MINFILE Mineral Inventory

MINFILE Record Summary

MINFILE No 082ESW070

File Created:	24-Jul-1985	by	BC Geological Survey (BCGS)
Last Edit:	15-Aug-1996	by	Keith J. Mountjoy (KJM)

SUMMARY

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		NMI
Name	HOMESTAKE FR. (L.1094S)	Mining Division	Greenwood
		BCGS Map	082E045
Status	Prospect	NTS Map	082E06E
Latitude	049º 25' 51''	UTM	11 (NAD 83)
Longitude	119º 04' 46''	Northing	5477430
		Easting	349225
Commodities	Silver, Lead, Zinc, Gold	Deposit Types	I05 : Polymetallic veins Ag-Pb-Zn+/-Au
Tectonic Belt	Omineca	Terrane	Plutonic Rocks, Harper Ranch

Capsule Geology

The Homestake Fraction occurrence is located 3.75 kilometres west of the summit of Mount Wallace and 0.75 kilometre south-southeast of Beaverdell, British Columbia (Assessment Report 16772).

Initial prospecting began in the Beaverdell area in the late 1880s. The first ore was shipped in 1896. The major producing mines in the Beaverdell silver-lead-zinc vein camp, from west to east, were the Wellington (082ESW072), Sally and Rob Roy (082ESW073), Beaver (082ESW040), and Bell (082ESW030), with numerous other small workings throughout the area. Extensive development work was done on the Homestake Fraction prior to 1925 by individuals and syndicates but no ore was found except in the upper workings area. In 1925, it was amalgamated with the Sally claim group, consisting of the Sally Fraction, Nodaway, Duncan, Excelsior, Sally, Kid Fraction, Highland Queen, Alice M. Fraction, Hard Times Fraction, Tunnel Fraction, Rob Roy, Pueblo Fraction and Castor Fraction. In 1925, the property was developed by S.F. Bradbury and associates. The claims was Crown granted to G.H. Cropley in 1930. By 1949, the property became part of the ground held by Highland-Bell Ltd. owner of the Highland-Bell (Beaverdell) mine. The Highland-Bell mine produced until 1991. Past development included several irregular tunnels which appeared to have followed fault planes within the shear zone.

The Homestake Fraction (Lot 1094s) adjoins the Wellington mine (082ESW072) in the south. The property is underlain by Westkettle granodiorite close to the contact with Beaverdell quartz monzonite. Several quartz porphyry and pink aplite dikes cut granodiorite and are offshoots of the quartz monzonite.

A faulted shear zone contains quartz veins mineralized with galena, sphalerite and pyrite. Ore shoots vary from 5 to 20 centimetres in width. A northerly striking crossfault has displaced the orebody. A sample of sacked ore in 1925 yielded 89.1 grams per tonne silver, 4.8 grams per tonne gold, 6 per cent lead and 9 per cent zinc (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1925, page A205).

For a detailed description of the geology and mineralization of the area refer to the Beaverdell (082ESW030).

Bibliography

EMPR AR *1925-A204,A205; 1930-A445; 1949-A138-A143

EMPR GEOLOGY 1975, Fig. G-17

EMPR OF 1989-5

GSC MAP 538A; 539A; 37-21; 15-1961; 1736A

GSC MEM *79, p. 17; Map 1530

GSC OF 481; 637; 1505A; 1565; 1969

GSC P 37-21

CJES *Vol. 19, No. 6, pp. 1264-1274, 1984

*Watson, P.H. (1981): Genesis and Zoning of Silver-Gold Veins in the Beaverdell Area, south-central British Columbia, M.Sc. Thesis, University of British Columbia, 156 pp.