The Carnation property is situated on the south side of Carpenter Creek, near the headwaters of Tributary Creek at 1980 metres elevation above sea level in the Slocan Mining Division. The underground workings are on the Carnation Crown grant (Lot 575).

The initial discoveries and development work were at the higher elevations, on the Read, Robertson and Jennie Lind claims (082FNW183) on the west side of the ridge, and on the Carnation and Tenderfoot claims on the east side. Later work was at lower elevations on the east side of the ridge on the Violet & Violet Fr. claims, and in a crosscut adit driven from the adjoining Minniehaha property.

The Read, Robertson & Tenderfoot claims, owned by W.M. Robertson and associates, were under bond in 1892 to the London Mercantile Association, and in 1893 to J.A. Finch and associates. The Jenny Lind claim was owned by Paul & Chas. Anderson of Silverton. They reported a small shipment of ore in 1895. The Carnation claim, owned by D.D. Mann was under development from 1895 or earlier. Crown-grants were issued in 1897 as follows: the Carnation (Lot 575) to D.D. Mann, the Read (Lot 1247) and Tenderfoot (Lot 1248) to E.E. Evans, the Jennie Lind (Lot 1806) and Robertson (Lot 1808) to The West Kootenay (B.C.) Exploring and Mining Company, Limited. In 1904 the Robertson and Jennie Lind claims were held as part of the adjacent Wakefield property (82FNW059) which was under lease to The Anglo-Slocan Syndicate Limited. The Read and Tenderfoot claims were worked in 1906 by M.S. Davys who shipped a small amount of ore.

During the period 1917 to the mid 1920's claims on the east side of the ridge, including the Carnation, Violet (Lot 3168) and Violet Fr. (Lot 3170) were held by G.W. Clark & associates under bond from A.R. Mann and others. During that period considerable development work was done in Nos. 2 and 3 adits. The Victoria Syndicate, Limited, of London, acquired an option on the property in 1925. Development work was carried out on both sides of the ridge, mainly in No. 2 drift adit which was driven southwesterly for 853.4 metres through the mountain to the Jennie Lind claim. A raise was driven to the old Read workings. A 3048-metre tramline was installed at the west portal of No. 2 adit at an elevation of 1967 metres. The syndicate dropped the option in 1928 and work was resumed by G.W. Clark. In January 1929 A.R. Mann & associates incorporated Carnation Silver Lead Mines, Limited to acquire the 17 claims and fractions. The claims were electrically prospected for one month by The Radiore Company of Canada, Limited. Underground work began in August in No. 3 adit on the east side of the ridge. Operations ceased in 1930.

Early exploration on the Jennie Lind and Read claims on the west side of the ridge was carried out in a series of 8 or more short adits and open cuts. On the east side of the ridge, to 1930, the main lode (Carnation lode) had been partly explored on and close to the northeast corner of the Carnation claim by 3 adits and a 6-metre shaft. A 36.5-metre drift adit was driven on the "D" vein at the 1996-metre elevation about 183 metres northwest of No. 2 adit; the latter as mentioned earlier, had been driven through the mountain at the 1966 metre elevation. A third adit, begun in 1929 at the 1920 metre elevation, was driven as a crosscut for 45.7 metres northwesterly to the lode, which was drifted on southwesterly for about 122 metres.

Kelowna Exploration Company, Limited in 1939 optioned the Carnation and adjacent claims and began an extensive geological survey. The option on the Carnation was given up in 1940 but control of the adjacent claims was retained. In August 1945 the company purchased the Carnation group of 14 Crown-granted claims and fractions. In 1948 the old No. 3 adit at 1920 metres elevation was reopened. In 1949 a new low level adit at elevation 1670 metres was begun at the south edge of the Western Fr. claim of the Minniehaha property, and a second, 1670-metre east adit, was driven the following year. Two crosscuts were driven across the lode in the old 1920-metre adit and a new adit (1859 metres) was driven westerly for 166 metres after the lode had been uncovered at that level by stripping. The new low-level 1670-metre adit was driven in search of the downward extension of the Carnation lode exposed in the 1920 adit, 243.8 metres above. The new adit was driven 70 metres southwesterly into the hill, then 420.6 metres in a south 7-degree west direction through the adjacent Evening claim (082FNW049). Two mineralized lodes, about 122 metres apart, were encountered. The first, probably related to the Minniehaha lode, was drifted on for 103.6 metres in the 1670 main adit and for 97.5 metres in the 1670 east adit. The second lode (Carnation lode) was drifted on westerly for about 548.6 metres to a point down dip from the upper levels and a crosscut was driven 100.5 metres into the hangingwall. The company name was changed in 1951 to Kelowna Mines Hedley Limited. The results of the exploration work were disappointing and operations ceased in June 1951.

Silver Standard Mines Limited, in 1961, acquired an option on 59 claims from Oil Participations Incorporated who had acquired the claims from Kelowna Mines when that company was dissolved in 1958. Drilling was done to test the Carnation lode 122 metres below the 1670 level. Subsequent exploration was on claims down dip to the east (see Silvana (82FNW050)). Silmonac Mines Limited was incorporated in 1963 to acquire the property. The company name was changed in 1977 to Silvana Mines Inc.

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 Carnation deposit is hosted by predominantly interbedded black argillite and medium to dark grey quartzite and argillaceous quartzite of the Slocan Group. Argillaceous limestone, limestone and slate are also found in varying proportions in the sequence. 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. Horizontal displacement can be several metres to over 90 metres. Drag features are also present. A post-deformational shear zone is subparallel to the Carnation vein structure for two-thirds of its strike length. Silicification is present in the sedimentary rocks and the vein structures. Graphitization from late stage shearing is also present throughout these structures.

Two veins exist on the Carnation ground. The Main or Carnation vein is part of a vein system that extends for about 8 kilometres to the east and includes the Silvana (082FNW050), and possibly the Ruth-Hope (082FNW052) deposits. The second or Footwall vein is a branch of the Main vein that extends southwest and may correlate with the vein on the Wakefield property (082FNW059).

The Main vein is not a single vein but a system of branching fissures that is about 30 metres wide. The vein is exposed near the northeast corner of the Carnation Crown grant where it has been explored with at least three adits and a shaft. On the Carnation property the Main vein strikes between 045 and 050 degrees and dips 55 to 70 degrees southeast. The vein is 1 to 1.5 metres wide and follows a porphyritic dike on its hangingwall. It is mostly filled with crushed wallrock cemented by coarse calcite. The ore consists of brecciated fragments of galena and sphalerite cemented by coarse calcite. Clean bands of lead-zinc mineralization also occur along the hangingwall of the vein.

The Footwall vein is about 120 metres north of the Main vein at the northeast corner of the property. The two veins appear to converge to the west. The Footwall vein strikes 010 degrees and dips 40 degrees southeast. It is about a metre wide and consists mainly of crushed wallrock. Pods and bands of galena and sphalerite some 40 centimetres wide and up to a metre long are distributed along the fissure vein. The gangue mineral is mostly coarse calcite.

Production from the Carnation between 1922 and 1951 yielded 376,097 grams of silver, 22,991 kilograms of lead, 19,598 kilograms of zinc and 186 grams of gold from 502 tonnes mined. See Jennie Lind (082FNW183) for shared production.