The Akie 7 occurrence is located at an elevation of approximately 2000 metres on a steep east-facing slope, between the Kwadacha and Akie rivers and approximately 42 kilometres southeast of Chesterfield Lake.

Regionally, the area is underlain by folded and faulted Paleozoic platformal carbonates and basinal sediments. The western portion of the area is underlain by a synclinally folded sequence of Cambrian to Ordovician Kechika Group carbonates and Ordovician to Devonian Road River Group shale and siltstone. This sequence is overthrust, to the east, onto a narrow panel of Road River Group shale, siltstone and quartzite. This panel is in turn overthrust onto a synclinally folded, conformable package of Ordovician to Devonian Road River Group shale and siltstone and Devonian to Mississippian Earn Group shale and argillite. Barite mineralization occurs within the Road River Group turbidites and within the Upper Devonian shales of the Gunsteel Formation (Earn Group).

Locally, the style and type of mineralization is not described but is likely similar to that of the nearby Sika (MINFILE 094F 022) occurrence and comprises lead-zinc mineralization associated with barite in the Gunsteel Formation. Later mapping, in 1981, identified a 7-metre zone of barite in the area of the occurrence.

In 1980, 11 rock samples yielded from 0.19 to 20.86 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 8339). It is not known if the rock samples were from outcrop or talus.

Work History

In 1980, Cominco Ltd. conducted preliminary silt, soil and rock sampling, geological mapping and prospecting on the Akie-Sika group. In 1981, Cominco collected 1231 soil and silt samples using topographic and grid control, and continued the mapping at a scale of 1:10,000 over areas accessible by foot.

In 2007, Mantle Resources Inc. conducted exploration on the land formerly covered by Cominco and areas north and south covered by the Kwadacha claims group (owned by Ecstall Mining), the Sika and Akie-Sika claims (owned by Megastar Development Corporation), and the Bank claims group (owned by Mantle Resources Inc.). Exploration by operator Mantle Resources consisted of prospecting, preliminary mapping, soil sampling (585 samples), rock sampling (36 samples) and a gravity survey carried out over 7 kilometres. Soil sampling lines from the 2007 exploration program crossed historic lines and extended the spatial range of geochemical data.