The Solo occurrence has been created to draw attention to a few minor barite occurrences in the area southwest of Netson Lake, 5 kilometres northeast of Brownie Mountain in the Muskwa Ranges of the Northern Rocky Mountains. It may be of interest because barite in this geological setting is locally associated with stratiform lead-zinc mineralization in the region.
The area lies at the northwestern extremity of the Gataga mineral district, in a belt of Paleozoic basinal-facies sedimentary strata known as the Kechika Trough, part of Ancestral North America (Map 38; Exploration and Mining Geology, Volume 1; Geological Survey of Canada Map 1713A). This region, which is just northeast of the Northern Rocky Mountain Trench, is underlain by Cambrian to Devono-Mississippian sedimentary rock units that have been deformed into tight, northeast-overturned folds and imbricated by thrust faults (Fieldwork 1994, Open File 1995-4; Geological Survey of Canada Map 1712A, Paper 88-1E). The general strike is northwest, and the dominant dip is moderately to steeply southwest.
The Gataga mineral deposits are characterized by stratiform sedimentary-exhalative barite-sulphide mineralization, particularly in the Middle to Upper Devonian Gunsteel Formation (informal name) of the Devono-Mississippian Earn Group. Recent Ministry mapping indicates that at least two narrow, thrust-bounded belts of Earn Group rocks extend into the area southwest of Netson Lake, consisting mainly of black, carbonaceous shale or slate, siltstone and sandstone, and chert (Fieldwork 1994, Open File 1995-4). In the course of this work, barite was found in Earn Group slates on a small creek 4 kilometres southwest of the southern end of Netson Lake (Open File 1995-4, map sample number 4).
The baritic horizon is approximately 1 metre thick and contains ovoid nodules of barite from 0.1 to 0.5 centimetre across, locally forming up to 30 per cent of the slate. Thin layers of very fine-grained pyrite, pyritic cherty lenses and coarse authigenic pyrite are associated. The hostrock, which lies approximately 25 metres stratigraphically above the base of the Earn, is similar to 'blebby' barite and exhalative pyrite horizons seen at the Driftpile Creek developed prospect (MINFILE 094K 066), located 80 kilometres to the southeast (Fieldwork 1994, page 292). This barite showing, which is occurrence #12 (Field Number FFE94-25-5) on Geoscience Map 1998-9, assayed 10.6 per cent barite and 4.4 per cent iron.
The Solo showing is centred on, and named after, another occurrence of barite, 1.25 kilometres to the west-southwest near the crest of the ridge, which was found during an investigation of zinc anomalies on the Solo property to the northwest (Assessment Report 7292, Figure 3). Barite forms nodules and rosettes in black siliceous shale. This locality is within the same belt of Earn Group as the aforementioned occurrence, though apparently it is in another, overlying thrust panel (Open File 1995-4). This allows the possibility that it is also near the base of the Earn Group. No sulphide mineralization was found here nor on the rest of the Solo property (Assessment Report 7292).
Approximately 500 metres to the northwest of the Solo locality, ferricrete assayed 0.723 per cent zinc, 0.568 per cent phosphorus, 5.36 per cent iron and 0.42 per cent barite (Geoscience Map 1998-9).
Open File 1995-4 shows two more minor barite occurrences 2 to 3 kilometres away, on the northeast slopes of the next ridge to the southwest (map sample numbers 2 and 5). These are also in the Earn Group, but in a still higher thrust panel. The Earn Group is very narrow here. Barite is finely disseminated in siliceous shale. See FFE94-18-8 (MINFILE 094L 027).
Work History
In 1978, Texasgulf Canada Ltd. completed a program of geological mapping and geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling on the area as the Solo 1-4 claims.
In 2011 and 2012, BCarlin Resources Ltd. completed regionally extensive programs of geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling on the area as the Netson Lake property.
