Cream Silver Deposit (Sherwood Mine), Buttle Lake, Alberni Mining Division, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canadai

Regional Level Types
Cream Silver Deposit (Sherwood Mine)	Deposit (Inactive)
Buttle Lake	Lake
Alberni Mining Division	Division
Vancouver Island	Island
British Columbia	Province
Canada	Country

The Cream Silver deposit, more correctly known as the Sherwood Mine, is located near the headwaters of Drinkwater Creek, 12 kilometres south of the south end of Buttle Lake, about 46 kilometres west-southwest of Courtenay, British Columbia. The area is within the southern part of Strathcona Provincial Park.
“The Sherwood occurrence, located at the southern end of the Buttle Lake uplift, is underlain by cherty argillite and tuff of the Paleozoic Sicker Group. The sediments and volcanics are overlain by limestone of the Permian to Pennsylvanian Azure Lake Formation, Buttle Lake Group. A large granodiorite stock of the Jurassic Island Plutonic Suite is located approximately 2 to 4 kilometres east.”
“The Sherwood vein occupies a 070 to 080 degree striking shear zone that dips 65 to 72 degrees north. Strong open fractures bisect the shear zone at 090 to 120 degrees. The shear zone is up to 2.0 metres wide and contains intensely altered gouge, and lenses of quartz that range up to 0.76 metres in width. Several parallel quartz veins are present, separated by wall rock or clay gouge. Abundant, narrow quartz veins branch off the main structure.
Primary vein material consists of quartz, sphalerite, galena, covellite, chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite. Much of the vein has been reduced to rusty, crumbly and often porous material. Studies indicate the primary sulphide mineralogy is altered to malachite, marcasite, anglesite, covellite, and possibly other secondary minerals. Silver values are associated primarily with galena. The gold mineralogy is not known.”
“In 1942, 20 tonnes of ore were shipped, producing 1866 grams of gold, 3110 grams of silver, and values in lead and copper.”
Lying as they do within the outline of Strathcona Provincial Park, the claims were expropriated by the Provincial Government in the late 1980’s.
Comments by Giles Peatfield on some of the minerals reported from the locality:
Anglesite: Reported by Sargent (1941) as an alteration product of primary sufide.
Calcite?: Reported by Dandy (1988) as “carbonate”, but most likely calcite.
Owyheeite: Reported as X-ray confirmed by Thompson (1950).
Pyrargyrite?: This was reported by Holcapek (1985). His report is not readily available, but his work is quoted by Dandy (1988). I would regard this as tentative for the locality.
Siderite: Reported by Dandy (1988).
Giles Peatfield reports: "All rock type references [he has listed] are from Dandy (1988)."

Other Databases

Link to British Columbia Minfile:	092F 069

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References