The Tinhorn past-producing gold-silver mine is located on the north side of Tinhorn Creek, 5 kilometres south-west of Oliver, in the Osoyoos Mining Division.

There is a limited amount of published information on this deposit; refer to the British Columbia Minfile page, current to July 2020. The Minfile page has the following capsule comment regarding the deposit: “East striking, steeply south dipping, parallel quartz veins 10 centimetres to 1 metre wide host the mineralization. The veins conform to the schistosity of the wallrock and contain pyrite, galena, sphalerite, free gold and telluride. Malachite staining is also present. North striking, west dipping faults 5 to 10 metres apart are reported to displace the quartz veins to the right a few metres. However, underground workings failed to find the extension of the vein system beyond one fault. An outcrop 200 metres higher in elevation along strike may be the extension.”

Giles Peatfield comments:

Official government records show that the total production in 1898 and 1942 was 274 tonnes of ore from which 45 Troy ounces of gold and 15 Troy ounces of silver were recovered. This was made up of 181 tonnes treated with a stamp mill in 1898 for 44 Troy ounces gold, and in 1942, 93 tonnes of direct shipping material, most likely stamp mill tailings from 1898, for 1 Troy ounce gold and 15 Troy ounces silver. Clearly, not a major producer. Nelson (2006) provided this review: “Historical production from Tinhorn is estimated at 274 tonnes with a recovery of 1400 grams gold and 467 grams silver. This is a ratio of 3:1, gold to silver. This is in marked contrast to the rest of the Fairview Camp where gold to silver ratios were approximately 1:8. The author has reservations about the likelihood of the Tinhorn figures*. From an examination of the physical workings and the remnant of the sizable stamp mill on the property the author suggests the historical cited ore tonnage may be low. This is consistent with the observation that early miners sometimes downplayed numbers in official reports. There are no visible stamp mill tailings on the property that the author could locate. This is most likely due to their probable removal in 1942 by Ewers and McKay. *Chip sample JDK 306 across the entrance to #5 adit by Yuriko Resources Corp (1988) shows 17.2 g/t Ag and 15.36 g/t Au.” It may be that the different gold/silver ratios have more to do with the vagaries of stamp mill recoveries than with regional differences of grade.

Comments on the minerals reported:

Cairnes (1940) listed chalcopyrite as tentative, probably to account for the presence of ‘copper staining’ as reported by Carlyle (1898). Native gold has not been reported, although given the high assays reported for some quartz samples from the workings, it is considered likely. Minfile reports sphalerite, and although there do not appear to be any reported occurrences it is considered likely. Carlyle (1898) noted that “. . . it is claimed, some tellurides . . . .” There does not appear to be any confirmation of tellurides occurring here, but it is certainly possible.

Comments on the rock types reported:

Quartzite is a major unit in the Paleozoic age Kobau Group as defined by Okulitch (1969).

Research by Giles Peatfield, Courtenay, British Columbia.
Posting prepared 16 April, 2026.



Classification: Vein Mesothermal
Type: I05: Polymetallic veins Ag-Pb-Zn+/-Au

Other Databases

Link to British Columbia Minfile:	082ESW005

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References