Contact polymetallic deposit, Kaslo, Slocan Mining Division, British Columbia, Canadai

Regional Level Types
Contact polymetallic deposit	Deposit
Kaslo	Village
Slocan Mining Division	Division
British Columbia	Province
Canada	Country

Latitude 050º 00' 57'' North; Longitude: 117º 05' 24'' West. The Contact polymetallic deposit lies on the west side of the Kaslo River valley near the abandoned railway siding of Blaylock, about 18 kilometres north-west of the Village of Kaslo, and 60 kilometres north of Nelson, British Columbia.

Note that this is the northern-most of four deposits or occurrences with significant manganese contents, either within the deposits themselves or in the surrounding rocks. These lie in a northwesterly belt about 25 kilometres long, generally along the valley of the Kaslo River; the others are: the True Blue polymetallic deposit; the Harp rhodonite occurrence; and the Manganese manganese mine.

Giles Peatfield comments:
There is a very brief description of the occurrence, listed as a prospect, on the British Columbia “Minfile” site, current to 1995. Relevant portions of this description are quoted below:
“Silver-lead-zinc mineralization occurs in the Triassic Slocan Group, locally consisting primarily of black fissile phyllites with interbedded limestone, calcareous phyllites and brown gritty quartzites. The general structural trend is 310 degrees, dipping generally southwesterly. Greenstones and ultramafic rocks of the Permian Kaslo Group unconformably underlie the Slocan Group to the east, also hosting silver-lead-zinc mineralization. Satellite stocks, dikes and sills are generally correlative with the Nelson batholith to the immediate south. Late stage lamprophyre dikes are also common.
A limestone bed roughly 46 metres thick is interbedded with shaly and slaty argillaceous rocks of the Slocan Group. The limestone has been extensively replaced, particularly along the hangingwall, by manganiferous siderite over widths averaging 6 metres and up to 27 metres. Surface workings indicate a probable strike length of greater than 180 metres.”
“Several small sulphide-bearing veins were found to intersect the limestone bed. These veins host galena, sphalerite and pyrite. Surface workings exposed siderite and galena over 6.5 by 2.5 metres, along the footwall side of the limestone bed. Assay values from select samples were 17 to 1959 grams per tonne silver, 0.2 to 80.2 per cent lead and 0.3 to 23.4 per cent zinc (NMI 082K3 Mn1).”

There is no official record of production from this prospect, although there was a modest amount of working, including two adits and a number of open cuts. “Mr. [A. J.] Curle, (1918, see NMI 1988), estimated 10 000 tons grading 12 to 15 percent metallic manganese and 40 to 45 percent iron, based on the above [exploratory] work and on assays by E. Dedolph, of Kaslo.” British Columbia Minfile states “Manganese potential evaluated during World War 1. Property File – National Mineral Inventory 082K3 Mn1.” The Minfile compiler states the tonnage as 9,070 tonnes, which is a correct conversion, but gave the commodity as manganese and the grade as 40.0 percent, which, of course, refers to iron, not manganese.

Giles Peatfield Comments on the Minerals Reported:
Cerussite: This was reported by Starr (1928), who wrote that “At several other points small veinlets, or feeders, have been opened in the limestone, usually standing vertical and striking at right angles to the limestones. These feeders generally show some lead carbonates [one assumes he meant cerussite] around nodules of galena, and seldom show blende [sphalerite].
Galena: Robertson (1900) noted that the galena was “argentiferous”. Starr (1928) mentioned galena in gossan; Hanson (1932) noted it in siderite; and O’Grady (1932) found it in the “capping” material – presumably this is the “gossan” of Starr (1928).
Limonite?: Starr (1928) wrote that “. . . it is from this mineral [siderite] that the iron of the gossan evidently is derived.” One assumes that the gossan material is limonite, although this mineral is not specifically mentioned.
Pyrite: Robertson (1900) mentioned “iron sulphides”, presumably pyrite. Hanson (1932) mentioned siderite containing small amounts of pyrite, with galena and blende.
Quartz: Starr (1928) reported that a little quartz was exposed along the walls of one of the mineralized veins.
Siderite: Starr (1928) reported that “Both tunnels show considerable siderite in lenses, irregular stringers, and pockets in the less altered part of the mineralized zone, . . . . The occasional nodules of blende and galena are always accompanied by this mineral.” Hanson (1932) reported an analysis for the less altered siderite; A. Sadler of the [Canada] Mines Branch, calculated the composition of the siderite “. . . in terms of the carbonates that compose it, as follows: Iron carbonate 63.20 per cent; Lime carbonate 7.49 percent; Magnesium carbonate 5.47 per cent; Manganese carbonate 20.98 per cent.” O’Grady (1932), who described the material as ‘mangano-siderite’, presented several assays – refer to pages A145-A146 of the Annual Report for details. It appears that the ‘spathic iron’ (Cairnes, 1932) at the Contact deposit is an intermediate member of the siderite-rhodochrosite series.
Sphalerite: Robertson (1900) reported ‘zinc sulphide’ but gave no details. Starr (1928) described an oxidized ‘capping’, with “. . . isolated chunks of sphalerite and galena.”; an assay of a large sample of this material was reported to grade 2.0 percent zinc. Hanson (1932) described “. . . manganiferous siderite which is extensively oxidized near the surface and carries here and there a little sulphide mineralization including galena, blende, and pyrite.”
Giles Peatfield Comments on the Rock Types Reported:
The rock types listed above were described by Starr (1928). Specific comments were that the argillite was “slatey” and the quartzite “impure”.

Giles Peatfield
BASc. (Geological Engineering) University of British Columbia 1966.
PhD Queen's University at Kingston 1978.
Worked for Texas Gulf Sulphur / Texasgulf Inc. / Kidd Creek Mines - 1966 to 1985.
Consultant 1985 to 2016

Other Databases

Link to British Columbia Minfile:	082KSW043

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References