The Kwadacha barite occurrence is located 4 kilometres north-northwest of the mouth of the North Kwadacha River.

The deposit occurs near the top of a rhythmically bedded black chert, shale, and siliceous argillite sequence of the Upper Devonian Gunsteel Formation (Earn Group). The Barite zone is 1 to 30 metres thick and consists of massive to finely laminated barite with thin argillaceous partings. Barite varies from light grey to white at the bottom, to dark grey at the top. The underlying argillites have been silicified to chert by silica precipitation during early exhalative activity. The cherts and argillites contain thin laminae of pyrite.

Imbricate thrust faults and folding has structurally repeated the barite horizon, which forms resistant weathering outcrops along the crest of a northwest trending ridge south of George's Peak.

Work History

In 1990 through 1994, Ecstall Mining Corp. completed exploration programs of geochemical sampling, geological mapping and prospecting. In 1994, soil sampling returned anomalous values up to 163 parts per million lead, 2859 parts per million zinc and 5970 parts per million barium; previous soil sampling, in 1990, returned up to 309 parts per million lead and 3800 parts per million zinc (Assessment Report 23767). In 2010, Rio Grande Mining Corp. completed a helicopter-borne magnetic survey over the area, as part of the Akie and Sika North claim groups.