scows to Takla Landing via Tachie and Middle Rivers and
Stuart, Trembleur, and Takla Lakes.

MINERAL DEVELOPMENT.

Babine Mountains between Babine and Bulkley Valleys
have formations of schists, quartzites, shales, etc., cut by
numerous porphyritic dykes, with mineralized areas in
which some good prospects are located, notably galena,
zinc-blende, grey copper, azurite, malachite with high
values in silver. Present development is near head of
Driftwood Creek and slopes to Fulton River, and consider-
able areas have yet to be prospected and explored.
Deposits occur in veins, mostly narrow, comparatively
short quartz veins. Silver content, in some instances, is
very high. Copper, lead, and zinc are present in con-
siderable quantities in some, supplementing silver value.

In 1928 and 1929 considerable diamond-drilling was
done by the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company
on the Richmond properties, which they had acquired from
J. H. McDonald. They have spent a large amount on
tests and are still interested. Galena minerals occur 3
miles back in the mountains opposite Marble Point, copper
on Copper Island, minerals with gold, copper, silver, also
considerable zinc, in places on Newman Peninsula, asbestos
in serpentine of Middle Range, coal on Fulton River. To
north side of Babine Lake superficial glacial deposits are
deep and few exposures seen. South of Stuart Lake the
ranges of rocky hills have rock-exposures, chiefly sedi-
mentaries of Palaeozoic age. On north of Stuart Lake
glacial deposits occur and no reports of minerals are
made. The Manson-Germansen Creek area—Manson Creek
is 125 -miles by trail from Fort St. James—has yielded
about $550,000 in placer gold, being worked intermit-
tently from 1868, and hydraulicking and drilling is
proceeding.

The Government has spent considerable money in the
Fort St. James and Manson Creek Districts on roads which
should ultimately reach Fort Grahame and Finlay Forks.
Roads and trails that had fallen into disrepair are being
reconstructed. Interest in the placers around Manson
Creek is increasing. Some samples of black sand have
been brought out. The Consolidated Mining Company
has drilled some of the ground systematically and its
interest would seem to indicate further experiments.

TIMBER RESOURCES.

Other than a small mill near Fort St. James cutting only
for local requirements the forests within the watersheds
of the Babine and Stuart Lakes are unexplored. A con-
siderable area is forested, some sections with statutory
timber. About 5 per cent. is barren mountains above
timber-line and 10 per cent. covered by lakes and streams.
Forest fires have burnt approximately 50 per cent. of the

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