The Pesika barite occurrence is located north of Pesika Creek and approximately 5 kilometres west of the Ospika River.

Regionally, the area is underlain by Cambrian to Ordovician Kechika Group talcose phyllites and calcareous mudstones, unconformably overlain by a succession of Ordovician to Devonian Road River Group siltstones, shales, limestone and dolomites, and Ordovician Ospika Formation volcanics. This succession is overlain by Lower Devonian to Mississippian Earn Group sediments, the largest being the Lower Devonian Gunsteel Formation grey-black pyritic shales.

Locally, Ordovician to Devonian Road River Group black siliceous mudstone horizons, interbedded with black, graphitic and pyritic mudstones, contain barite laminations and bedded barite up to 1 metre thick. Stratigraphically below this unit is a discontinuous horizon of Ordovician Ospika Formation mafic volcanics.

In 1980, four rock samples from the occurrence area yielded from 0.325 to 1.970 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 8329). It is not known if the rock samples were from talus or outcrop.

Work History

In 1980, Cominco Ltd. completed a program of geological mapping and geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling on the area as the Pesika property.

In 2007, Rio Grande Mining Corp. conducted a program of geochemical sampling, gravity geophysical surveys, prospecting and geological mapping on the area as part of the Kechika property. The following year, Rio Grande completed an airborne magnetic survey on the area.