The Cluxewe River limestone occurrence is located approximately 4.5 kilometres southwest of Port McNeill.

Regionally, the area is underlain by a sequence of generally west- to west-northwest–trending sedimentary and volcanic rocks comprising basaltic volcanic rocks of the Upper Triassic Karmutsen Formation (Vancouver Group), limestone of the Upper Triassic Quatsino Formation, mixed volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Jurassic Holberg volcanic unit and undivided sedimentary rocks of the Cretaceous Suquash Formation (Nanaimo Group), which have been locally overlain by volcanics of the Miocene to Pliocene Alert Bay volcanic unit.

Locally, several exposures of fine-grained, dark-grey to black limestone of the Quatsino Formation (previously identified as Parson Bay Formation) occur along the Benson Lake Road. The deposit lies in the east end of a 4.5-kilometre-long, 1.5-kilometre-wide, fault-bounded block of Quatsino Formation. A quarry developed in one of these exposures displays bedding (?) that strikes north and dips 56 degrees west. Pods of dark chert accompany the limestone.

In 1968, a sample composed of chips taken at 0.91-metre intervals over a length of 18.3 metres along a face on the south end of the quarry contained 55.24 per cent calcium oxide, 0.20 per cent magnesium oxide, 0.26 per cent insolubles, 0.22 per cent R2O3, 0.05 per cent ferric oxide, 0.013 per cent manganese oxide, 0.01 per cent phosphorus pentoxide, 0.01 per cent sulphur and 43.88 per cent ignition loss (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1968, p. 318, Sample 17).

In 2015, a section (2015-02) of Quatsino Formation limestone yielded an average of 97.50 per cent calcium carbonate, 1.39 per cent magnesium carbonate and 0.46 per cent silicon dioxide over approximately 31.75 metres (Assessment Report 35989).

In 2018, a sample (125927) over 3.5 metres of Quatsino Formation limestone yielded an average of 97.22 per cent calcium carbonate, 2.57 magnesium carbonate and 0.62 silicon dioxide (Assessment Report 38078).

Work History

During 2015 through 2019, Graymont Western Canada Inc. completed programs of geological mapping, rock sampling and 30.8 line-kilometres of ground magnetic surveys on the area as the Kilpala and Cluxewe claims.