The Red Lobster (Shado) occurrence is located along the Redding Creek Forest Service Road on the north side of Redding Creek, approximately 2.8 kilometres southwest of Mount Bonner and 33 kilometres west of Kimberley.
Regionally, the area is underlain by undivided sedimentary rocks of the Mesoproterozoic Creston Formation and argillite, greywacke, wacke and conglomerate turbidites of the Mesoproterozoic Aldridge Formation, both of the Purcell Supergroup, that have been intruded, contemporaneously, by gabbro-diorite sills and dikes. Porphyritic quartz monzonite/granodiorite stocks intruded the package during the Upper Cretaceous. Structurally the area is cut by the Hall Lake fault, a west-dipping thrust fault with some north strike-slip movement. The area is cored by a zone of phylonitic/mylonitic metamorphism that is likely related to the Hall Lake fault.
The Shadow vein, also known as the Shado zone, consists of lead – zinc – copper – silver ± gold–bearing veins. Locally, numerous parallel-trending quartz veins occur over a width of more than 50 metres, with exposed strike lengths estimated to be greater than 100 metres. The veins vary from a few to 30 centimetres in width and are often intensely mineralized.
The sediment-hosted quartz veins appear related to a discordant feeder zone, more than 10 metres in width, located in the central portion of the occurrence. The feeder zone is strongly silicified and carbonatized. Galena is predominantly associated with the veining, with lesser amounts of pyrite, chalcopyrite and sphalerite.
Some reports indicate that the occurrence might be hosted in a 25-metre-thick carbonatite plug. The presence of talc, kaolin and metallic sulphides supports the theory that it formed in conjunction with contemporaneous chemical or sedimentary exhalative venting.
An adit of unknown age and size, referred to as the Ron-Don adit, is reported below the road to the southeast of the main occurrence area.
In 1978, limited production of 2.97 tonnes was shipped to Trail, BC. This shipment assayed at 424 grams per tonne silver, 25.4 per cent lead, 4.8 per cent zinc, and 0.13 per cent copper (Assessment Report 18861).
Work History
The Shado claims were staked in 1976 by T. Bratford, following the discovery of the mineralized zone (Shado) during road building in the area. At this time, a limited program of prospecting, stripping and trenching was performed. In 1978, Shado Mines Ltd. acquired the property and minor production occurred from the Shado zone.
In 1987, Golden Arc Industries Ltd. purchased the Shado property and conducted a property examination. Sampling of the Shado zone yielded up to 0.55 per cent zinc, 42.24 per cent lead and 623.9 grams per tonne silver over 0.15 metre (Assessment Report 18861).
In 1988, Mirandco Mines Inc. optioned the property and completed a program of geological mapping, geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling and 50.0 line-kilometres of ground electromagnetic and magnetic surveys on the area. Sampling of the veins is reported to have yielded values of up to 0.19 per cent copper, 2.17 per cent zinc, 58.6 per cent lead, 1060 grams per tonne silver and 0.25 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 18861). Also at this time, a soil concentrate sample, located at an elevation of approximately 1350 metres on the south side of Redding Creek, is reported to have yielded 10.6 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 23675).
In 1994 and 1995, Otis J. Exploration Corp. conducted programs of geological mapping, soil sampling and a 4.5 line-kilometre ground magnetic and electromagnetic survey on the area as the Red Wolf property. In 1996, Sedex Mining Corp. conducted a program of geological mapping on the Red Wolf property.
In 2009, Kootenay Gold Inc. conducted a program of prospecting and rock sampling on the area as the Red Lobster property. Six rock samples (SK09-030 to -035) from the Shado vein zone yielded values from 0.01 to 0.48 per cent copper, trace to greater than 1.00 per cent zinc, 0.14 to greater than 1.00 per cent lead and 14.2 to greater than 100 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 31587).
In 2010, Kootenay Gold Inc. conducted a further program of rock sampling on the Red Lobster property. Three samples (SK10-32 to -34) from the Shado vein zone yielded from 0.03 to 11.33 per cent zinc, 13.81 to 39.44 per cent lead and 223 to 661 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 32161).
In 2011, Fjordland Exploration Inc. conducted a program of geochemical (rock and soil) sampling on the area as part of the regionally extensive St. Mary property. Six diamond drill holes, totalling 1548.7 metres, were completed on the Red Lobster area of the property. A grab sample (11RTP605) from a mineralized quartz vein exposed in a historical trench assayed greater than 1.00 per cent lead and greater than 100 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 32893).
Also In 2011, Bethpage Capital Corp. conducted an airborne geophysical survey of the Hall Lake area including the occurrence. The survey identified five anomalous features. It was hypothesized that the first two zones could be the extension of the felsic dike that hosts the mineralization found at the Cretin (MINFILE 082FNE170) occurrence to the south.
In 2013, Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. conducted a program of geological mapping and geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling on the immediately west as a part of the Hall Lake property.
In 2014, a minor program of prospecting and rock sampling was performed on the Red Lobster property by Craig Kennedy. In 2015, Bethpage Capitol Corp. conducted a minor program of heavy mineral sampling on the area immediately west as a part of the Hall Lake property.
In 2019, SJ Geophysics completed a 2.8 line-kilometre hybrid Volterra magnetotelluric (MT)/Volterra induced 3D polarization (3DIP) geophysics survey focused the southern part of the Vulcan property.
In 2020, Eagle Plains completed a program of prospecting, geochemical (rock, soil and silt) sampling and two diamond drill holes, totalling 975.2 metres, with borehole electromagnetic surveys on the area as the Vulcan property.
