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File Created: 24-Jul-1985 by BC Geological Survey (BCGS)
Last Edit:  10-Sep-2009 by George Owsiacki (GO)

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NMI
Name PROSERPINE, WILKINSON, FORREST, FOREST ROSE, FOREST, PROSERPINE (L. 430), WILKINSON (L. 177) Mining Division Cariboo
BCGS Map 093H003
Status Prospect NTS Map 093H03W
Latitude 053º 02' 28'' UTM 10 (NAD 83)
Longitude 121º 29' 49'' Northing 5877900
Easting 600772
Commodities Gold, Silver, Lead, Zinc Deposit Types I01 : Au-quartz veins
I05 : Polymetallic veins Ag-Pb-Zn+/-Au
Tectonic Belt Omineca Terrane Barkerville
Capsule Geology

The Proserpine showing lies within the Barkerville Terrane of the Omineca Belt. It is situated on Proserpine Mountain, which is bounded by Williams and Grouse creeks, and McCallum and Conklin gulches. The Barkerville Terrane is in thrust contact with Triassic Quesnel Terrane rocks to the west and Hadrynian to Lower Paleozoic Cariboo Terrane rocks to the east. The Barkerville Terrane in this region is underlain by the dominantly metasedimentary rocks of the Hadrynian to Lower Paleozoic Snowshoe Group. In this area, the Snowshoe Group comprises limestone, phyllite and quartzite. These rocks have been regionally metamorphosed to greenschist facies.

Two sets of quartz veins, northeast and northwest striking, comprise the showing. The veins are up 1.2 metres wide and contain variable pyrite, arsenopyrite, galena and sphalerite mineralization. Gold is associated with arsenopyrite and galena is argentiferous.

The area of the Proserpine showing was prospected for lode mineralization as early as 1864 by Wilkinson, who found the Proserpine vein. Prospect shafts were sunk in several strike veins including the Proserpine and Steadman (093H 079) veins. The Proserpine is the most prominent vein that can be traced from the Wilkinson (Lot 177) about a 100 metres southeast to the Proserpine (Lot 430). It appears to be nearly barren but a number of transverse and diagonal veins have been exposed by surface stripping and some are well mineralized with pyrite.

In 1933, exploration work performed by Proserpine Syndicate Limited identified over twenty veins, varying in width from 0.30 to 1.2 metres. The quartz and gold-bearing pyritic mineralization occurs throughout the property for a horizontal distance of over 1800 metres. The geological conditions are very similar to those at the nearby Cariboo Gold Quartz Mine (093H 019). Assays of one section, 1.05 metres wide, yielded over 69 grams tonne gold. Another vein, 0.6 metre wide, assayed 54.9 grams per tonne gold. A third vein, which has been traced for about 90 metres on the surface, analyzed an average of 11.3 grams per tonne gold. Specimen samples, assaying 262.2, 159.5 and 97.8 grams per tonne gold, have been obtained and native gold has been panned from the outcrops of some of the veins (Property File Cyprus Anvil - Wilson, R.R., 1933).

By 1934, more than 1800 metres of open cut trenches, five shafts and over 540 metres of tunneling had been completed on the claims. This work included 30 metres of open cut trenches on the Blighty claim, 690 metres of open cut trenches on the Tipperary claim (093H 049) and 60 metres of open cut trenches on the Kitchener claim (093H 050).

Bibliography
EMPR AR 1878-374; 1902-109; 1906-43; 1914-66; 1918-131; 1921-112; 1925-148; 1933-122
EMPR ASS RPT 7128
EMPR BULL *38, pp. 85,87; 47
EMPR EXPL 1978-207,208
EMPR OF 2004-12
EMPR PF (Plan of Property on Proserpine Mt., Proserpine Syndicate, 1933; Surface Plan, Proserpine Gold Mines Ltd, 1939; Brown, C.E.G. Annual Progress Report 1946, Barkerville Mining Co. Ltd.; Sketches: Warspite Adit, Hardcash Adit from A. Sutherland Brown's Files,
1953; Sutherland Brown, A., Holland, S.S., (1956) The Structure of the Northeast Cariboo District, in 93H General Property File)
EMPR PF Cyprus Anvil (Mudd, H.S. (): Barkerville Area Geology Map; Wilson, R.R. (1933-01-12): Reports on Mining Properties of Prosperine Syndicate Limited; Prosperine Gold Mines Ltd. (1934-06-04): Prosperine Gold Mines Limited Prospectus; Schultz, H.C. (1934-12-05): Prosperine Gold Mines, Ltd.; Wickes, L.W. (1935-10-28): Letter RE: Prosperine Gold Mines; Wilson, R.R. (1934-11-15): Letter RE: Prosperine Gold Mines from R.R. Wilson)
GSC MAP 1424A
GSC MEM *149, pp. 195-201; 181, p. 31
GSC SUM RPT *1932A, pp. 42-47
GSC OF 844
GCNL #190(Oct.4), 2000

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