The Storm Creek phosphate prospect outcrops on a ridge trending northwest between Cabin Creek and Storm Creek, 12 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. This sequence is folded about an anticline trending north-northwest whose axial trace follows the crest of the ridge. An intervening syncline separates this prospect from an adjacent anticline to the west, where two other phosphate occurrences are exposed (Cabin Creek, 082GSE055 and Cabin G, 082GSE068).

Phosphate mineralization is contained within a shale sequence at the base of the Fernie Group. This horizon consists of a lower massive pelletal phosphorite bed overlain by a thin shale bed, which is in turn overlain by a second pelletal to shaly phosphorite bed capped by black shales. Sampling along the southwestern flank of the anticline revealed the lower bed contains 27 per cent phosphate and 0.900 per cent yttrium over a thickness of 0.46 metre, while the upper bed contains 20.47 per cent phosphate and 0.390 per cent yttrium across 0.40 metre (Assessment Report 19954, page 19). The entire section averages 19.90 per cent phosphate and 0.602 per cent yttrium over a thickness of 1.98 metres (Assessment Report 19954, page 15, trench CBC89-18).

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.