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File Created: 24-Jul-1985 by BC Geological Survey (BCGS)
Last Edit:  18-Sep-2007 by Mandy N. Desautels (MND)

Summary Help Help

NMI 082K3 Ag17
Name DOHERTY (L.12402), IRON HAND, IRON DUKE (L.3190) Mining Division Slocan
BCGS Map 082K005
Status Past Producer NTS Map 082K03E
Latitude 050º 02' 09'' UTM 11 (NAD 83)
Longitude 117º 07' 25'' Northing 5542622
Easting 491148
Commodities Zinc, Lead, Gold, Silver, Cadmium Deposit Types J01 : Polymetallic manto Ag-Pb-Zn
I05 : Polymetallic veins Ag-Pb-Zn+/-Au
Tectonic Belt Omineca Terrane Quesnel
Capsule Geology

The Doherty occurrence, known originally as the Iron Hand, is located on the east side of the mouth of Lyle Creek. Kaslo, British Columbia lies 24 kilometres to the southeast.

While there is no official production records from its earlier years, shipments of ore are reported to have been made to the Hall mines smelter.

Limestone is the dominant hostrock of the Doherty occurrence, forming prominent cliff bluffs which form a dip slope of about 60 degrees. Slate and slaty limestone are also present in underground workings. The showings at the Doherty occurrence are lead-zinc and quartz-pyrite replacement deposits in the Whitewater limestone. Mineralization forms irregular pod-like bodies conforming with individual minor folds and is restricted mainly to a zone at the top of the cliff bluffs where the dip changes abruptly to 20 degrees. The zone extends for about 300 metres along the southeast side of Lyle Creek.

In general, there are two slabs 3.6 to 6.0 metres thick. Heavy oxidation has extensively altered the primary mineralization and limits are not well defined. Gossans are composed of thoroughly leached and siliceous material which contains principally pyrite with lesser sphalerite and galena in a gangue of crushed rock, calcite and siderite. This marks the course of a 1.5 to 1.8 metre wide shear zone which follows limestone bedding striking 060 degrees and dipping 50 degrees southwest. Relatively massive sphalerite is local.

A short adit driven along the base of the limestone from the bottom of the canyon in Lyle Creek intersected a few thin seams of mineralization. A second short adit 90 metres upstream intersected zinc mineralization in an isolated limestone outcrop. A third adit driven northeast in the canyon wall intersected 75 to 120 centimetres of siderite containing sphalerite and galena.

Mining of the Doherty occurrence did not commence until 1948. During the following two years surface drilling and blasting was used to remove 5476 tonnes of material from which 121,333 grams silver, 218 grams gold, 1267 kilograms cadmium, 23,227 kilograms lead and 355,200 kilograms zinc were recovered.

Intermittently from 1951 to 1967, the Doherty property was optioned to several different companies. Drilling and clearings-out of the old underground workings was done but all companies dropped their options and no further production was recorded.

Bibliography
EMPR AR 1898-1080; 1901-1028; 1904-297; 1917-452; 1948-142; 1949-185;
1951-167; 1952-172; 1965-189; 1967-255
EMPR ASS RPT 573, 824, 1164, 1622
EMPR BC METAL MM01167
EMPR BULL *22, p. 29
EMPR INDEX 3-194
EMPR PF (Hedley, M.S. (1953): Property report)
GSC MAP 1667
GSC MEM *173, Map 273A; *184, p. 213
GSC OF 432; 464
EMPR PFD 4311

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