The Silverite property is situated on Shea Creek in the Slocan Mining Division. The underground workings are on Reverted Crown grant Lot 14624 at 1433 metres elevation above sea level.
This property consists of the Silver Ridge, Silver Ridge Fraction, Speculator, Consolidated Virginia, Elk and G. Fraction claims, adjacent to the Violamac (082FNW204) and Queen Bess (082FNW010) groups. The claims were prospected in the early years of the district's history and in 1929 an adit was driven on the Silver Ridge Fraction in search of the downward extension of the Black Colt (082FNW223) ore zone. In 1938 the property was operated under lease by Clarence Cunningham and by others during the next 3 years.
Excelda Mines Limited rehabilitated the camp in 1945 and in 1946 Sylverite Mines Limited was formed to take over the property. In 1950 Slocan Base Metal Mines took over the claims and in 1951 and 1952 did considerable stripping and drove an adit in a westerly direction 88 metres to the Violamac boundary. This adit was collared at an elevation of 1350 metres in the northeast corner of the Silver Ridge claim. At 46 metres from the portal a fracture was followed 38 metres to the southwest, and at 27 metres from the commencement of the drift another fracture was followed to the west for 36.5 metres. All work ceased in 1952, and in 1960 the property was optioned to Violamac Mines Limited.
Regionally, the area lies on the western margin of the Kootenay Arc, in allochthonous rocks of the Quesnel Terrane. In the vicinity of the occurrence, the Quesnel Terrane is dominated by very fine grained clastic sedimentary rocks of the Upper Triassic Slocan Group that include locally weakly metamorphosed argillite, quartzite, limestone and some tuffaceous rocks. These sedimentary rocks are intruded by dikes, sills and stocks of varied composition and origin. Permian and/or Triassic Kaslo Group metamorphosed volcanic rocks occur to the north of the Slocan Group rocks. Middle Jurassic Nelson intrusions are immediately south of the Slocan Group and are inferred to be the source of granitic to pegmatitic sills and dikes found in the area. The Nelson intrusions comprise at least six texturally and compositionally distinct phases ranging from diorite to lamprophyre. The most dominant phase is a medium to coarse grained potassium feldspar porphyritic granite (Paper 1989-5).
The occurrence is hosted by predominantly interbedded black argillite and quartzite of the Slocan Group. The sedimentary rocks have been folded, fractured, faulted and regionally metamorphosed to greenschist facies. The regional northwest trending asymmetric Slocan syncline is thought to be Middle Jurassic and is the first recognizable deformation in the sequence. Several fault structures are evident and host vein mineralization. Later stage normal and thrust faults and shearing have chopped, deformed and remobilized the veins and mineralization. Drag features are also present.
On the property, the Slocan Group rocks strike southeast and dip 30 degrees southwest. The occurrence consists of a fissure vein striking about 055 degrees. The vein has been explored with an adit driven for about 135 metres in a westerly direction from the Silver Ridge Fractional Reverted Crown grant (Lot 14625). A northerly crosscut extends 53 metres into the Black Colt (Lot 1721) (082FNW223) and a raise connects the crosscut to the No. 2 level of the Black Colt workings. An adit located on the main road, 122 metres northwest of the Black Colt No. 1 portal, extends 61 metres to the west in broken ground.
The occurrence is developed on the downdip extension of the Black Colt vein exposed on Lot 1721 to the south. The mineralized vein is within a fault zone that is about 20 metres wide. The wider portions of the fault zone are brecciated and contain fragments of argentiferous galena, pyrite and sphalerite mixed in a quartz matrix. The fissure zone is mostly filled with crushed wallrock.
Production from the Silverite occurrence between 1919 and 1949 yielded 254,143 grams of silver, 57,920 kilograms of lead, 4189 kilograms of zinc and 31 grams of gold from 103 tonnes mined.
