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File Created: 24-Jul-1985 by BC Geological Survey (BCGS)
Last Edit:  09-Jun-2020 by Nicole Barlow (NB)

Summary Help Help

NMI
Name EMERALD HILL (L.1426), EMERALD, RAY FRACTION, X RAY FR. (L.2274) Mining Division Slocan
BCGS Map 082K005
Status Past Producer NTS Map 082K03E
Latitude 050º 01' 17'' UTM 11 (NAD 83)
Longitude 117º 02' 32'' Northing 5541010
Easting 496975
Commodities Silver, Lead, Zinc, Copper Deposit Types I05 : Polymetallic veins Ag-Pb-Zn+/-Au
Tectonic Belt Omineca Terrane Slide Mountain, Kootenay, Quesnel
Capsule Geology

The Emerald Hill occurrence is located 2.25 kilometres west of the Voyageure showing (082KSW048), some 20 kilometres northwest of Kaslo, British Columbia. The ground surrounding the Emerald Hill occurrence was first staked in 1897, with sporadic production in 1907, 1953 and 1979.

Silver-lead-zinc mineralization occurs in the Triassic Slocan Group, locally consisting primarily of black fissile phyllites with interbedded limestone, calcareous phyllites and brown gritty quartzites. The general structural trend is 310 degrees, dipping generally southwesterly. Greenstones and ultramafic rocks of the Permian Kaslo Group unconformably underlie the Slocan Group to the east, also hosting silver-lead-zinc mineralization. Satellite stocks, dikes and sills are generally correlative with the Nelson batholith to the immediate south. Late stage lamprophyre dikes are also common.

The occurrence consists of two adits, one on either side of Emerald Creek, and substantial old surface workings. The adit to the west of Emerald Creek was driven along a 1.2-metre wide quartz vein hosted in a cemented and coarsely crystalline fault breccia zone. Vuggy quartz within this vein contains galena and tetrahedrite with copper carbonate staining.

Production in 1907 consisted of 4 tonnes mined and shipped. From this shipment 39,139 grams of silver and 1160 kilograms of lead were recovered (Geological Survey of Canada Memoir 184, page 216).

In 1953, a further 3 tonnes were shipped with 20,061 grams silver, 739 kilograms lead and 155 kilograms zinc recovered (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1953, page A45). Several more tonnes were lying around the occurrence in 1926 and in 1979 an additional 11,757 grams silver, 463 kilograms lead and 44 kilograms zinc were recovered.

In 1982, Red Diamond Mines Limited completed an exploration program including soil sampling, geological mapping, and a magnetometer survey of the Snuffy and Lobo claims. Anomalous gold, silver, and nickel values were found. Geochemical values of alteration zones on the properties correlated with mineralized zones immediately north of the claims.

In 2006, Rio Minerals Limited for Cavan Ventures Incorporated completed an exploration program consisting of grid surveys, soil and silt geochemical surveys, rock sampling, and geological mapping. Soil and silt geochemistry gave overlapping anomalies to historic findings at Emerald and Voyageur areas. Specifically, lead, zinc, silver, copper, antimony, and arsenic, patterns at the Emerald locality. Lead, copper, and antimony anomalies were observed at Emerald suggesting a possible zone of lode mineralization occurring along a crude NE-trending zone to the northeast of Emerald workings. Two general trends of single element anomalies were observed. The first, an arsenic anomaly of a broad N-S trending zone along the eastern edge of the grid. The second, a silver anomaly of a broad WNW trending zone. Anomalous gold found in soil and silt sampling correlates poorly with lode mineralization of the area, but instead defined a broad, contiguous, NNW trending zone between Emerald and Voyageur locations.

Bibliography
EMPR AR 1897-571; 1907-213; 1946-157; *1953-45; 1979-130
EMPR BC METAL MM01179
EMPR FIELDWORK 1978, pp. 92-96
EMPR INDEX 3-195
EMPR MINING 1975-1980, Vol.1, pp. 32,71
GSC MAP *1917-1667
GSC MEM *173, Map 273A; *184, pp. 215-216
GSC OF 432; 464
Thomson, G. (2007-07-23): Compliance Report on the Emerald Property.

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