British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Natural Gas and Responsible for Housing
News | The Premier Online | Ministries & Organizations | Job Opportunities | Main Index

MINFILE Home page  ARIS Home page  MINFILE Search page  Property File Search
Help Help
File Created: 24-Jul-1985 by BC Geological Survey (BCGS)
Last Edit:  09-Feb-1988 by Jim M. Logan (JML)

Summary Help Help

NMI 082F14 Pb11
Name PONTIAC (L.2265), SCRANTON-PONTIAC, TECUMSIE (L.2261) Mining Division Slocan
BCGS Map 082F075
Status Past Producer NTS Map 082F14E
Latitude 049º 47' 26'' UTM 11 (NAD 83)
Longitude 117º 03' 08'' Northing 5515345
Easting 496241
Commodities Silver, Lead, Zinc, Gold Deposit Types I05 : Polymetallic veins Ag-Pb-Zn+/-Au
I01 : Au-quartz veins
Tectonic Belt Omineca Terrane Quesnel
Capsule Geology

The property is located between elevations of 1700 and 2130 metres astride Pontiac Creek, a northerly flowing tributary of Woodbury Creek, some 35 kilometres northeast of Nelson. The claims, which include the Pontiac, Scranton (082FNW112) and Sunset (082FNW113), lie within Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park, 1 to 2 kilometres from the eastern boundary.

A series of quartz veins striking northeastward are exposed at intervals for a distance of about 2135 metres. Most of the early exploration work on this vein system was done at its extremities and comprised the Pontiac workings at the northeasterly end and the Sunset workings at the southwesterly end. Following the consolidation of the property in 1930 development work was carried out at lower elevations in the mid section of the property on the Scranton claim on the east side of Pontiac creek (known as the Lower Pontiac workings), and in the "Sunset" workings on the Grandview Fr. claim on the west side of the creek.

The first reported activity and first production from the Pontiac claim was recorded in 1898. The Pontiac (Lot 2265) and Tecumsie (Lot 2261) claims were owned in 1899 to Messrs. Heap and Heath of Ainsworth. That same year the claims were acquired by, and Crown-granted to, Nelson-Slocan Prospecting and Mining Company, Limited Liability. Considerable development work was carried out during 1900-1904 under the management of C.F. Caldwell. During this period underground exploration and development was done over a length of 122 metres and depth of 58 metres in 3 adits.

The first reported activity at the southwesterly end of the vein system was in 1899 when Woodbury Mines, Limited, carried out development work on the Sunset Group.

Activites at the various workings ceased in about 1908 and some of the claims were subsequently acquired by C.F. Caldwell. The Pontiac and Tecumsie claims were owned in the 1920's by Alice G. Caldwell and the estate of W.C. Chaplin.

In 1930 Hon. J.D. Chaplin, C.F. Caldwell, T. Doyle and J. Henry, owners of the various claim groups, gave an option to purchase the Scranton Consolidated Mining Company which was incorporated in Portland, Oregon to consolidate and develop the property. Investigation of the Scranton claim began but little was accomplished until 1939-40 when the main workings on the Scranton claim (lower Pontiac workings) were driven. A new company Scranton Mines Limited, was incorporated in August 1951 to acquire the 14-claim property. A new adit about 30 metres long was driven 15 metres below the old Pontiac workings.

Blue Star Mines Limited optioned the property in 1964 and carried out stripping and diamond drilling on the Scranton claim and extended the lower Pontiac adit.

No further activity was reported until 1967 when exploration was begun in a new adit at the 1800-metre elevation on the west side of Pontiac creek at the southeast edge of the Grandview claim. Silver Star Mines Ltd. acquired the property from Blue Star Mines and Scranton Mines through a stock transaction. A new adit was begun in 1968 at the 1737-metre elevation to explore the downward extension of mineralization in the 1800-metre level; drifting, raising and stoping was carried out on both levels. Some ore was shipped to the Blue Star mill at Ainsworth. Stoping of ore proved uneconomical and the operation was shut down in 1970.

Country rock is hornblende potassium feldspar porphyritic granite within inclusions of biotite-grade metasediments and quartzites.

The Pontiac occupies the northeast end of the Pontiac-Scranton-Grandview-Sunrise vein system. The vein strikes between 25 and 45 degrees northeast. Vein material consists of quartz and calcite mineralized with blebs and stringers of galena, sphalerite, and finely disseminated pyrite. A sample taken in 1987 from the Pontiac lower portal assayed 41 grams per tonne gold, 220 grams per tonne silver, 12.3 per cent lead and 5.6 per cent zinc (Open File 1988-11).

Intermittent production from 1898 to 1970 totalled 1160 tonnes yielding 592,948 grams silver, 6,191 grams gold, 74,395 kilograms lead and 4,398 kilograms zinc.

Bibliography
EMPR AR 1898-1080; 1899-701,846-847; 1900-848,852; 1901-1030; 1902-152; 1904-156-157,199; 1905-158; 1906-142; 1907-96; 1908-93; 1930-256; 1939-79; 1940-65; 1945-103; 1946-151; 1947-167; 1948-139; 1949-183; 1950-137; 1951-39,163; 1952-144,170; 1953-134; 1954-134; 1958-43; 1959-67; 1960-74; 1961-74; 1968-258; 1969-A56; 1970-A-55
EMPR BC METAL MM01360
EMPR BULL 1, p. 118
EMPR FIELDWORK 1987, pp. 31-48, 535-541
EMPR GEM 1969-333; 1970-459; 1971-407; 1972-59
EMPR INDEX 3-209,212
EMPR OF 1988-11
EMPR P 1989-5, pp. 18, 20, 22-23, 35-36
EMPR PF (See Scranton, 082FNW112)
GSC MAP 272A; 1091A
GSC MEM 184, p. 241; 308, p. 123

COPYRIGHT | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY | ACCESSIBILITY