The Quatsino Formation is represented by a limestone sequence, 60 to 250 metres thick, that forms a 3 kilometre wide belt extending northwest from Gillies Bay to Blubber Bay, at the tip of Texada Island. It conformably overlies Karmutsen Formation volcanics and mainly comprises pure, massive to poorly bedded calcareous and dolomitic limestone. Both formations form part of the Upper Triassic Vancouver Group. Exposed contacts between the limestone and underlying volcanic rocks are usually marked by steep faults. The volcanic rocks comprise rhythmically layered amygdaloidal, feldspar porphyritic and spherulitic basalt flows. A major episode of folding (F1) has been recognized; this resulted in the limestones and, to a lesser degree, the underlying volcanics, being deformed into a series of broad, northwest trending open folds that plunge northwards. Two subparallel, northwest striking lineaments are evident in the area. The Ideal and Holly faults have apparently controlled the emplacement of some Jurassic intrusions and their associated skarn mineralization.

The Middle Jurassic Gillies stock intrudes both the Quatsino and Karmutsen formations. The stock has yielded a zircon U-Pb radiometric age of 178 Ma (Fieldwork 1989) and is genetically associated with several magnetite-rich skarn deposits (Prescott, Lake, Yellow Kid and Paxton) in an area 1524 by 609 metres. It mainly comprises a grey, medium-grained equigranular quartz monzonite that contains amphibole, biotite and occasional pyroxene phenocrysts. A late potassium feldspar rich phase is also present. The stock and the surrounding limestones are cut by sets of north and east trending feldspar porphyritic dykes that reach 10 metres in thickness and postdate skarn mineralization. The Gillies stock and its associated iron-skarn deposits lie close to the Ideal fault. Locally at the iron mines (Prescott, Lake, Yellow Kid and Paxton), the volcanic- limestone contact is highly deformed and these structures have partly controlled the distribution of the magnetite ore. The Karmutsen volcanics in the vicinity of the Gillies stock are variably metamorphosed, most typically to a chloritized or epidotized basalt; the Quatsino limestone is bleached white and coarsely recrystallized.

Magnetite skarn mineralization at the Lake mine generally occurs 365 metres northeast of the exposed eastern margin of the Gillies stock in volcanic rocks adjacent to its contact with limestone. The volcanic rocks are more or less replaced by skarn and form the hangingwall of the deposit. The structure is a syncline, the south limb of which is overturned to the northeast. Magnetite orebodies have replaced volcanic rock along the axial line of the fold near the limestone contact. The magnetite orebodies are associated with abundant garnet-pyroxene-amphibole skarn. The massive magnetite occurs with reddish-brown garnet, pyroxene (hedenbergite-diopside), epidote, amphibole (actinolite), minor calcite and sporadic chalcopyrite, pyrite and pyrrhotite. Traces of arsenopyrite and rare sphalerite are also observed (International Geological Congress Guidebook, Day 2-Texada, by A. Sutherland Brown).

Copper concentrates produced from milling contain recoverable amounts of gold and silver. Between 1901 and 1921, 35,955 grams of silver and 3,017 grams of gold were recovered from 946 tonnes.

The limestone overlying the orebody is fine to medium grained and is mostly a black colour. A dump adjacent to the Lake pit contains indicated reserves of at least 100,000 tonnes of fairly clean limestone that was stripped off the orebody and dumped separately from other waste materials. A sample of equal sized chips taken at random over the surface of the dump contained 53.4 per cent CaO, 0.02 per cent MgO, 2.30 per cent insolubles, 0.22 per cent R2O3, 0.09 per cent Fe2O3, 0.005 per cent MnO, 0.008 per cent P2O5, 0.03 per cent sulphur, 42.8 per cent ignition loss and 0.08 per cent water (Bulletin 40, p. 80). Several 60 metre long holes drilled in the vicinity encountered very uniform, high calcium limestone averaging greater than 54 per cent CaO, less than 1 per cent MgO and very low manganese (Bulletin 40, p. 80).

The initial discoveries of the four main iron-skarn deposits were from west to east, the Prescott (092F 106), Yellow Kid (092F 258), Paxton (092F 107) and Lake. Subsequent discoveries by underground exploration included the Midway (combined with the Yellow Kid), Le Roi (combined with the Yellow Kid), Lake Extension (combined with the Lake) and Anomaly A (combined with the Prescott).

During the years 1885 to 1903, and 1908, 26,213 tonnes of magnetite ore were reported to be shipped; this was from the Prescott deposit except for approximately 964 tonnes from the Lake deposit. Sporadic activity continued until 1916; at that time the workings at the Prescott mine included a large quarry, shaft, an adit connected to the shaft and four working levels above the adit. No further activity was reported until 1952 when open pit operations began in earnest at the Lake, Paxton and Prescott deposits. Production figures from the Lake and Paxton (092F 107) mines are included with the Prescott. The Yellow Kid deposit (092F 258) was discovered in 1953-54. A crosscut driven in 1964 to intersect the Lake Extension orebody (an extension of the Lake deposit), discovered another orebody, the Le Roi, which occurs between the Paxton open pit and the Yellow Kid open pit. The Le Roi orebody, due to its proximity to the Yellow Kid deposit, has been included with the Yellow Kid. A decline was started in 1966 from the Lake open pit to mine the Le Roi and Lake Extension orebodies. By 1968 all open pit mining ceased. Some underground development work was done on the Anomaly A orebody in 1969-70, located 440 metres northwest of the Prescott open pit.

The Texada Mines, which encompassed all of the above deposits and orebodies, closed on December 17, 1976 due to exhaustion of ore reserves.

The property is held by Consolidated Van Anda Gold Ltd.