The December Limestone occurrence is located 2.5 kilometres south of Vananda, 1.5 to 3.5 kilometres due east of Raven Bay, on northern Texada Island.

This deposit lies near the eastern edge of a 13 kilometre long belt of limestone of the Upper Triassic Quatsino Formation, up to 3 kilometres wide, that is preserved along the axis of a broad, northwesterly plunging syncline. In this vicinity, the strata are generally flat-lying. The deposit appears to be hosted in the middle magnesian to calcium limestone member of the Quatsino Formation.

The limestone is very fine grained, uniform, creamy white to grey to black in colour. Thin sections reveal the limestone is comprised mostly of a groundmass of calcite crystals less than 0.10 millimetres in diameter containing larger grains 0.32 to 0.65 millimetres in diameter, either scattered throughout the groundmass or confined to bands within the groundmass. The burnability of the limestone (degree to which the limestone is altered to lime on heating) was found to improve with smaller grain size.

Grab sampling revealed three zones of limestone containing less than 2.5 per cent MgO. Average grades (in per cent) and reserve estimates (in tonnes) for the three zones are presented as follows (Assessment Report 612, pp. 14, 15):

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CaCO3 MgO Reserves

(per cent) (per cent) (tonnes)

West Zone 97.55 2.15 3,180,000

Central Zone - 1.49 2,270,000

East Zone 98.63 1.02 2,040,000

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Reserves for all three zones have been estimated to a depth of 15.2 metres.

The deposit was evaluated by Lafarge Cement in 1964 for limestone suitable for use in the manufacture of wood pulp utilizing the sulphate (kraft) process.