The former Rambler mine is located in the Rambler Creek basin, a southern tributary to McGuigan Creek.
The Rambler occurrence is hosted by calcareous, massive quartzite, argillite, with interbedded fissile slate and limestone of the Triassic Slocan Group. The average strike of these strata is 115 degrees dipping 57 degrees southwest. Folding and faulting are prominent along northwest axes. Axial planes of most of the folds and major faults dip steeply southwest. Other small-scale anticline-syncline pairs are of short amplitude with east striking axial planes and dipping southward. The plunge of these folds is 15 degrees west. These strata are intruded by an elliptical-shaped quartz diorite stock, the Best-Antelope porphyry, and numerous quartz porphyry dikes. The quartz diorite stock occurs almost in the centre of the mine workings and is the principal ore host.
The former Rambler mine was one of the more consistent producers from the Slocan mining district. It was first operated by the Rambler-Cariboo Consolidated Gold and Silver Mines Ltd. and was opened up by three crosscut tunnels, connecting with levels about 30 metres apart. In 1899, it was taken over by the Rambler-Cariboo Mines Ltd. Prior to 1904 development work and mining were confined to the upper eight levels. The No. 3 was the main working level in 1911. All ore above this level had been mined by this time. A shaft was sunk down from this level, with Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 levels opened up at 30 metre intervals from which some very good ore was obtained. The downward continuation of the orebody was also proven with ore being mined down to the Nos. 9 and 10 levels. The lower three levels were connected with each other and the No. 3 level via a 140-metre shaft. The No. 14 level was a crosscut driven from the valley of McGuigan Creek 158 metres below the No. 8 level, and was subsequently connected to this level by a raise. The Nos. 9, 10, 11 and 12 levels were also connected to this raise and lie vertically above the No. 12 level. After 1921, work was carried on at the former Rambler mine by various lessees; the first, W.A. Cameron, the former mine manager. In 1928, P.W. Lawrence became operating lessee of the mine and production continued. In 1929, the Slocan-Rambler Mining Company Limited acquired the former Rambler mine. Intermittent production continued and in 1935 was leased to the Ross Mining Syndicate, who also leased the former Wellington mine (082KSW030). Tailings were trammed and trucked from the old dump to the Whitewater mill with production in 1935, 1937 and 1940 when the lease expired. An option was acquired on the property in 1946 by G.A. McMillan and associates. A preliminary geological examination was conducted on the property. In 1947, the shaft below the No. 3 level was restored under the direction of the newly formed Slocan Rambler Company. A total of 1370 metres of diamond drilling was conducted underground in 1948, except for some 244 metres done on surface. Some ore from the No. 3 dump was milled at the Whitewater mill. Tailings from the former Rambler mine at the confluence of McGuigan Creek with Seaton Creek were owned by the Sheep Creek Gold Mines Ltd. and optioned to Kootenay Belle Gold Mines Limited in 1950. Some of these tailings were shipped and processed at the Whitewater mill in 1950 and 1951.
The lode system of the former Rambler mine has a strike of 040 degrees and a dip of 50 to 80 degrees to the southeast. A series of crosscutting fissure-veins, known as the Rambler veins, strike about 080 degrees. The Rambler veins are best developed in more competent rocks. Three main ore shoots were discovered, the Main, North and South. They occur over a horizontal distance of about 610 metres. The North shoot lies entirely within the Rambler claim. The North shoot extends from near the north end of the No. 4 level to somewhere below the No. 9 level with a maximum stoped length of 61 metres above the No. 8 level. The Main shoot straddles the boundary between the Rambler and Cariboo claims. It extended from the No. 3 level to the No. 8 level with a maximum length of about 46 metres. The South shoot lies some distance south of the Rambler claim. It was best developed between the No. 9 and 10 levels but continued to above the No. 7 and below the No. 12 levels. Its maximum length was about 49 metres. The shoots were up to 5 metres in width, consisting of up to 2.0 metres of massive, commonly sheared galena in a gangue of drusy quartz. Some of the lower levels contained considerable sphalerite but no general increase of sphalerite with depth is recorded. Other associated mineralization included pyrite, chalcocite, native silver, pyrargyrite, tetrahedrite, jamesonite, owyheeite and a little chalcopyrite.
In 1927, mining was confined to an ore shoot between the No. 10 and No. 11 levels where ore mineralization was exposed over 21 metres length. In 1929, a narrow ore shoot was opened up on the 1400 foot level. The shoot was 76 to 150 centimetres wide and about 60 metres long. Mineralization consisted of sphalerite, pyrite and galena in a well defined fissure vein striking 050 degrees and dipping 55 degrees west.
At the former Rambler mine ore has been correlated to aplitic dikes and sills because of their affect on the course of the lode. The steeply dipping lode crosses bedding at a steep angle and is deflected at each sill or dike, passing through nearly at right angles. The ore appears closely related to nearly east-west dilation jogs and crossfractures.
The former Rambler mine produced continuously for 34 years from 1895 to 1935, then intermittently to 1951. During its mine life a total of 189,421 tonnes of ore was mined from which 108,959,934 grams silver, 839 grams gold, 327 kilograms copper, 10,527,871 kilograms lead and 2,654,696 kilograms zinc were recovered.
