98 



Although the lead deposits in the vicinity of Ainsworth 

 on Kootenay lake were being worked in the later So's, 

 it was not until 1891 that the richer and more important 

 ore deposits were staked inland from Kootenay lake and 

 further to the west. In the early years the transportation 

 difficulties were great, so that it was not until 1895 that 

 important shipments were made. The total production 

 from 1895 to the end of 191 1 in round numbers amounts 

 to 795,000 tons of ore, containing 30,875,000 ounces of 

 silver, 2890 ounces of gold, 269,460,000 pounds of lead 

 with a total value of nearly $29,000,000. The zinc returns 

 from 1907 to 191 1 are valued at nearly $1,000,000. 



General Geology — The deposits occur in the granitic 

 works of the Nelson batholith but particularly in the sedi- 

 mentary rocks of the Slocan series (Carboniferous?). The 

 granitic rocks range from true granite to quartz diorite. 

 They are almost prevailingly of a light grey colour and the 

 texture ranges from medium to coarse grain. Outside 

 of the main area of the batholith the rocks appear in the 

 sedimentaries as dykes, stocks and irregular masses. 



The Slocan series consists of interbedded argillaceous 

 quartzites and limestones, and slates or argillites which 

 are more or less carbonaceous. They form an undoubtedly 

 thick series, but the folding, faulting and lithological 

 similarity prevent any section being made that would 

 give even an approximation to the actual thickness. The 

 series is extensi\^ely dyked by quartz porphyry and lamp- 

 rophyres which are older than the fissure system containing 

 the ore bodies. 



Veins — The veins are nearly all of the fissure type and 

 are much more numerous in the Slocan series. There they 

 almost invariably cut across the strike of the formation, 

 if they coincide in strike they cut across the dip and termin- 

 ate usually by either turning suddenly and following a 

 bedding plane or by feathering out in the broader bands 

 of the softer slates. The veins vary in length from a few 

 hundred feet to over 4000 feet (12 19 m.) and in thickness 

 from a few inches (cm) to over 50 feet (18 m.). In excep- 

 tional cases the vein may attain a thickness of 150 feet 

 (45 m). 



The widest portions of the veins are generally filled 

 with crushed and broken country rock with but relatively 

 small amounts of the gangue minerals. In certain definite 

 areas the fissures form a widely parallel system; the dips 



