The Limekiln Bay deposit is situated on the western margin of a 13 kilometre long belt of Upper Triassic Vancouver Group, Quatsino Formation limestone up to 3 kilometres wide, that is preserved along the axis of a broad northwest plunging syncline. The limestone at this locality dips between 0 to 20 degrees northeast. The quarry is developed in the lower portion of the middle member of the Quatsino limestone, consisting of a hundred metres of calcium and high calcium limestone with some interbedded magnesian limestone. A single large dyke intrudes the limestone just north of the quarry.

The deposit is comprised of very fine-grained, black to dark bluish-grey, calcium to high calcium limestone containing some magnesian beds up to 0.6 metres thick. Dolomite occurs as fine, white laminae and less commonly as disseminations and veinlets. A thin section displays fine-grained calcite containing approximately 5 per cent dolomite and minor magnetite and pyrite with veinlets of recrystallized calcite. Three channel samples taken in succession over the lower 9.36 metres of strata, exposed on the south end of the quarry, averaged 54.42 per cent CaO, 1.75 per cent MgO, 0.23 per cent insolubles, 0.24 per cent R2O3, 0.05 per cent Fe2O3, 0.009 per cent MnO, 0.013 per cent P2O5, 0.03 per cent sulphur and 43.33 per cent ignition loss (Bulletin 40, page 59).

Quarrying operations began here in the late 1880's. Between 1902 and 1908 the Marble Bay Company and the Tacoma Steel Company quarried and burnt the limestone on site for lime manufacturing.