The Fern occurrence is located on a steep northeast facing slope, between the Paul and Kwadacha rivers and approximately 4 kilometres north-northeast of the Cirque (MINFILE 094F 008) developed prospect.

Regionally, the area is underlain by four main northwest-trending zones of sediments. The westernmost belt comprises a package of Ordovician and Silurian siltstone interbedded with recessive, steel grey to black weathered upper Devonian to Mississippian shale and siltstone of the Gunsteel Formation, part of the Earn Group. The adjacent belt immediately to the east consists of brown to orange weathered Silurian siltstone. The next belt adjacent to the east consists of further recessive, steel grey to black weathered shale and siltstone of the Gunsteel Formation. The most eastern belt of rocks consists of grey weathered, fossiliferous limestone of the lower to middle Devonian Kwadacha Formation.

Locally, gossanous outcrops and talus of the Gunsteel Formation host stratiform barite-lead-zinc mineralization.

In 1980, three rock chip samples (JR63-64 and AR67) yielded from 0.81 to 1.08 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 8450). It is not known if the samples came from talus or outcrop.

Work History

In 1980 and 1981, Cominco Ltd. completed programs of prospecting, geological mapping and geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling on the area as the Fern claims. Also, during 1980 through 1983, BP Minerals Ltd. completed programs of geological mapping and geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling on the surrounding area as the Ridge claims.