,
with greenstones occupying elongated, lenticular areas between the sedimentary strata. In
the close vicinity of the principal workings rock-exposures are limited and much of the ground
is covered by a heavy mantle of soil. The local strikes of the rocks average north 25 degrees
west and dips are south-westerly, varying from 45 to 60 degrees in surface workings and
30 degrees at one point underground. The showings are confined to a lenticular body of
greenstone, 120 feet long and up to 20 feet wide, which is underlain by quartzite and overlain
by schist and argillite. Crystalline cinnabar, with occasional minute globules of native
mercury, is chiefly associated with calcite, quartz and pyrite being present in places. There
are no definite structural boundaries and the mineralization is irregularly distributed in
streaks and patches impregnating sheared sections of the greenstone adjoining or adjacent to
the underlying quartzite.
Float containing cinnabar is stated to have been found in the vicinity about sixteen years
ago and claims were subsequently located. In this connection references to the property,
when it was known as the Marion group, are contained in the Annual Report of the Minister
of Mines, British Columbia, for the years 1927, 1928, and 1929. Most of the work has been
. done since 1929, the adit having been started in that year by the Lillooet Mercury Mining
Company under the direction of C. E. Cartwright. In the same year a considerable amount
of material, including tiles, for a retorting plant was packed in but not assembled. The
Conardon Mercury Mines Syndicate was formed in 1936.
Ten open-cuts have been made to explore the greenstone body previously specified, most
of these being distributed along its eastern contact. Of the latter series, Nos. 1, 2, and 3
open-cuts at elevations of 6,959, 6,955, and 6,952 feet, enclosed within a length of 30 feet
adjoining the northern end of the greenstone, do not show any mineralization. No. 1 cut is
immediately north of the " apex " of the greenstone and is in schist and quartzite. No. 2 cut,
10 feet south 14 degrees east from No. 1 cut, exposes the greenstone-quartzite contact, and
No. 3, 30 feet south 25 degrees east from No. 1 cut, is entirely in quartzite, being slightly
east of the contact. No. 4 cut, 38 feet south 14 degrees east from No. 1 cut, and at 6,944
feet elevation, has just reached the contact, and exposes an indefinite patch of cinnabar
mineralization in sheared greenstone. A point 40 feet south 25 degrees east from the No. 4
cut marks the northern end of a wide excavation, at 6,924 feet elevation, which has been made
in greenstone, adjoining the contact, for a length of 40 feet, its face being up to 18 feet high
at the northern end. In this working, obscured in places by debris, erratic mineralization,
which extends throughout its length along the quartzite contact, and across widths of from
5 to 10 feet, is more pronounced towards the northern end, where the sheared greenstone contains high-grade streaks and patches of cinnabar and accompanying native mercury. A
sample from a pile of about 300 lb. of sorted material contained 12.3 per cent, mercury. The
greenstone tapers off to its southern " apex" just south of the large excavation. The
quartzite forming the foot-wall of the greenstone in the above working strikes north 25
degrees west and dips 45 degrees south-westerly. The main course of the adit below is
entirely within this quartzite, no allowance having been made for the dip of the formation.
The portal, at 6,900 feet elevation, is 73 feet south 4 degrees east from the strong mineralization in the north-eastern corner of the big cut. The main course of the adit extends north
10 degrees west for 92 feet. At a point 70 feet in from the portal there is a crosscut, driven
north-easterly for 10 feet, from which a vertical raise has been put up to a height of 18 feet
above the floor-level. Both crosscut and raise are in quartzite. At a point 80 feet in from
the portal there is an inclined raise driven 26 feet to south 82 degrees west which intersects
the quartzite-greenstone contact at 23 feet from the main adit, the greenstone having been penetrated for 3 feet. The contact dips 30 degrees westerly and the greenstone in the face
was mostly massive, but included a small area of sheared rock with which light cinnabar
mineralization was associated, some minute globules of native mercury also being present.
A selected sample of this material contained 0.2 per cent, mercury. Branching off northwesterly from the raise at the main adit intersection, a crosscut had been driven northwesterly for 10 feet and had not reached the greenstone.
In addition to the above described workings, ten widely-separated open-cuts have been
made to prospect the formation, greenstone being exposed in some cases. The prospecting
done, chiefly at points where the overburden is not deep, indicates that the greenstone areas
are intercalated between the sedimentary rocks as lenticular areas or narrow bands. The
discoveries made were, at the time of the writer's visit, restricted to the one greenstone body
specified, and in this case the host-rock had only been penetrated for a few feet at one point
underground. In this latter connection the light mineralization exposed is a little northerly
from a point under the comparatively strong surface showing in the big cut, so that drifting
along the contact southerly will be necessary to test its downward continuation.
SPECIAL REPORTS.
Typewritten copies at 25 cents each are available to those who specially request reports
on the following properties:—
Bridge  River  Area:    Gold Ridge;    United  Exploration  Co.,  Ltd.;    Bridge River
United Mines, Ltd.
Taseko Lake Area:   Chilco Exploration Co.
Siwash Creek Area  (near Yale):   British Gold Mining Syndicate;   Golden Eagle;
Coronaticn;  Jubilee.
Cowichan Lake Area:   Crown;   Alpha Beta Group;   Viking.
Nanaimo River Area:   Silver Leaf.
PROGRESS NOTES.
LODE-GOLD DEPOSITS.
By B. T. O'Grady, James Strang, and Thos. R. Jackson.
Bridge River Camp.
Pioneer Gold Mines of B.C., Ltd.3—H. T. James, managing director; E. F. Emmons,
general superintendent; Paul Shultz, mill superintendent. This mine is operated by three
shafts known as Nos. 1, 2, and 3. No. 1 shaft is down to the ninth level; No. 3 to the
fourteenth level;   and No. 2 to the twenty-sixth level at a total depth of 3,250 feet.
During 1937, 20,600 feet of drifting, crosscutting, and raising was done. Second exits
from the twenty-sixth level to the upper parts of the mine were completed and this improved
the ventilation and reduced the temperature formerly prevailing in the lower levels. Water
sprays are in use to reduce the production of dust. One hundred and forty-seven thousand
eight hundred and seventy-six tons of ore was mined, which produced 61,335 oz. gold and
11,657 oz. silver.    An average of 242 men were employed throughout the year.
Bralorne Mines, Ltd.3—Richard Bosustow, general manager; D. Mathieson, general
superintendent; E. J. Chenowith, mine manager; J. F. Almstrom, mill superintendent. This
mine operated throughout the year and produced 170,686 tons of ore, which yielded 83,081 oz.
gold and 26,026 oz. silver.    Three hundred and sixty-four men were employed.
Drifting, crosscutting, and raising with a total footage of 16,434 feet was completed,
and the Crown shaft had been sunk to the 1,400 level at the end of the year. This is a,
3-compartment shaft and is equipped with a double-drum Ingersoll-Rand electric hoist.
Extensive development from this shaft is anticipated.
(1) By B. T. O'Grady. (2) By James Strang. (3) By Thos. R. Jackson. F 34 REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF MINES, 1937.
Definite progress was made during the year in augmenting and controlling the ventilation
throughout the mine, and this is now maintained by positive means. Every effort is also
made to reduce and control the production of dust by means of this increased ventilation,
water sprays, and the elimination of blasting during the shift.
A new 2,000-cubic-foot electric-driven compressor was added to the power plant. During
the year thirty new houses were built, making a total of 100 modern homes for the employees
of Bralorne Mines. The townsite where this building was completed is about half a mile
from the mine.
B.R.X. (1935) Consolidated Mines, Ltd.3—Ernest R. Shepherd, general manager; John
Wallis, mine superintendent. During the year No. 2 shaft was started and sunk to a depth
of 540 feet. This shaft is of three compartments with stations cut at 125-foot intervals.
From the 500 station a crosscut was driven 257 feet, from which point drifting was carried on
for 624 feet to the north and 550 feet to the south.
At the end of the year preparations were being made for the construction of a 100-ton-
capacity mill. During the year this mine changed over entirely to electrical power wherever
possible. Five hundred and forty feet of sinking, 142 feet of raising, 493 feet of crosscutting,
and 1,262 feet of drifting were completed.    Twenty-six men were employed.
Minto Gold Mines, Ltd.3—William Davidson, general manager; B. C. Campbell, superintendent. This mine operated until December 19th, when work was suspended. Sixty men
were employed, and during the year 32,556 tons of ore was mined and milled. This produced
4,352 oz. gold and 12,867 oz. silver.
During the year 972 feet of drifting, 1,267 feet of crosscutting, 54 feet of raising, and
340 feet of sinking was completed.
Lucky Strike Gold Mines, Ltd.1—At this property, situated in Taylor Basin, crosscutting
and drifting were continued in the lower adit (refer to Annual Report of Minister of Mines,
1936, page F 13 et seq.), a crew of three being employed, when the property was visited in
July, 1937. A new upper working, known as the Coronation adit, was being driven at shallow
depth below the outcrop.
At the following mines in the Bridge River area some intermittent work was done during
the year: Pilot Gold Mines, Limited; Golden Ledge Syndicate, Limited; Mix Gold Mines,
Limited; Gold Hill Mining Co., Limited; Holland Gold Mines, Limited; Congress Gold Mines,
Limited. There were fifty men employed at above mines. No work was done at the Kelvin
Gold Mines, Limited; Olympic Gold Mines, Limited; or Reliance Gold Mines. The Pacific
Eastern Gold, Limited, mine was abandoned during the year.
In the Kelly Lake District the Grange Consolidated Mines, Limited, did intermittent work
with a small crew during the year.
Squamish Area.2
Ashloo Gold Mines, Ltd.—This property is situated about 28 miles by road and trail from
Squamish, on the Ashlu River. The mine worked steadily from May until the end of the
year with around twelve to fifteen men underground and around twelve men in the mill and
surface plant; 492 feet of drifting, 252 feet of crosscutting, 278 feet of raising, and 117 feet
of sinking was done. Over 6,000 tons of ore was produced from stoping and development-
work. The concentrates from the mill were shipped out by pack-horses to Squamish River
and from there by truck to Squamish. The returns from the concentrates were 2,197 oz.
gold, 2,209 oz. silver, and 18,932 lb. copper.
Chilcotin District.1
Morris.—At this property, situated 3 miles south-east of the southern end of Tatlayoko
Lake, underground work was continued with a crew of five men; E. Penno being foreman
and J. A. Wheeler manager. Since the property was described in the Annual Report of the
Minister of Mines for 1935 the upper adit has been advanced, 337 feet of additional drifting
having been done to the middle of July, 1937.
Langara, Standard, Argo.—At these groups, situated on the South Fork of Feeney
(Ottarasko) River, 8.5 miles north-westerly from the southern end of Tatlayoko Lake,
prospecting with a small crew it is reported to have been continued by J. I. Feeney.
(1)  By B. T. O'Grady. (2)  By James Strang. (3)  By Thos. R. Jackson. Vick.—At this property, adjoining the Lower Taseko River to the west near the northern
end of Taseko Lake, activity was limited to surface exploration with a small crew in the
autumn of 1937; C. M. Vick, the owner, being in charge. Since the property was described
in the Report of the Minister of Mines for 1935 the two adits have been advanced, the lower
one now being 370 feet long and the upper one 126 feet in length, most of the work consisting
of drifting.
Taylor-Windfall.—Underground work is reported to have been continued throughout
the open season, Sid Davis being in charge. A new lower adit was being driven to drain the
shaft-workings and test the deposits at further depth. (See Annual Report, Minister of
Mines, 1935, page F 17 et seq.)
Ashcroft-Kamloops Area.s
Vidette Gold Mines, Ltd.—Douglas B. Sterrett, general manager; Richard Avison, mine
manager. This mine operated until November 17th, when work was suspended until
January 1st, 1938, when prospecting and development-work was resumed.
During the year 11,016 tons of ore was milled and this produced 5,356 oz. gold and
7,837 oz. silver. An average of ninety men were employed. During the year 2,456 feet of
drifting, 942 feet of crosscutting, 1,219 feet of raising, 29 feet of sinking, and 7,239 feet of
diamond-drilling was done.
At Hamilton Creek Gold Mines, Limited (N.P.L.), and Savona Gold Mines, Limited
(N.P.L.), some intermittent work was done during the year. No work was done at the Martel
Gold Mines, Limited (N.P.L.), or the Telluric Gold Mines, Limited (N.P.L.).
Coquihalla Area.*
Home Gold Mines, Ltd.—F. Moore, manager. This is a small gold-mining operation in
the Coquihalla area 7 miles west of Jessica and at 3,800 feet elevation. There are four adits,
but during the year the only work done was the intermittent operation from No. 4 adit at an
elevation of 3,800 feet, where some stoping was done and a connection made to No. 3. There
is a small mill at No. 4 portal, and power for same is provided by a gasoline-engine and a
Pelton wheel supplies power for a small compressor.
Kettle Valley Gold Mine.—Some intermittent work was done during the year at this
property, formerly known as the Dawson Mine, situated near Verona, on the Kettle Valley
Texada Island.
Gem Gold Mines.2—This mine only worked the earlier part of the year.    Some drifting
and crosscutting was done on the 150-foot level;   a small mill was erected but never operated.
PLACER-GOLD DEPOSITS.
Lillooet Area.3
B.C. Gold Dredgers, Ltd.—This is an under-water operation on the Fraser River at
Lytton. The gravel is raised from the river-bed by means of a clam-shell type dredge, divers
being employed to supervise this work when necessary.    Twenty men were employed.
Fraser River High Bar Placers.—This operation is on the west side of the Fraser River
at Kelly Lake near Clinton. This property started operations towards the end of the year
with twenty-five men employed.
At the Northwest Mining and Development Company, Limited (N.P.L.), and the Nesikep
Placers, Limited, Lillooet, general conditions were satisfactory.
COPPER DEPOSITS.
Howe Sound Area.2
Britannia Mining and Smelting Co.—C. P. Browning, general manager; C. V. Brennan,
assistant general manager; and Chris G. Dobson, mine superintendent. The price of export
refinery copper varied greatly throughout the year. Opening the year at 11.650 cents per
pound, rising to 17.15 cents on March 15th, it steadily dropped to the year's low at 9.325
cents in November and closed the year at 9.725 cents.
(1)   By B. T. O'Grady. (2)   By James Strang. (3)   By Thos. R. Jackson.
* By J. G. Biggs. F 36 REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF MINES, 1937.
Following the company's usual policy towards its employees, copper bonuses were passed
on to the workmen as the price of export refinery copper rose. In the spring three increases
in pay of 25 cents each were given to all employees as copper went up, but were taken off
again in the late fall as copper went down below 10 cents per pound. Wages at the end of
the year were the same as at the beginning of the year. There were 774 men on the mine
pay-roll at the end of the year, compared with 708 at the end of the last year. The total
number of men in the entire plant was over 1,000.
The mine production in March was brought up to 6,000 tons per day and held at this
figure throughout the rest of the year. During the year 2,149,820 tons were mined and
2,116,075 tons were milled, from which 32,400,253 lb. copper, 12,018 oz. gold, and 147,953 oz.
silver were produced. The production of pyrite amounted to 85,715 tons. A great deal of
development-work was done during the year and with very good results.
In the Fairview section the No. 5 ore-body was discovered and in a general way blocked
out by 2,849 feet of drifting, crosscutting, and raising. This is a zone of low-grade copper
mineralization with higher gold values than has heretofore been found.
In the lower Bluff section long diamond-drill holes have indicated a new body of copper
ore which will be further developed in 1938. In the 4,100 tunnel a narrow stringer, on or
close to the contact between the Bluff green-mottled schist and the foot-wall sedimentaries,
was found to carry values in gold in association with chalcopyrite, sphalerite, selenite, and at
times chert.
The 4,100 tunnel was advanced 2,018 feet to a point 13,592 feet from the portal. The
new raise system and its associated work connecting the extension of the 4,100 level with
the 3,500 and 2,700 levels in the vicinity of No. 4 shaft was commenced in June. When
completed this will eliminate a great part of the 2,700 level haulage and will also mean a
continuous ventilation system from the 4,100 level clear through to the upper workings.
The amount of ore drawn was increased from all sections except the East Bluff.
Three new sections were developed in the Fairview, and in the Bluff most of the ore was
drawn from the west end of the 2,400, 2,300, and 2,200 levels. At the Victoria mine the shaft
was sunk to the 3,500 level and the " C " ore-body developed for approximately 467 feet. On
the 3,350 level the " G " ore-body was developed for 283 feet along the strike. It is understood that the company intends to sink further early in 1938. Most of the ore was broken
in the " C " ore-body. Mining methods in the Victoria are similar to those of recent years,
the square set and rill methods being used and tightly filled with glacial material. This
produces a safe method of working and gives good ventilation in all the working-places. The
precipitation plant was operated as usual, the only change being the addition of a launder-
type flume that will use scrap rails, iron plate, etc., in place of tin cans used in other tanks.
Development-work.—Drifts, crosscuts, raises, and winzes completed during 1937 amounted
to 4.52 miles, being made up of 10,012 feet of drifts, 4,136 feet of crosscuts, 7,094 feet of
raising, and 2,556 feet of powder-blast workings, and 61 feet of sinking in the Victoria shaft.
The new No. 5 shaft was raised 623 feet and has greatly improved the service to the Fairview
and No. 5 mine on all levels between the 1,000 and 500. Diamond-drilling at various places
from the surface to the 4,100 level amounted to almost 25,000 feet.
Improvements have been carried out in surface buildings. The Incline Camp was opened
during the year and was entirely reconditioned. The Savoy was completed, making, with the
Rita Carlton, two new living-quarters at the Beach, which have all the conveniences of a first-
rate hotel.    A new modern dining-room and kitchen were built at the Beach.
For the comfort of people travelling to and from the townsite a new stream-lined, all-
steel car, the " Mount Shear," has been placed on the narrow-gauge railway from the top of
the incline to the townsite.
Due to the increase of employees in the mining industry, it has been necessary for the
Britannia Mining Company to train a large number of " green " men for underground work.
Bi-weekly safety meetings have been held at various underground lunch-rooms and methods
of improving working conditions and safer methods frankly discussed by officials and workmen.    There is no doubt this has resulted in much good. WESTERN DISTRICT   (No. 6). F 37
NICKEL DEPOSITS.2
B.C. Nickel Mines, Ltd.—The property of this company is situated near Choate and is
under the supervision of C. B. North. During the first six months of the year the development-work consisted of raising 177 feet, crosscutting 83 feet, drifting 17 feet, and station-
cutting 2,000 feet. All the crosscutting and drift-work served to open up a known ore-body
—the Pride of Emory.
During May and June about 3,500 tons of average-grade ore was produced to supply
prospective nickel-concentrate buyers with a sample of the product. To get this ore a certain
amount of chute raises and stope entrances were made, thus leaving the mine in good condition for future mining. During the rest of the year all underground work was discontinued
and a skeleton crew maintained to keep the buildings, plant, and road in condition until such
time as a decision is come to for the erection of a mill. When working to capacity the total
number of men employed was around twenty-five.
CINNABAR DEPOSITS.3
Manitou Mining Co., Ltd.—Clifford P. Reil, general manager. This property is located
at the confluence of Mud and Relay Creeks and is about 17 miles from Minto. Much work
has been done by open-cuts and over 2,000 feet of underground prospecting, to determine the
tonnage of cinnabar available.    Twenty-five men were employed during the year.
QUARRIES, SHALE, AND CLAY PRODUCTS.
BY
James Strang.
Burrard Inlet.
Coast Quarries, Ltd.—Conditions at Granite Falls quarry were generally found to be
good, the number of men being about ten when fully employed. The stone from this quarry
is used in general construction work.
North Vancouver Area.
Deeks Sand and Gravel, Ltd.—T. O. Burgess, superintendent. Condition of machinery,
fencing, and other equipment was found to be generally in fair condition. Work was steadier
throughout the year and several necessary repairs were made to the plant. Six men were
employed.
Cascade Sand and Gravel Quarry.—W. A. McCullum, superintendent. Conditions at this
plant were fairly good.    About ten men were employed throughout the year.
B.C. Sand and Gravel Quarry.—K. Morrison, superintendent. This plant worked only
occasionally throughout the year, employing about six men. The plant is kept in fairly
good condition.
Fraser River Delta Area.
Clayburn Co., Ltd.—This company's plant is situated at Kilgard, about 50 miles east of
Vancouver. Fireclay, firebrick, and various refractory forms, as well as common brick and
sewer-pipe, are produced. The fireclay is obtained from deposits near Kilgard; these are
worked by underground-mining methods similar to coal-mining. The roads are well-timbered
and ventilation is good. A shale-quarry is also operated in conjunction with the fireclay
mines.    A total of around seventy men are employed;  about ten of these are in the mines.
Gilley Bros.' Quarry.—Situated at Silver Valley, Pitt River. The stone from this quarry
is used for general construction-work. About twenty men are employed here. The plant
is kept in good condition.
Maryhill Sand and Gravel Quarry.—Operated by Gilley Bros., Limited, and situated on
the banks of the Fraser River. A power-shovel and conveyor-belt is used in the gravel-pit
and the screening and crushing plant is operated electrically. About sixteen men are employed fairly regularly throughout the year.    The entire plant is kept in very good condition.
(1) By B. T. O'Grady. (2) By James Strang. (3) By Thos. R. Jackson. F 38 REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF MINES, 1937.
Nelson Island.
Vancouver Granite Co.—The company operates a dimension-stone quarry on Nelson
Island.    The plant is kept in good condition.
Texada Island.
Pacific Lime Co.—This company operates a large limestone deposit at Blubber Bay, producing quicklime, hydrated lime, and various limestone products. The quarry and plant
operated throughout the year, with the exception of a brief stoppage due to a strike for higher
wages. An agreement was soon reached and work was resumed. The plant and quarry are
kept in good condition. Thirty men are employed in the quarry and about thirty-five in the
plant.    0. Peele is works manager.
B.C. Cement Co.—This company operates a limestone quarry on the opposite shore of
Blubber Bay from the Pacific Lime Company. The limestone passes through a crusher plant
and is conveyed along a belt-conveyor to scows, where it is shipped to the cement plant at
Bamberton.    Around seven men were employed.    Robert Hamilton is in charge.
Van Anda Quarry.—A limestone-quarry operated by F. J. Beale supplies limestone to
various pulp-mills and crushed limestone to the coal mines on Vancouver Island. From
eighteen to twenty men are reguarly employed.    Conditions were generally found to be good.
Saanich Inlet, Vancouver Island.
B.C. Cement Co.—Operating two quarries and a cement plant at Bamberton. Around
twenty men are employed in the quarry and 105 men in the whole plant. A very fine new
building of cement and steel has been erected as new living-quarters for single men. This
company and its employees take a great deal of pride in carrying out all safety requirements
and have held the Portland Cement Association cup for freedom from accidents for two years.
Fitzhugh Sound, Mainland Coast.
Koeye River Quarry.*—P. Christenson, operator. The quarry is situated on Koeye River,
about half a mile from its mouth and is about 7 miles south of Namu.
A second quarry was opened during the year and the tonnage of limestone considerably
increased. Tonnage produced, 12,000 tons, all of which was shipped to Pacific Mills, Ocean
Falls.    Twelve men were employed.
GABRIOLA ISLAND.f
Gabriola Shale Products, Ltd., Gabriola Island.—Charles T. deLong, manager. The plant
at this property includes the following: Boiler, crusher, press, kilns, and driers. The method
of working is by a series of benches, all blasting being done by electric battery and cable.
A good quality of brick is turned out at the plant, Vancouver being the principal market for
this product. Operations were carried on for a period of five months only during the year
with a crew of twenty-four men.
Comox Area, Vancouver Island, f
Public Works Gravel-pit, Courtenay.—This gravel-pit is situated about 4 miles from
Cumberland adjacent to the road to Courtenay. The material is used principally for road
construction and repairs throughout the Courtenay District. This deposit is quite extensive
and the sloping face extends for a distance of from 75 to 100 feet from the floor of the pit
to the top of the bench.
* By Charles Graham. t By John MacDonald.