The Highway 3 zeolite showing outcrops along Highway 3, 4.5 kilometres southwest of Princeton.

This occurrence is situated near the centre of the Princeton Basin, a northerly striking fault-bounded trough filled by Eocene volcanic rocks of mainly intermediate composition, comprising the Lower Volcanic Formation, and an overlying Eocene sedimentary sequence of sandstone, shale, waterlain rhyolite tephra (tuff) and coal, up to 2000 metres thick, comprising the Allenby Formation.

Zeolite mineralization is contained in a zeolitized, waterlain rhyolite crystal-vitric tuff in the upper part of the Allenby Formation (Princeton Group), known informally as the Tailings ash. The roadcut on the northwest side of the highway exposes a bed of fine rhyolite breccia (lapilli tuff), 2 metres thick, underlain by 1 metre of lithic tuff and overlain by 17 metres of montmorillonite- bearing vitric-crystal tuff. The beds strike 100 degrees and dip 30 degrees south. This zeolitized horizon continues west of the highway for 900 metres, along the northern flank of the west-trending Tailings Syncline.

Zeolite mineralization consists of clinoptilolite, which is accompanied by plagioclase, potassium feldspar, quartz, montmorillonite, muscovite, biotite, cristobalite and sanadine. The rhyolite breccia contains 50 per cent zeolite, while the overlying vitric-crystal tuff contains less than 40 per vent zeolite (Fieldwork 1986, page 249; Fieldwork 1988, page 513). Exchangeable cation analyses and cation exchange capacity (CEC) in milli-equivalents per 100 grams on one grab sample are as follows (Open File 1987-19):

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Sample Magnesium Calcium Potassium Sodium CEC Z4

0.6 10.8 33.9 37.5 100.3

The deposit was sampled by Hillside Energy Corporation in 1988.

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Canadian Mining Company Ltd. drilled 9 holes and indicated reserves of 236,000 (Canadian Mining Website) in March 2000.