The Redonda Iron occurrence is centrally located on the Elsie (L.1648) claim on the north shore of Redonda Island.

Regionally, the area is underlain by dioritic and granodioritic intrusive rocks of the Jurassic to Cretaceous Coast Plutonic Complex. Age dating from the southern part of West Redonda Island indicates 111 to 113 million years by potassium-argon from biotite and hornblende (Geological Survey of Canada Open File 480). Locally, highly metamorphosed greenstone and limestone of unknown group, formation or age are found in diorite. The strata strikes north with a dip of 65 degrees east.

There are three magnetite occurrences on West Redonda Island. They have almost identical geological settings and are close enough to each other to indicate the possibility of a continuous zone (Open File 1988-28, page 68). The three occurrences are Redonda Iron Mine (MINFILE 092K 039), Black Warrior (MINFILE 092K 040) and Homestake (MINFILE 092K 063).

Locally, magnetite is hosted in skarn-altered tuffs and limestone near the contact with diorite. The skarn mineralogy comprises primarily pyroxene and garnet with wollastonite and vesuvianite developed in limestone. The mineralogy also includes diopside, quartz, epidote, calcite, and a small amount of sphene.

The deposit is exposed in a large opencut or quarry approximately 15.2 metres wide from east to west, 12.2 metres high at the face and 6.1 metres north to south. The deposit exposed in the face is a massive body 15 metres high and 9 metres wide with a 3-metre margin of mixed magnetite and skarn.

In part, the ore is solid magnetite, but in general the magnetite occurs in nests, granules or reticulating veins throughout the altered limestone. Irregularly distributed throughout the solid ore are a few small cavities in which the magnetite has assumed the form of small crystals.

A grab sample from the face of the opencut assayed 60.6 per cent iron, 10.9 per cent silica and trace sulphur and phosphorous (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1919, page 216).

Work History

The claim was originally staked in 1892 and produced 568 tonnes of ore the following year, but no other development has taken place, and the occurrence remains largely undeveloped (Open File 1988-28).

During 2007 through 2014, Homegold Resources Ltd. conducted minor programs of prospecting, rock sampling and geological mapping on the area as the West Redonda property.