The WK industrial mineral showing is located on the southeastern side of Ferguson Creek, approximately 15.5 kilometres northwest of the community of Cache Creek.

The area is underlain by volcanic and marine sedimentary rocks of the Permian Cache Creek Group. These rocks have been intruded by sill-like ultramafic bodies. Both older type rocks are uncomfortably overlain by an extensive cover of volcanic flows and breccias belonging to the Eocene Kamloops Group.

Pozzolan occurs locally. Immediately down slope of the pozzolan showing, there is a bentonite occurrence, of smectite clay (montmorillonite) with minor plagioclase feldspar and very minor quartz. The bentonite has been exposed over a distance of greater than 100 metres and to a depth of 2.5 to 3.5 metres.

Work History

Historically, the area has been explored, since the early 1900’s, for chromium and platinum group metals, such as at the Ferguson Creek (MINFILE 092INW035) occurrence to the north. In 1994, Tilava Mining Corp. began an exploration and testing program on, local, volcanic ash deposits for sources of natural pozzolan and zeolite. In 1997, Tilava completed 165.5 metres of trenching and a number of small pits on the showing. The next year, one diamond drill hole, totalling 46.32 metres, was completed immediately north of previous trenching. The drilling was successful in proving that the pozzolan deposits continued north under light overburden. In 2000, two trenches, totalling 51 metres, were completed at a newly discovered bentonite showing. Trenching and sampling was continued through 2010.

In 1998, drilling to the north of the showing returned 17.68 metres of pozzolan, minus a 1-metre section of impurities (Assessment Report 29540).

In 2000, sampling of the bentonite returned 86 micrograms per 100 grams cation exchange capacity (Assessment Report 29540).

In 2020, Tilava Mining Corp. drilled 15 core holes and extracted a bulk sample 400 metres to the east of the showing.

See Ferguson Creek (092INW035) for more details on the area.