The Grave Lake South (No. 1) phosphate occurrence is located north of Grave Creek and approximately 800 metres east-northeast of the creek’s junction with the Elk River.

Regionally, the area is underlain by a series of generally north-trending sedimentary rocks including dolomitic carbonate rocks of the Mississippian Etherington, Mount Head and Livingstone Formations (Rundle Group) and Pennsylvanian to Permian Rocky Mountain Group, fine clastic sedimentary rocks of the Triassic Spray River Group, undivided sedimentary rocks of the Jurassic Fernie Formation and undivided sedimentary rocks of the Jurassic to Cretaceous Kootenay Group.

Locally, as described by diamond drilling, a black (shaley) limestone and sandstone with clasts of siltstone hosts phosphate granules in a calcareous matrix. This likely marks the base of the Jurassic Fernie Formation.

In 1975, drillhole FP75-1 yielded 16.93 per cent P2O5 over 1.5 metres (49.1 to 50.6 metres down hole; Assessment Report 5866).

In 2018, a rock sample (No. 10) of dark grey siltstone (Jurassic Fernie Formation) from the area yielded 8.61 per cent P2O5 (Assessment Report 37813).

Work History

In 1975, Cominco Ltd. conducted a program of geological mapping, photo interpretation, bulldozer trenching and seven diamond drill holes, totalling 732.0 metres, on the area as the Elk claims of the Grave Lake property. In 2018 and 2019, J.T. Shearer conducted minor programs of prospecting and rock sampling on the area as part of the Graves Lake property.