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File Created: 24-Jul-1985 by BC Geological Survey (BCGS)
Last Edit:  04-Aug-2020 by Karl A. Flower (KAF)

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NMI 082F14 Ag25
Name AJAX (L.585), CROWN POINT (L.586), RANDOM SHOT (L.1726), TREASURE VAULT (L.587), EAST, WEST Mining Division Slocan
BCGS Map 082F094
Status Past Producer NTS Map 082F14E
Latitude 049º 59' 35'' UTM 11 (NAD 83)
Longitude 117º 12' 24'' Northing 5537879
Easting 485187
Commodities Silver, Lead, Copper, Gold Deposit Types I05 : Polymetallic veins Ag-Pb-Zn+/-Au
Tectonic Belt Omineca Terrane Quesnel
Capsule Geology

The Ajax occurrence is situated on Crown grant Lot 585, on the north side of Carpenter Creek east of Mount Payne. The property consists of the Ajax Crown grant and the Crown Point and Random Shot Reverted Crown grants (Lots 586 and 1726, respectively).

The claims were worked in the early 1890's until the close of that decade. Since 1900 the property has lain idle and the workings inaccessible. During the first few years the property was controlled by Matthews and Braden, representing the Ontario Gold Fields Mining and Development Company of Toronto.

In 1898 the claims were acquired by The Ajax Mining and Development Company, Limited; they were struck off the Companies Register in 1942.

Most production has come from the "West vein" of the West lode. This vein has been explored by 4 adits which, together with stopes extending for 24.3 metres above the highest adit, give a vertical depth of about 152 metres. The "Main vein" of the West lode was explored by an adit 38.4 metres feet vertically lower than the lowest adit on the "West vein". This adit is a crosscut for about 70 metres to where it meets a strongly sheared zone striking 030, for about 46 metres southwest and 137 metres northeast. On a possible continuation of this lode on the Crown Point claim, an adit 7.6 metres lower than the lowest on the West vein has been driven 20 metres along the lode to its termination in a broad slate belt and another adit, 30.4 metres below was also driven. Work on the East lode comprises 3 short adits aggregating about 122 metres of crosscut and drift.

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 the Upper Triassic Slocan Group, a thick sequence of deformed and metamorphosed shale, argillite, siltstone, quartzite and minor limestone. Rocks of the Slocan Group are tightly and disharmonically folded. Early minor folds are tight to isoclinal with moderate east plunging, southeast inclined axial planes and younger folds are open, southwest plunging with subhorizontal axial planes. The sedimentary sequence has been regionally metamorphosed to lower greenschist facies.

South of the occurrence, the Slocan Group has been intruded by the Middle Jurassic Nelson intrusions which 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. Several feldspar porphyritic granodiorite dikes, apparently related to the Nelson intrusions, also cut the sedimentary sequence near the occurrence (Paper 1989-5).

The Ajax occurrence is hosted by quartzite and argillaceous quartzite of the Slocan Group. The sedimentary sequence generally strikes 120 degrees and dips 58 degrees southwest. For the most part, the sedimentary rocks are well bedded and banded. South of the Ajax Crown grant, the quartzite and argillite that host the occurrence are overlain by black slate.

Two veins have been exploited on the Ajax property, an East and West vein. Most of the production came from the West vein which has been explored with at least four adits. The West vein strikes 020 degrees, dips 70 degrees southeast and parallels a prominent set of joint planes in the hostrock. It consists mainly of crushed wallrock and small veinlets of galena with tetrahedrite.

The East vein is similar and parallel to the West vein. It is a millimetre to a few centimetres wide fracture that locally carries galena and tetrahedrite. The vein has been explored with at least three short adits.

Production from the Ajax property in 1899 and 1900 yielded 81,303 grams of silver and 10,456 kilograms of lead from 27 tonnes mined. Production from the Treasure Vault in 1898 and 1899 yielded 31 grams of gold, 239,928 grams of silver and 42,490 kilograms of lead from 135 tonnes.

In 2011, Klondike Silver Corp. prospected the area as the Ricoridge property.

Bibliography
EMPR AR 1895-579,676; 1896-58; 1898-1074,1159; 1899-599,687; 1900-
829; 1901-1026,1222,1227; 1906-249; *1911-144
EMPR ASS RPT 13405
EMPR BC METAL MM01100; MM01441
EMPR BULL 29
EMPR INDEX 3-187,216
EMPR P 1989-5
EMPR PF (Starr, C.C. (1925): Abstract of Report on the American Boy -
Noble Five - Silver Chord - Ajax Mines, 5 p., in 082FNW181)
GSC MAP 273A; 1090A; 1091A
GSC MEM 173; *184, pp. 1-3; 308, p. 129
Höy, T. (2016-06-28): Technical Report – The Slocan Silver Camp
EMPR PFD 2075, 2452

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