The Star occurrence is located at an elevation of 1160 metres on an east-facing slope, west of Kootenay Lake and approximately 1.9 kilometres west-northwest of Ainsworth. The portals of the tunnels are on the Sunlight claims; the workings extending into the Star claim to the west.
Regionally, the area is underlain by hornblende schists, limestone and banded quartzite of the Upper Mississippian to Permian Milford Formation and basaltic volcanic rocks of the Carboniferous to Permian Kaslo Group. Granodioritic intrusive rocks of the Middle Jurassic Nelson Batholith are exposed to the west.
Locally, argillites, limestones and schists of the Mississippian to Permian Milford Formation are intruded by quartz diorite sheets and lamprophyre dikes. The ore occurs in a cross-fault zone 30 to 60 centimetres wide that is filled with coarsely crystalline calcite. Galena and sphalerite occur in equal proportions in small veins in the calcite. Replacement ore is found locally in the limestone wallrock.
A total of 726 tonnes of ore was mined in 5 years between 1949 and 1956 (inclusive). From this, 167 893 grams of silver, 65 336 kilograms of lead, 55 124 kilograms of zinc and 559 grams of gold were recovered.
Work History
Development work on the Sunlight claim was begun in 1895, and the first shipment of ore was made the following year. The Star claim was Crown granted to Messrs. Strobeck and Hardie in 1898. Work continued intermittently through 1910. The workings during this period consisted of approximately 229 metres of tunnel, 91 metres of crosscuts and 30.5 metres of shaft.
The mine was closed from 1910 until 1945, when it was acquired by A.G. Norcross of Nelson. By 1950 the workings consisted of two adits, 56 metres apart vertically, the upper one 76 metres long and the lower one approximately 244 metres long. A 15-metre sublevel is connected by a 15 raise to the upper adit and to the surface by an old shaft.
In 1951 and 1952, Privateer Base Metals Ltd. held an option on the property and completed a diamond drilling program amounting to 1067 metres in 30 holes. The purpose was to trace the continuation of the fault to the northwest and to explore both walls of the fault zone for further replacement deposits. Very little ore was found so the option was dropped. In 1955, the owner, A.G. Norcross, did some stoping in the old workings.
In 1967, Silver Eagle Mines conducted a ground magnetic survey on the War Eagle claim to the southwest. In 1979, David Minerals Ltd. conducted a program of geochemical (stream and silt) sampling on the area immediately south as the Peanut Butter claims of the Ainsworth property. In 1982 and 1983, Golden Knight Resources Inc. conducted programs of underground and surface geological mapping, rock sampling and ground magnetic and electromagnetic surveys on the area immediately north as the Tiger and Lily (MINFILE 082FNE022) claims.
During 2007 through 2011, Goldcliff Resource Corp. completed programs of prospecting, geological mapping, geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling and an airborne geophysical survey on the regionally extensive Ainsworth Silver property. In 2012, David Wallach prospected and rock sampled the area as the Ainsworth property. In 2015, Goldcliff Resource Corp. conducted a program of prospecting, geological mapping, geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling and a 4.1 line-kilometre ground electromagnetic survey on the area as part of the Ainsworth Silver property.
In 2020 and 2021, Goldcliff Resource Corp. conducted a further program of geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling and a 508.0 line-kilometre airborne magnetic, electromagnetic and radiometric survey on the Ainsworth Silver property.
