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File Created: 24-Jul-1985 by BC Geological Survey (BCGS)
Last Edit:  11-Feb-2020 by Karl A. Flower (KAF)

Summary Help Help

NMI
Name GIANT, MIDGET, PRIEST FALLS Mining Division Nelson
BCGS Map 082F006
Status Prospect NTS Map 082F02W
Latitude 049º 00' 42'' UTM 11 (NAD 83)
Longitude 116º 56' 10'' Northing 5428755
Easting 504672
Commodities Copper, Silver, Lead, Gold Deposit Types I05 : Polymetallic veins Ag-Pb-Zn+/-Au
Tectonic Belt Omineca Terrane Ancestral North America
Capsule Geology

The Giant (Priest Falls) occurrence is exposed immediately north of Nun Creek and at the west edge of the Priest River canyon, at an elevation of 1220 metres.

Regionally, the area is underlain by quartz arenite sedimentary rocks of the Mount Nelson Formation, undivided sedimentary rocks of the Dutch Creek Formation and dolomitic carbonate rocks of the Kitchener Formation, all of the Mesoproterozoic Purcell Supergroup. To the west, coarse clastic sedimentary rocks of the Neoproterozoic Toby Formation (Windermere Supergroup) are exposed. These have been intruded to the north and south by a Middle Jurassic granitic intrusive.

Locally, a grey limestone or dolomite hosts mineralized quartz veins and/or stringers up to 3 metres wide. The veins strike north and dip very steeply to the west. The veins are composed chiefly of white quartz with scattered grains and masses of sulphides, including pyrite, tetrahedrite and galena. Malachite and azurite staining are also reported. Several opencuts have been exposed along strike for approximately 120 to 150 metres.

Another zone of mineralization, referred to as the Pyrite zone, is located approximately 1.5 kilometres to the north on the Giant 4 claim. Mineralization comprises a pyritic zone within an argillaceous sediment with a north-northeast strike and a steep westerly dip.

Heavily mineralized samples are reported to have assayed “several hundred ounces per tonne” or greater than 6840 grams per tonne silver (Property File - Trenholme, L.S. [1982-08-10]: Reconnaissance Report, Ernie Shunter Silver-Lead Prospect, Nelson Mining Division, BC).

In 1982, a sample (8282B) from a small stockpile near the main mineralized zone assayed 33.9 grams per tonne silver and 0.55 gram per tonne gold, whereas a 0.72-metre chip sample (8283B) from the northern ‘Pyrite’ zone assayed 5.8 grams per tonne silver and 0.27 gram per tonne gold (Property File - W.G. Hainsworth [1982-07-26]: RE: Amoyette - Shunter Ag-Pb-Zn Showing Nelson Mining Division, Creston Area, B.C.).

A small (50 tonne-per-day) mill was set up on the property in 1968, but production was limited to trial runs, and no results are available except that "the vein appeared to contain about 1 per cent each of copper and lead where mining was done" (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1968).

In 1982, the area was prospected and sampled as the Giant and Midget claims.

Bibliography
EMPR AR 1899-841; *1968-246
EMPR EXPL 1978-E48
EMPR FIELDWORK 1994, pp. 135-155
EMPR GEM 1970-445
EMPR PF (*W.G. Hainsworth (1982-07-26): RE: Amoyette - Shunter Ag-Pb-Zn Showing Nelson Mining Division, Creston Area, B.C.; *Trenholme, L.S. (1982-08-10): Reconnaissance Report, Ernie Shunter Silver-Lead Prospect, Nelson Mining Division, BC)
GSC MAP 603A
GSC MEM 228
GSC OF 929; 2721
EMPR PFD 822484, 800491, 841792

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