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File Created: 24-Jul-1985 by BC Geological Survey (BCGS)
Last Edit:  14-Jan-2001 by Janet M. Riddell (JMR)

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NMI 092P9 Pb1
Name QUEEN BESS, LONE PROSPECTOR (L.288), IRON CLAD (L.289), FRAN, WALTER, RUDY, JANE, CAMERON, BIGELOW Mining Division Kamloops
BCGS Map 092P060
Status Past Producer NTS Map 092P09E
Latitude 051º 33' 06'' UTM 10 (NAD 83)
Longitude 120º 08' 16'' Northing 5715058
Easting 698431
Commodities Lead, Zinc, Silver Deposit Types I05 : Polymetallic veins Ag-Pb-Zn+/-Au
Tectonic Belt Omineca Terrane Slide Mountain
Capsule Geology

The Queen Bess property is located on the east side of the North Thompson River, about 21 kilometres north of Chu Chua.

Narrow quartz veins carrying galena, sphalerite and tetrahedrite occur in fissures in basalts of the Devonian to Permian Fennell Formation (Slide Mountain Group). Most of the mineralization occurs in two veins which range from 30 centimetres to more than 1 metre in width. The Cameron vein strikes northeast and dips 50 to 75 degrees northwest, while the Bigelow vein, intersected 50 metres farther east in the main adit crosscut, strikes 020 to 030 degrees and dips vertically to very steeply west. The veins are continuous and generally well defined throughout the workings, but good mineralization, comprising massive pods and lenses of sphalerite and galena, is erratically and commonly sparsely distributed through them. The greenstone along the fissures show ankeritic carbonate alteration; in places the alteration is widespread. Country rock is typical upper Fennell basalt, in places with good pillow structures preserved. The basalts are cut by a number of steeply dipping northeast to east striking shear zones containing rusty carbonate and quartz, which typically display rusty carbonate alteration envelopes.

The Lone Prospector (Lot 288) and Iron Clad (Lot 289) claims were Crown granted to J. O'Brien in 1895. The claims lay idle until about 1916 when they were bonded by B.T. Foote and J.L. Cardon. Additional claims, including the Queen Bess, were apparently located at this time. A Seattle syndicate optioned the 6 claim group in 1917, and in 1918, Queen Bess Mines Company took over the property. A concentrator was installed by the company in 1919, and was operated for short periods in 1919 and 1920. The mine was closed in 1920, then re-opened by the Queen Bess Mining Company in 1927. Additional machinery was installed at this time and further development was reported; however, the operation was abandoned later in the year. Development work to 1927 totalled some 550 metres of crosscuts and drifts on two adit levels and a 31 metre winze. From 1917-1919, 73 tonnes of ore were shipped from this property, from which 52,222 grams of silver, 13,789 kilograms of lead and 12,503 kilograms of zinc were recovered. From 1981 to 1983, exploration work on the property (then the Rudy and Walter claims of the Fran claim group) included reconnaissance geological mapping and sampling in the vicinity of the old Queen Bess workings. In 1984, a VLF-EM survey was run over the same area. Mid-Centre Resources conducted detailed geochemical and VLF-EM surveys over the Jane 1 claim in 1989.

Bibliography
EMPR AR 1895-665; 1896-561; 1916-267; 1917-236,450; 1918-234-236; 1919-179; 1927-191,403; 1933-195; 1951-125
EMPR ASS RPT 3112, 2443, 10500, 11885, 12505, 18982
EMPR FIELDWORK 1980, pp. 159-164
EMPR GEM 1971-333
EMPR MINE FICHE #61357,#61358 (Composite longitudinal section and level plan)
EMPR METAL MM00410
EMPR OF 2002-15
EMPR P *1987-2
EMPR PF (Claim maps for Iron Clad and Lone Prospector claims, 1970)
GSC EC GEOL 8, p. 302
GSC MAP 1966-3; 1278A
GSC SUM RPT 1921 Part A, p. 102; 1930 Part A, p. 140-143
GCNL #71, 1987
EMPR PFD 13560, 810348

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