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File Created: 24-Jul-1985 by BC Geological Survey (BCGS)
Last Edit:  12-Jan-1996 by Gilles J. Arseneau (GJA)

Summary Help Help

NMI 082F14 Ag7
Name PALMITA (L.4880) Mining Division Slocan
BCGS Map 082F094
Status Past Producer NTS Map 082F14W
Latitude 049º 59' 31'' UTM 11 (NAD 83)
Longitude 117º 16' 26'' Northing 5537771
Easting 480368
Commodities Silver, Lead, Zinc, Gold Deposit Types I05 : Polymetallic veins Ag-Pb-Zn+/-Au
Tectonic Belt Omineca Terrane Quesnel
Capsule Geology

The Palmita property is situated west of Shea Creek in the Slocan Mining Division. The underground workings are on Reverted Crown grant Lot 4880 at 1610 metres elevation above sea level.

The Palmita was owned in 1952 by G.W. Robinson. The earliest development on the claim was on the eastward extension of the Queen Bess lode (082FNW010), and several adits were driven on the general lode zone. Later development, starting about 1928, was from the upper Black Colt adit (082FNW223), and mining was later carried out by Clarence Cunningham when the Palmita was part of the Consolidated Queen Bess holdings. In 1949 a discovery was made on the main road crossing the claim. An option was taken by Kelowna Exploration, but the option was later dropped.

Workings consist of 4 short adits on the steep hillside between 2 branches of the main road, driven many years ago. One adit was cleaned out by Kelowna Exploration but the other 3 are caved. The workings on the Palmita, driven from the Black Colt No. 1 adit were in poor condition when examined by Hedley in 1949. A raise almost on the boundary line reaches a level 10 metres above Black Colt No. 1 level. A crosscut 32 metres long leads to a northeasterly drift section 73 metres long. A second raise reaches a level 14 metres higher on the same zone and a level 9 metres still higher, 15 metres long. The ore, mined locally to widths of 3 metres, has all been taken out to fault boundaries.

Regionally, the area lies on the western margin of the Kootenay Arc, in allochthonous rocks of the Quesnel Terrane. In the vicinity of the occurrence, the Quesnel Terrane is dominated by very fine grained clastic sedimentary rocks of the Upper Triassic Slocan Group that include locally weakly metamorphosed argillite, quartzite, limestone and some tuffaceous rocks. These sedimentary rocks are intruded by dikes, sills and stocks of varied composition and origin. Permian and/or Triassic Kaslo Group metamorphosed volcanic rocks occur to the north of the Slocan Group rocks. Middle Jurassic Nelson intrusions are immediately south of the Slocan Group and are inferred to be the source of granitic to pegmatitic sills and dikes found in the area. The Nelson intrusions comprise at least six texturally and compositionally distinct phases ranging from diorite to lamprophyre. The most dominant phase is a medium to coarse grained potassium feldspar porphyritic granite (Paper 1989-5).

The occurrence is hosted by predominantly black and locally calcareous argillite and quartzite of the Slocan Group. The sedimentary rocks have been folded, fractured, faulted and regionally metamorphosed to greenschist facies. The regional northwest trending asymmetric Slocan syncline is thought to be Middle Jurassic and is the first recognizable deformation in the sequence. Several fault structures are evident and host vein mineralization. Later stage normal and thrust faults and shearing have chopped, deformed and remobilized the veins and mineralization. Drag features are also present.

The occurrence consists of four short adits driven on a vein that correlates with the "A vein" on the Queen Bess property (082FNW010). The vein strikes east and dips 40 degrees south. It is within a 2 metre wide shear zone and consists mostly of galena and sphalerite in a gangue of quartz and calcite. The ore is concentrated in pockets and lenses that pinch and swell from 0.1 to 3 metres along the vein.

Production from the Palmita property between 1930 and 1951 yielded about 1612 kilograms of silver, 371,011 kilograms of lead and 34,939 kilograms of zinc from 711 tonnes mined.

Bibliography
EMPR AR 1905-252; 1929-308; 1930-230; 1934-A26,E34; 1935-A26,E35,G51; 1936-E53; 1937-A38,E51; 1938-A37; 1939-39; 1949-187; 1950-146; 1951-43,172
EMPR ASS RPT 15444
EMPR BC METAL MM01283
EMPR BULL *29, p. 95
EMPR INDEX 3-208
EMPR P 1989-5
EMPR PF (Plan of Black Colt mine, 1947)
GSC MAP 273A; 1090A; 1667
GSC MEM 173; 184; 308, p. 127
EMPR PFD 1972, 1973, 750447

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