The Vananda quarries are located on Lots 7, 8 and 499 along the east coast of Texada Island, 1.5 kilometres south-southeast of the town of Vananda. Limestone has been produced here since 1933.

This deposit is situated on the east margin of a 13 kilometre long belt of Upper Triassic Vancouver Group, Quatsino Formation limestone up to 3 kilometres wide, that is preserved along the axis of a broad northwest plunging syncline. The limestone at this location has been quarried from the upper portion of the lower high calcium limestone member and the lower portion of the middle calcium limestone member of the Quatsino Formation. Bedding strikes 145 degrees and generally dips southwest from 20 to 40 degrees. In the No. 1 quarry and the western portion of the No. 2 quarry, the strata are intensely folded and faulted, likely due to the intrusion of an adjacent stock of quartz diorite just west of the quarries. This stock trends northwest along the shore for 760 metres. The limestone is commonly cut by basaltic dykes ranging from a few centimetres to 12 metres wide but averaging 1.2 metres in width. They tend to strike 070 degrees and dip 70 to 80 degrees southeast. About 50 per cent of the rock exposed near the bottom of the No. 2 quarry is comprised of dyke material. Near the top of the quarry the amount of dyke rock decreases to 20 per cent.

The limestone is generally fine grained and dark grey. It becomes medium to coarse grained and light grey in colour within 600 metres of the quartz diorite stock. The lower high calcium member is quite uniform in composition while the middle member displays alternating beds of magnesian and calcium limestone, with the calcium limestone being predominant. The middle member is commonly cut by calcite and dolomite veinlets. Eleven chip samples taken in succession over a total length of 142 metres across the face of the No. 2 quarry in 1944, averaged 55.36 per cent CaO, 0.76 per cent MgO, 0.33 per cent insolubles, 0.21 per cent R2O3, 0.05 per cent Fe2O3, 0.010 per cent MnO, 0.008 per cent P2O5, 0.02 per cent sulphur and 43.14 per cent ignition loss (Bulletin 40, page 76).

In 1985, production from the No. 2 quarry (main quarry) averaged 52.94 per cent CaO, 1.0 per cent MgO, 2.59 per cent SiO2, 1.23 per cent Al2O3, 0.45 per cent Fe2O3, 0.13 per cent Na2O, 0.09 per cent K2O and 42.59 per cent ignition loss (Randy Gue, personal communication, 1989). Remaining inferred reserves are 40 million tonnes of limestone (Randy Gue, personal communication, 1989).

Limestone was first quarried here by F.J. Beale and Beale Quarries Ltd. from two larger quarries on the coast (No. 1 and 2) and three smaller quarries to the west and south (No. 3, 4 and 5). In 1956, Lafarge Cement acquired the operation and continued production from the No. 2 quarry on Lot 499, up to 1987. Between 1933 and 1987, 22 million tonnes of limestone were quarried for cement manufacturing.