The Cabin Creek (CS) phosphate prospect is located on Cabin Creek, 13 kilometres west of the Flathead River, 53 kilometres southeast of Fernie.
This region of southeastern British Columbia is underlain by miogeosynclinal strata comprising marine clastics and carbonates of Devonian to Jurassic age and non-marine fluvio-deltaic clastics of Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous age. The strata are exposed in a broad north trending doubly plunging synclinorium known as the Fernie Basin. These units are disrupted by secondary folding accompanied by thrust and normal faulting. Such structures trend north to northwest.
The area in the vicinity of Cabin Creek at the south end of the Fernie Basin is underlain by fine-grained sandstones, siltstones and dolomitic siltstones of the Permian Ranger Canyon Formation (Ishbel Group), overlain by siltstones, shales and dolomite of the Triassic Sulphur Mountain Formation (Spray River Group), followed by shales, siltstones and minor sandstones of the Jurassic Fernie Group. The strata are exposed in the core of a northwestward trending doubly plunging ("domal") anticline that is bisected by Cabin Creek, which flows eastward.
Phosphatic beds are found at the top of the Ranger Canyon Formation and at the base of the Fernie Group. The basal horizon of the Fernie Group is between 1.15 and 3.5 metres thick and consists of two poorly consolidated gritty pelletal phosphorite beds, separated by 17 to 63 centimetres of shale containing a thin intermediary phosphatic horizon. The sequence is overlain by brown and black shales or capped by one or more yellow bentonite beds, such as south of Cabin Creek. The horizon outcrops as a flattened northwestward trending ellipse 2400 metre long and 1000 metres wide.
Trenching along the southwestern flank of the anticline over a strike length of 700 metres south of Cabin Creek encountered phosphatic sections 1.15 to 3.51 metres thick averaging 17 to 20.5 per cent P2O5 and 0.540 to 0.710 per cent yttrium (Assessment Report 19954, page 19). A sample from the north side of Cabin Creek analyzed by x-ray fluorescence contained the following (in per cent) (Fieldwork 1989, page 490, Sample VM89-8):
-------------------SiO2 10.97 Al2O 31.71 Fe2O 31.94 MgO 0.35 CaO 45.43 Na2O 0.26 K2O 0.31 TiO2 0.16 MnO 0.02 P2O5 33.96 Sulphur 0.44 Total carbon 2.04 L.O.I. 5.35 ------------------- |
This phosphate prospect was first mapped and diamond drilled by Imperial Oil Ltd. in 1978 before being remapped and sampled by First Nuclear Corporation in 1981 and Formosa Resources Corporation in 1989.
WORK HISTORY
In 1978, Imperial Oil drilled thirty-three (33) holes totaling 430 metres on the Cabin 1, 2, 3 and Ram 1 and 2 claims (Assessment Report 7617). Five holes were about 50 metres in depth and 28 holes are 20 metres or less. Three showing (Cabin #1, Cabin #2 and Cabin #3) and 1 showing (Ram #1) on the Ram claims about 9 kilometres northeast of the Cabin showings.
In 1981, First Nuclear commenced a program of airborne and car-borne radiometrics followed by field prospecting and caterpillar trenching to assess the surface exposure of the favourable sediments exposed along the erosional edge of the Fernie basin some 72 kilometres in length. A total of 18 sections were exposed through the basal portion of the Fernie Formation.
In 1989, Formosa Resources Corporation began exploration for yttrium and phosphate in the area, staking several claims as part of the Columbia Project (Assessment Reports 19948, 19954). Formosa's Cabin Creek 1 to 16 claims appear to cover the Storm Creek (082GSE061) and possibly the Cabin G (082GSE068) occurrences as located in MINFILE. Claim Maps for 1989 and 1992 show the Cabin Creek (CS) (082GSE055) to be covered by the Virginia 1 to 4 claims which were not part of the Formosa Cabin Creek property.
In 1992, Formosa Resources Corp., on their Cabin Creek claims, conducted a 15 line-kilometre ground radiometric survey (Assessment Report 22737). The survey demonstrated a poor correlation between the (presumed) surface trace of the phosphate horizon and the radiometric response and therefor further grid radiometric work was not recommended.
In 1996, owner R. Tim Henneberry for operator Mammoth Geological Ltd. calculated preliminary mineral estimates for the Cabin Creek and Leslie Creek properties utilizing earlier sampling data (Assessment Report 25080). Henneberry's 1996 and 1998 claims appear to cover the MINFILE locations of Cabin Creek (CS) (082GSE055), Storm Creek (082GSE061), and Cabin G (082GSE068).
In 1998, Ecomineral Resources Ltd collected surface sampling to obtain 5-gallon pails of phosphorite for metallurgical testing (Assessment Report 25642). Samples were obtained from the Cabin Creek and Barnes Lake properties. The main Cabin Creek showing on C.C.#7 was examined and sampled. Additional outcroppings were examined, but the phosphorite horizon was not located.
In 2008, Paget Resources Corporation conducted a program on their Barnes Lake and Bighorn – Cabin Creek claim groups which consisted of eight reverse circulation holes totaling a total of 425 metres drilled. Seven of the holes were drilled on the Bighorn - Cabin Creek claim blocks (377 metres) and one on the Barnes Lake claim block (48 metres). Geological mapping and limited trenching were also carried out. The 2007 Fernie Phosphate exploration program failed to confirm the presence of phosphorite rock with P2O5 concentrations greater than 1.3 per cent (Assessment Report 30091).
Refer to Ram A (082GSE063), Ram 1 (082GSE056), Bighorn (082GSE060), and Barnes Lake (082GSE051 for related work history and geological information.
