The Howard Creek carbonatite is located at the headwaters of Howard Creek, 13 kilometres east of McNaughton Lake and 41 kilometres northeast of Blue River.

Carbonatites are hosted in a series of Hadrynian Horsethief Creek Group, Semipelite-Amphibolite division pelitic schists of amphibolite grade (kyanite zone), exposed at approximately 2300 metres in a south-facing cirque. Other lithologies belonging to the Semipelite-Amphibolite division in the area include calc-silicate, pegmatite, granodiorite and marble. At least three phases of structural deformation have been recognized. Multiphase folding and dextral en-echelon faulting have displaced all rocks. The regional foliation strikes 090 and dips 40 degrees south. The regional geology is described in detail in the Verity carbonatite showing (083D 005).

At least two separate carbonatite bodies conformable to the regional schistosity have been identified over 300 metres stratigraphic thickness. These outcrops vary from 10 to 20 centimetres in thickness. Separate bands of sovite and rauhaugite comprise carbonatite outcrops. Infrequent boudins of coarse grained amphibolite, 5 to 50 centimetres long, are found within carbonatite and nepheline syenite. Dragfolds and tight crenulations are evident in carbonatites, particularly near contacts with the host rock. This evidence suggests that carbonatites were transposed parallel to the regional foliation during the first deformational event. Other lithologies described at the Howard Creek Carbonatite showing include urtite, ijolite and nepheline syenite (Open File 1987-17).

Minerals identified in the carbonatites include calcite, dolomite, apatite, richterite, hornblende (edenite possibly), clinopyroxene, sphene, biotite, phlogopite, nepheline, zircon, pyrochlore, baddeleyite, ilmenite, magnetite, pyrite, pyrrhotite and plagioclase. Coarse biotite bands, up to 20 centimetres wide, are in contact with nepheline syenite. A nepheline syenite body, about 5 by 20 metres in outcrop, appears concordant with the schist/carbonatite complex.

Eighteen semi-quantitative analyses from the carbonatites and associated rocks yielded 0.25 to 0.5 per cent strontium with an average content of 0.35 per cent (Fieldwork 1984, p. 99). Some elements from the carbonatites and their quantities as determined by spectrographic methods and expressed in per cent are: phorphorous, greater than 2.0, strontium 0.2, barium 0.05, zirconium 0.04, chromium 0.01, lanthanum 0.03, cerium 0.03, neodymium 0.03; there are also trace amounts of gallium, tin, yttrium, ytterbium, and niobium (columbium) (Fieldwork 1984). Later chemical analyses of a sovite sample returned the following values in per cent: 0.312 strontium, 0.0241 lanthanum, 0.0530 cerium, 0.0223 neodymium and 5.45 P2O5 (Open File 1987-17, p. 42).