The McBride (093H) and Mount Robson (083E) map areas contain
134
recorded mineral occurrences. The McBride (093H) and Mount Robson (083E) map areas contain
134
recorded mineral occurrences. The area is underlain by rocks of Ancestral North
America and the Omineca and Eastern belts. Mineralization occurs primarily in the
Barkerville terrane which is in thrust contact with Triassic Quesnellia terrane rocks to
the west and Hadrynian to Lower Paleozoic Cariboo terrane rocks to the east.
Placer
gold deposits of the Quesnel Highland region, including the former rich producers (e.g. Wingdam
Creek, 093H 086)of the Barkerville camp, have accounted for
a large proportion of British Columbia's alluvial gold production. The morphology and
mineral associations of the gold suggests that it was derived locally, probably from the
numerous auriferous veins in the Downey succession of the Snowshoe Group. The Eight
Mile Lake (093H 014) placer is presently being investigated.
Precious and base metal mineralization occur predominantly in quartz veins
hosted in metasediments of the Snowshoe Group. Minor tungsten is also present in these
veins. Base metal mineralization occurs in siliceous breccia zones. Chalcopyrite occurs in
amygdaloidal volcanics at the Sweetwater
(093H 060) occurrence. The Cariboo
Gold Quartz (093H 019) and Island
Mountain (093H 006) mines, both major past producers, are presently being
examined for the possibility of replacement ore. Other past producers include the Mosquito
Creek (093H 010) mine and the Hardscrabble
(093H 023) mine (tungsten). The Dominion
Creek (093H 133) prospect consists of quartz veins hosted by limestones and
argillites near the top of the Isaac Lake Formation mineralized with visible gold,
sphalerite, chalcopyrite and galena.
See Exploration
History and Geology of the Dominion Creek Mesothermal Vein Prospect, East-Central B.C.
by Alan R. Raven and Robert A. Lane; article from Exploration and Mining in British
Columbia 1998, pages D-1 - D-8.
The Bowron River sedimentary succession hosts Paleocene coal seams at the Bowron
River (093H 005) prospect. Limestone was mined at the Ptarmigan
Creek Quarry (093H 017) and many limestone showings occur in the Cunningham
and Mural formations. Quartzite (Wishaw
Lake (093H 131) and Longworth
(093H 038)) occurs in the Lower Silurian Nonda Formation and the Lower Cambrian Mahto
Formation. The Forgetmenot
(083E 001) prospect, hosted in the Whitehorse Formation, contains 2.3 million tonnes of 75
to 90 per cent gypsum.
BC Geological Survey Publications for NTS 093H
