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File Created: 24-Jul-1985 by BC Geological Survey (BCGS)
Last Edit:  13-Jun-2013 by Nicole Barlow (NB)

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NMI 082E4 Ag1
Name KEREMEOS SILVER, HORN SILVER (L.1928), DANKOE, UTICA, SILVER BELL (L.2393S), BRITISH (L.3064S), ANNEX, SILVER PLATE, GOLDEN HORN, WOODROW, SILVER GLANCE Mining Division Osoyoos
BCGS Map 082E002
Status Past Producer NTS Map 082E04E
Latitude 049º 03' 25'' UTM 11 (NAD 83)
Longitude 119º 41' 24'' Northing 5437272
Easting 303481
Commodities Silver, Gold, Lead, Zinc, Copper Deposit Types I05 : Polymetallic veins Ag-Pb-Zn+/-Au
Tectonic Belt Intermontane Terrane Plutonic Rocks
Capsule Geology

The former Horn Silver mine is located on the west slopes of Richter Mountain. The mill and other mine infrastructure are located 300 metres east of Highway 3, 26 kilometres southeast of Keremeos and 35 kilometres northwest of Osoyoos. The upper mine workings are located 3.5 kilometres to the northeast.

The Horn Silver was first staked in 1901 by J. Hunter, which was transferred a short time later to I.W. Powell. In 1909, the Horn Silver (Lot 1928) and Silver Bell (Lot 2393s) claims were Crown granted to I.W. Powell. Development commenced in 1914 and mining in 1915, under the direction of the Condit brothers, and continued until 1922. Management was transferred to P.W. Powell when liens for unpaid wages were placed against the property. The property now consisted of the Horn Silver 1-3, Annex, Silver Plate, Golden Horn and Silver Bell claims. In 1924, the property was optioned to Alaskan interests under the name British American Mining Corp. The company name was changed in 1925 to Horn Silver Mining Corp. A 20-tonne per day mill operated in 1926. Property ownership was transferred to Nighthawk Mines Ltd. in 1927, which changed names to Big Horn Silver Mines Ltd. and then to Big Horn Mines Ltd. The company also held the adjacent Woodrow and Silver Glance claims. By 1929, Canada Radium Corp. Ltd. optioned the Horn Silver (Lot 1928), Silver Bell (Lot 2393s) and the Silver Bell 1-5 and 7-8 claims from G.F. Ramsey, V. Tishhasuer and H. Graham. The company name was changed in 1963 to Santos Silver Mines Ltd. Utica Mines Ltd. acquired a controlling interest in 1964 and expanded the property to 43 claims. A 272-tonne per day mill was erected in 1967 and capacity increased to 363-tonnes per day in the same year. Mining ceased in 1970. The company name was changed in 1971 to Dankoe Mines Ltd. and production resumed in 1974 at 113 to 159-tonnes per day, including ore from the Dusty Mac (082ESW078). Operations were again temporarily suspended in 1981 and the mine closed in October 1984.

Total underground development consisted of four main levels, designated the 2400, 2600, 2800 and 3000 levels and sublevels totalling over 2.29 kilometres. The 2600 level was the main operating level, where the A vein was mined. The 2800 level was an old adit at the west end of the structure. The A vein and N vein were mined on the 2570 sublevels. The earliest mining was conducted on the H vein. The 3000 level (adit) is at the east end of the Horn Silver No. 2 claim. Post-1975 development consisted of a new 1220-metre 1750 level drift, and levels established between the 1700 and 2200 levels and an inclined shaft between the 1900 and 2100 levels. The vein discovered on the 1700 level was named the H vein. The 3000 and 4000 levels were explored with work continuing on the 1900 and 2200 levels in 1981.

The Horn Silver mine is regionally underlain by metasediments and metavolcanics of the Carboniferous to Permian Kobau Group. Quartzite, commonly micaceous or graphitic, schist, chlorite schist, greenstone, amphibolite and minor marble comprise lithologies. This metasedimentary and metavolcanic sequence has been intruded by the Jurassic-Cretaceous Fairview, and Jurassic Kruger and Similkameen intrusions. The Fairview and Similkameen intrusions vary in composition from granite to diorite with granodiorite and quartz diorite most common. The Kruger batholith is a syenitic intrusion.

The Horn Silver mine lies in Kruger syenite which is composed of biotite-hornblende granodiorite and hornblende syenite. The area is bordered to the north by Kobau Group metasediments and metavolcanics and in the east by Similkameen plutonic rocks and Kobau Group rocks. The Horn Silver deposit consists of mineralized quartz veins which occupy shear zones in a monzonite phase of the Kruger intrusion. The monzonite is cut by pre-mineral dikes of granodiorite porphyry, pyroxenite and syenite. Structural relationships indicate the syenite to be the youngest of the dikes. A postmineral syenite dike has also been recognized.

The controlling structure at the mine is a shear zone 24 metres wide which strikes 095 degrees and dips 40 degrees south. Updip, the main shear structure intersects a chloritized shear striking subparallel and dipping 10 degrees north. This shear contains potassium feldspar and carbonate and argentiferous sulphide mineralization in two sets of fractures. A subsidiary shearing visible within the main shear zone and in minor vein directions strikes 070 degrees and dips 55 degrees south. Lenticular quartz veins striking 120 degrees and dipping 35 degrees south occupy tension fractures in this shear zone. Ore shoots controlled by this shear zone have a flat westerly plunge of 10 degrees. These pre-mineral shear zones contain two sets of fractures; one set strikes 360 degrees and dips 55 degrees west, the other strikes 035 degrees and dips 65 degrees west. Tension fractures striking 015 degrees and dipping 70 degrees west are occupied by syenite dikes. Displacement on the north-striking fractures is to the right and on the other set of fractures, to the left. Displacements range from a few centimetres to a few metres and chop the veins into short segments.

Mineralization occurs in discontinuous, narrow east and southeast striking quartz veins within the weakly developed easterly striking shear zones. Near surface sulphide mineralization is extremely oxidized. The quartz veins range from a few centimetres to 1.8 metres in width and are often sheeted. Locally the veins are a soft, crumbly quartz gouge. Discontinuous quartz veining also occurs in pre-mineral syenite dikes. Mineralization consists of argentite, native silver, cerargyrite, pyrite, galena, sphalerite, tetrahedrite, chalcopyrite, pyrargyrite and acanthite and occurs in a gangue of mainly quartz with fragments of wallrock and occasional calcite. The mineralization occurs as irregular seams and bands, disseminations and patches in the quartz but commonly occurs in bands near the wallrock contact. The H vein was reported to contain 1714.28 grams per tonne silver over the first 46 metres of the 1700 level (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1967, page 220). The B vein was reported to contain silver grades of up to 20,571.42 grams per tonne silver (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1967, page 220). High gold values are evident where pyrite is predominant. In 1928, a sample of mill ore yielded 27.91 grams per tonne gold, 4808.91 grams per tonne silver, 3 per cent lead and 1 per cent zinc (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1928, page C258). Chlorite, carbonate and sericite alteration extends for a few centimetres into the wallrock. Hematite occurs as thin coatings along fracture plane surfaces.

Over its 70-year intermittent mine life, between 1915 and 1984, 433,177 tonnes ore was mined from the Horn Silver mine. Milled ore was 433,396 tonnes from which 127,194,850 grams of silver, 332,992 grams of gold, 30,034 kilograms of copper, 328,458 kilograms of lead and 371,863 kilograms of zinc were recovered. These figures do not include ore milled from the Dusty Mac (082ESW078) between August 1975 and June 1976.

The property was dormant from 1984 to 2008.

In 2007, Silver Fields Resources Inc. acquired the Horn Silver Mine claim group and changed the name to the Keremeos Silver property.

In 2008, Silver Fields Resources Inc. completed an exploration program consisting of geochemical soil sampling and prospecting.

In 2011, Silver Fields Resources Inc. completed soil and rock sampling on the Keremeos Silver property. Highlights include a chip sample, which assayed 6.21 grams per tonne gold and 1603 grams per tonne silver over a width of 0.11 metres (Press Release, Silver Fields Resources Inc., August 16, 2011).

In 2012, Silver Fields Resources Inc. conducted sampling and mapping on the waste dump, which contains material from the original mine tunnel excavation. Samples returned assay values up to 15.3 grams per tonne gold and 10 925 grams per tonne silver (Press Release, Silver Fields Resources Inc., May 28, 2013).

Bibliography
EMPR AR 1909-K278; 1915-K202,K205,K446; 1916-K259,K260,K518; *1917-
F207,F215; 1918-K211; *1919-N169; 1920-N156,N157,N351; 1921-G178,
G267; *1922-N164; 1923-A187; 1924-B170; 1925-A209; *1926-A215-
A217; 1927-C237; *1928-C258,C259,C433; 1929-C268; 1930-A219; 1933-
A167; 1937-A29; 1943-A38; *1958-A45,32; 1959-56; *1960-58-60;
1963-65; *1964-102,103,290,291; *1965-162,163,376,416; *1966-190;
*1967-A54,219-221; 1968-A54,221; 1969-A55; 1970-A54; 1974-A120;
1975-A94; 1976-A103; 1977-115; 1978-127; 1979-129
EMPR INDEX 3-200; 4-122
EMPR ASS RPT 5293, 16629, *18378, 20609, 30939
EMPR BC METAL MM00025
EMPR ENG INSP (Mine plans)
EMPR EXPL 1987-C26
EMPR FIELDWORK 1983, p. 258
EMPR GEM 1969-297,428; 1970-394,395; 1973-43; 1974-53
EMPR IR 1984-2, pp. 99,102; 1984-3, pp. 105-106; 1984-4, p 121;
1984-5, pp. 113,115; 1986-1, pp. 109,111
EMPR MINING 1975, Volume 1, pp. 27,28; 1981-1985, pp. 20,45
EMPR OF 1998-10
EMPR PF (Canadian Exploration Ltd. (1965-02-02): Horn Silver Property - Underground Workings; Canadian Exploration Ltd. (1965-02-02): Horn Silver Property - Claim Map; Canadian Exploration Ltd. (1965-02-02): Plan Showing Lower Adit Working and Surface Details - Horn Silver Mine; R.E.C. Richards (1965-07-05): Horn Silver Mine - Summary Report April 1964 to June 1965; Metcalfe (1966-01-10): Geochemical Assay - Silver King; Sutherland Brown, A. (1974-11-12): Re: Dankoe Mines Ltd.; Dankoe Mines Ltd. (1975): Dankoe Mines Ltd. - Annual Report 1975; Black, J.C.L. (1978-08-11): RE: Accelerated Mineral Development; Bacon, W.R. (1978-08-22): Re: Application for Accelerated Mine Development Program; Bacon, W.R. (1978-09-18): RE: Accelerated Mineral Development Funds)
EMR MIN BULL MR 166
EMR MP CORPFILE (Big Horn Mines Ltd.; Santos Silver Mines Ltd.;
Dankoe Mines Ltd.)
GSC MAP 85A; 15-1961; 539A; 538A; 341A
GSC OF 1969
GSC P 37-21
GSC SUM RPT *1927, Part A, pp. 47A-52A
GSC MEM 38, pp. 425-478
GCNL #104(May 29), #111(June 7), 1973; #20(Jan.29), 1975; #112, 1976;
#202, #236(Dec.8), 1977; #126(June 30), 1978; #161(July 21), 1979;
#49(Mar.10), #98(May 5), #164(July 25), 1980; #37(Feb.21), 1982
CMJ Vol.102, No.10, Oct., 1981
N MINER May 6, 1976; April 6, July 6, 1978; March 1, 1979; Jan. 7,
1982
W MINER August 1967, pp. 39-48; June 1977, pp. 20-22
EMPR OF 1998-10
PR REL Silver Fields Resources Inc., Aug. 16, 2011, May 28, 2013

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