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The Pkovincial Bureau of Mines, VicTouiA, B. C, June, 1890. By Autliurity, JAMES BAKER, Minister of Mines. L F/oza ^MmMM^ REPORT. To thfi //on. Col. ,/aiws lia/ier, .\/inisti'r of .\/iiie.s, Jiritia/i, Cohiiiihia. HiR, — Herewith I have the lionour to transmit Official Bulletin No. 1, a report on the mineral deposits and the progress of mining operations in Alherni and on Barclay Sound, Island of Vancouver, B. C, compiled from notes recently taken by me, May 28th to June 10th, on a short visit to the various points in this district where mining and prospecting are being done. I was accompanied l)y Mr. Herbert Carmichael, Provincial Assayer, who rendered me signal service by his knowledge of the country and assistance in many ways. On this short tour of inspection no attempt was made to study the general geology of the country as time forl)ade, and I confined my investigations to those places where ore was repoited as found, or where work had been or was being carried on ; and as my office calls for no expression of opinion as to the probable value of any property, I will limit my report to a description of what I saw and learned. Since M". Wm. J. Sutton made his much more lengthy examination last year very little more work hai een done except on two properties, and but little that is new can now be said ; however, I was able to inspect most of the leading points of interest and to acquaint myself with many of the conditions that obtain in this district, although I was unable to reach some claims lyinj; further back, on which, as I learned, but little work save prospecting has been done, and at which no men were then at work. All mining or prospecting except on the placers on China Creek, as seen by me, was in igneous rock, in most cases 1 believe in diorite or rock closely allied, rock nearly everywhere carrying more or less iron pyrites, that led some prospectors to report exposures of such rock as ledges of great width and in many oases to call this tine grained or aphanitic rock, quartz, when in fact l)ut little ([uartz was seen apart from tlie regular quartz veins to be described, although the feldspar that mostly constitutes this rock is very acidic or high in the percentage of silica. Prospectors find this country very difficult to explore on account of its being densely covered with heavy timber and thick underbrush, especially near the coast, so that it is only by pushing up along the streams that they have picked up the clues that have led to many of the locations now made. Where so little development work has been done and so little of the ore really tested it is next to impossible for any one to reach a safe conclusion as to the value and extent of the ore now exposed, and all interested in Alberni are awaiting the results to be determined by more underground work, the milling tests soon to be possible on the erection by Mr. James Dunsmuir of the prospecting stamp mill at the foot of Mineral Creek and the first clean-up on the placers where hydraulicing is being inaugurated. In reference to fire assays of nearly all kinds of free-gold ores I would like to express ray belief that such-- as it is almost impossible to get average samples— are practically of but little value except in indicating whether gold is present or not, and of none at all in determining the pi'obahle yield value of an ore uidess vei'y careful average samples be taken from a large amount of ore, which is seldom done except by thoroughly experienced men. It is also utter folly by j)icking out a piece of rock, probably one looking very promising, to attempt to arrive at the value of an ore l)y the assay value of this particular bit, or further still by the common but pernicious and ei roneous method of avernging up a number of such assays. One must not forget that theri; is often a big gap between the assay value and the yield value of a gold ore, and that every caution must be taken to determine the milling qualities of such an ore, hence in nearly all gold camps tif note where free gold occurs in the ore fire assays are seldom made and mill runs are imfierative, and here again the lots of ore chosen must not be picked but systematically sampled out so as to give an average, representative as far as possible of the general run of the mine, keeping always in mind that ore near or at the surface, enriched by (lecoini)osition of the vein matter, is often of high value and easier to treat than ore from a lower hoiizon in the lode or below the natural drainage level. Th(! drift of those few remarks is to the effect that in this yet untried mining district there are needed much moi'e work to ascertain the size and character of the ore bodies, and I.J2792 also many careful mill tests, prosecuted with iutelligencft and experience, to decide not only the value of the ore hut its treatment qualities, and much can ])e done alonj,' these lines vi^ith- out an excessive outlay of capital, thorough t!X[)orience iuflced being almost more requisite than money. It is to be hoped that the tests soon to be begun will be carried out with experieuiie and understanding, and that the results will be so encouraging as to lead to vigorous mining o|)era- tions. I beli(;ve that with careful, systematic prospecting and exi)l()ratory work, work lionestly intended ti prove and develop the true value of a claim but vol intended for purely speculative purposes, the work of an intelligent miner not of a projector of mining schemes, thi'i district may become the centre of n)ining activity ; but what is to be most deprecated is the issuing of extravagant re[)orts that, on the face of them, are absurd, for such invariably redound to the hurt, discredit and retarding of what may be a most promising region. A few may make some small gains by such practices, but everybody interested in the opening up and advancement of a new locality sliould strive to suppress such ultra-highly coloured statements as most injvious to their own real interests, and endeavour by actual development work to prove up bheir property, as one really promising claim thus develoi)ed will he of more substantial value to a district than a vast deal of pulling that cannot bear out investigation. I will give a short description of properties and localities in the order I visited them. All altitudes were measured from sea level by a pocket aneroid and l)earings are magnetic. BARCLAY SOUND. Sarita Rivek. About a mile up this river on the left bank is a steep bluff of diorite, heavily covered with timber and under-brush, showing a consideralile amount of rock more or less permeated with magnetite, iron and copper pyrites and pyrrhotite, which in places where a few shots had been put in showed in solid masses of basic sulphides. As to the extent of this deposit no definite idea can yet be formed until .some work is done, and the men engaged building a house were to begin driving a tunnel above high water mark to exploit this large surface exposure. This claim, called the " Sarita," is said to be located in the Indian Reserve, the foreman being John Gray. Through inability to find the trails T had to abandon a visit to a deposit of magnetite near here, and the marble reported as near Poett Nook. Santa Maria Island. Near the south end, just at high water mark, is a shaft filled with water, whence many years ago iron ore was extracted, the shaft having been sunk on a small exposure of magnetite containing sulphides, running across this end of the island. Copper Island. " Rainbow " claim. On a small neck of land on east side of this island, near a good sheltered anchorage, a shaft has been sunk 50 or 60 feet on a ledge of magnetite that carries more or less sulphides. This ledge out-crops irregularly along the shore, some parts very red or reddish brown proving on fracture to he solid pyrites. There is a good house near the shaft, but all the men had been removed to the Sarita River property. Along the north end of the island, and along the shoies of the adjacent mainland and islands, is seen much limestone of a dark colour and hard fine grain, traversed by many dykes of eruptive rock, by which all bedding p'anea have been nearly obliterated. No fossils were found. Skchart. On this peninsula much prospecting has been done by Mr. Anderson, who lias built good trails to different points, and has di.sclosed by stripping several large exposures of iron ore. The first claim visited was the " Lord c.l the Isles," altitude about 950 feet, where three men were engaged uncovering a small exposvire of magnetite that lies in what apjw'ars to be diorite and next to a very extensive area of limestone, that at the point of contact with the eruptive rock is completely crystallized into large, coarse crystals. On the *' Crown Prince," 800 to 900 feet altitude, two miles from the wharf, or about '\ of a mile from the nearest salt water, a large, steep face on the mountain side has been stripped, disclosing much magnetite iron ore, in T^ places in large masses separated by country rock, but no new faces exposed by l)lasting were seen. Mr. Anderson allowed nie to copy the following analyses made on samples of ore: — (a.) By E. H. Cook, Cleveland Iron Works, Middlesliorough, England : Iron, 6G.0 per cent.; manganese, .44 per cent.; lime, 4.00 per cent. ; sulpiiur, .02 per cent.; phosphorus, .01 per cent.; silica, 2.00 per cent. (b.) By Dr. O. Wurtli, Pitt.sburg, Pa., U. 8., October 19tli, 1893 : Iron, r)4.01 to 66.32 per cent.; sulphur, traces to .09 per cent.; jihosphorus, .007 to .009 per cent. These analyses show a vei-y small percentage of phosj)horus, that would rank this ore as a fine Bessimer iron ore. Other deposits of iron ore have been stripped, but I had not time to inspect them These iron deposits can be easily mined and tlie ore brouglit down to a well sheltered deeji-water harbour, but as yet no woi'k has been done underground to t(!St the continuity or (extent of these ore masses. Along the trails exposures of syenite and felsite were seen and limestone was abundant. The " Sechart " quicksilver claim, I of a mile up Pot-Hole Creek, which empties into the sea about ^ of a mile from the wharf, has threje tunnels and two shafts close to (he creek in which it is reported native mercury was first found by hunters. The rock on tiie dump appears to be a diorite or a diabase, and some good specimens of the ore were found wliich, on being broken, disclosed the cinnabar disposed along the extremi'ly narrow invisilile cracks, while decomposed rock was found carrying the metallic "quick." The dense under-brush, but little cleared away, precluded further examination to learn in what relations the ore was to be found, but at one place where ore could be got a fault wall was seen to be no,xt to this material. No work is being now done on this property, which is held under a Crown grant. The "Hundred Islands" consist mostly of .syc-nite, but in one place a blufT about 100 feet higli, close to the wate redge, was a hornblendic granite, fi'oni which had fallen many large blocks. Effingham Inlkt. About 5 miles up this iidet is a high blufT of reddish brown eruptive rock of close, fine grained texture, but showing no series of regulai' cleavage [jlancs or indicating whether it would break out in large blocks. Associated with it were intrusions of greenish eruptive rock with more or less amygdaloidal structure, and fresh blocks of agghiUierate were to be seen. There is deep water right up to the blufl", on which the cribbing for a wharf has been laid. Along the west side of the inlet at this point is exposed much limestone cut by dykes, but no rock of the true character of marble was seen along the shore, although good marble is claimed to be found inland. ALBERNI CANAL. Coleman Ckkek. About a I of a mile up this stream on a cUiini located by Mr. McAllister for some Victoria gentlemen, on the surface of a bluff on tiie left bank is evidence of a shear zone in the diorite or where along a fault plane, 6 to 7 feet of dark, rusty coloured crushed rock matter is seen, into which a tunnel was started and run 60 feet wheie it branched into two short drifts, one 15 feet the other 22 feet long. In the workings T could see no indications of a vein or of ore, although several smooth fault walls are there, with gouge or talcy matter along them. No work is being done on this property. Granite Cheek. About 3 J miles by a good trail from the mouth of Hi watches Creek, on a tributary, or Granite Creek, I visited the "Star of the West" claim, located 1894 by Messrs. McCoy, Poole, el. al. Ait. 740 feet. A tunnel then about 50 feet long was being run N. 45° E., following as a hanging wall, a well defined fault wall, dip S. 45° E. 60°, with another sut^i or the foot wall, with 4 to 5 fc^et of greenish coloured lock between, carrying much calcite but little quartz, and some pyrites. Some of the rock called " blue quartz," tested with hydro- chloric acid, proved to be lime. No assays or tests have been made of late, but from the material first taken out and on the dump, 1 was told assays of $10 to $12 had been several times obtained. Several other claims have been located adjacent to this one, and also 7 or 8 miles up further along the creek, but as no one was at wotk further up, I did not visit them. 6 China Creek. A road now runs from Alborni to tlie upper eiul of tlie "Duke of York" plaeer cliiiiii, whence 2| miles more are being constructed to Mineral Creek, near its junction with China Creek where near De Beaux' cabin — Alt. about 1200 feet — the prospecting stamp mill will be erected for treating the test samples of ore from the property of the Alberni Consolidated .Mining Co. and other claims up Mineral Creek, up and along which is a good trail, that I took and inspected tlie "Mountain Rose," "Last Chance," " Missing Link," "Alberni," and the "Chicago" claims. "Mountain Hose."— Alt. 1500 feet. Owner, Wm. Campbell, H. al, Alberni. Two men were working stripping a well defined vein very iiregular in width, of 5 to 30 inches of cpiartz, cariying a small amount t)f iron and copper pyrites, strike east and west, dip 80° N. into the mountain ; country lock a greenish schistose rock, laminae fit right angles to course of vein, which is exposed for a shoi't distance along the hillside but near the workings is faulted, the direction and amount of throw not having yet been dcternnned. " Last Chance."— Alt. 212") feet. The Quadra Mining Co. c^mpiises three claims, the "<)[)hir," "Quadra," and " La.st Chance," at the last of which two men were at work sinking a shaft, then about .SO feet deep. Oh the surface the shaft had liecn started in an exposure of very rusty ii'on-stained rftck with a small stringer of white (piai'tz, but the bottom of th(! shaft was all in country rock, a hard fine grained diorite of a slightly schistose charactei'. Foreman, John Merrifield, Alberni. "Alberni." Alt. 2S00 feet. The Alberni Consolidated Mining Co. own four claims in a block, the; " .'Vlherni," " War- spite," " Victoria," and "Chicago," the dispute as to ownership having been satisfactorily terminated admitting the commencement of progressive exploratory work, upon the results of which the further development of this locality now greatly depends At the "Alberni" claim the last work was begun on the steep hillside on a clearly defined vein of quartz about 1| feet wide, and an open cut nearly 20 feet deep was made before a shaft was sunk 40 feet down on the pitch of the hanging wall, but at the time of my visit this shaft was full to the collar with water which, being too great to handle with a bucket, has necessitated the driving, 00 feet down the hill, of a tunnel to be about 100 feet long, to tap the vein about underneath the shaft. At the top of the shnft the quartz vein was two feet wide but following it along the surface a short distance it narrowed materially, while down in the shaft, a miner stated that at its widest part it (*' «., the quartz vein) was 31 feet. The country rock on either side, eruptive rock evidently dioritic, is heavily impregnated with irtm pyrites, and is reported to give good assays in gold, although this must be conclusively determined by the mill tests. The dump, where most of the material from the shaft has been piled to be milled, consists mostly as far as could be seen of this pyritic wall rock with little typical quartz rock in evidence, hence increasing the importance that will be attached to the mdl runs, proving this rock to be good pay ore or not as there is a large quantity of it ; from a smaller quartz vein higher up the mountain on this claim, two tons of ore were selected and sent last year to an American smelter- from which most favourable returns in gold were obtained. A good cabin is near by the shaft. Strike of the vein being N. and S., dip 80° E. Foreman, (3apt. Ross. The "Chicago" is the claim south of the "Alberni," and is about a line with the direction of the strike of the vein at the shaft just described, and about \ of a mile distant, In an open cut about 30 feet long is a quartz vein 8 to 30 inches wide, strike N. 15° W. and S. 15° E., dip into mountain of 75° to 80° easterly. The "Missing Link" — Alt. 3050 feet— immediately north of the "Alberni," shows in a small open work on the side of a small creek, a quartz vein 1 to 2 feet wide, strike N., 30° W. and S. 30° E., dip about 80° easterly, with pyritic country rock. From De Beaux to the "Alberni" shaft is about 1^ miles along the good pack trail, with a difference in elevation of 1600 to 1700 feet, and for testing purpo.ses it will be easy to pack down ore to the stamp mill socni to be erected near De Beaux, and run by water taken frou) Mineral Creek, which will afford an ample supply for this purpose. It is strongly urged that this mill may be in charge of a man thoroughly experienced in gold-milling, (capable of making fair sample lots of the ore at the mine and then of determining l)y use of the mill the probable average yield-value of the ore and tlie character of mill that may be best suited for this ore if nuch prove persistent in quantity and rich enough in gold to promise a good margin of profit, or otherwise tho.se tests, so important in detornnning to a great extent the advisability of further expenditure, may be very unsatisfactory or worse than useless. The "Golden Eagle," live or six miles above De Beaux by a trail along China Creek, is a kind of box canyon, in a steep mountain side scoured in places by annual snow-slides, up which, along a ridge, a well defined (juattz vein in the same kind of country rock or diorite, as described above, has been traced and explored l)y four short tunnels. The lowest tunnel. No. 1, was covered by the snow which never entirely leaves this basin, but Mr. Sutton reports its length to be 44 feet, with 7 feet of solid vein mattcM- at the mouth and 3^ at the face. About 100 feet above is tunnel No. 2 — alt. 29G0 feet which I was able to enter and find to be about 60 feet long and run in on a true fissure vein of quartz and iron pyrites, mispickle, etc., more or less banded in a direction parallel with the walls 2.V feet wide at the mouth and 15 inches at the face. Strike West of South, dip nearly vertical. Tunnel No. 3, altitude 3075 feet, direction as No. '2, and nearly immediately above it. Vein, the same as below, but 3.V feet wide at entrance, but beginning to narrow at 35 feet in until at the face or 45 feet oidy 4 inches wide ; however, there is no reason to doubt but that the vein on continuing along its course may widen out again as is charactei'istic of nearly every vein or ore deposit where such irregularities are to be expected. Tunnel No. 4 was inaccessi- ble and the approach for this examination to this property was attended with some difficulty on account of the snow banks. No data as to the average value of the ore taken are available to me, but as T understand this claim has just been sold for a good price, we may expect that much more work will soon be under'^aken and this vein thoroughly exploited. PLACERS. beini ^ energetically was informed that The properties of two companies were visited, where the work is pushed forward and will now be described On the "Constance" claim I much watei" was giving trf)uble in the exploratory shaft being sunk to bed-rock. The " Duke of York " claim, Superintendent, M. W. L(!veridge, Alberni, P. O. The property consists of (a) the " Duke of York " and the " Queen " claims, 2 miles long, and (b) the " Prince of Wales" claim below the Cataract Co.'s ground. On the 'Duke of York " claim excellent work is being rapidly accomplished in thoroughly and properly equip- ping it for work, all the recjuisite details to be completed before the water is turned on in the early part of July, after which the climatic conditions are such that hydraulicing may be carried on throughout the whole year, the cold winter spells being in most years very short and not at all severe. Flume. — Near the upper end of the " Duke of York " claim is a dam across China Creek, whence water is led into a flume 6 feet wide, 3 feet deep, California pattern, for IJ miles to the pressure box, whence the |)ipe, 22 inches in diameter of No. 14 steel plates, imported rolle