The DEADWOOD showing is located on Crown grant Lot 590S, approximately 600 metres west of the summit of Mount Franklin.
The showing consists of quartz veins, containing gold, silver and base metal mineralization, hosted mainly by andesite and dacite flows and tuffs of the Eocene Marron Formation, Penticton Group. The Eocene volcanics are underlain by volcanic and metasedimentary rocks of the Devonian-Triassic Franklin Group.
Mineralization in the veins is not described. Veins on the adjacent HOMESTAKE (082ENE051) and BANNER (082ENE002) Crown grants contain pyrite, galena, sphalerite and chalcopyrite, from trace amounts up to several per cent. It is assumed that these veins project onto the DEADWOOD prospect and are therefore similar.
Early references to the DEADWOOD claim are brief and are mentioned because of its proximity to the HOMESTAKE and BANNER properties. The DEADWOOD claim was Crown granted in 1907 to Frank Coryell, Alex McDonald, James H. Hodson and Peter Wolf. In 1932, quartz veins in a shear zone were noted; it was observed that assays were not spectacular. Two adits in the southwest corner of the DEADWOOD Crown grant are not specifically described in the literature.
Several major exploration programs have been carried out in the general area by companies such as Franklin Mines Ltd. in 1964, Pearl Resources Ltd. in 1984, and Longreach Resources Ltd. in 1986. However, there is no work recorded by these companies specifically on the DEADWOOD showing.
Sampling in 1987 by Placer Dome Inc. identified 2 locations with anomalous gold-silver rock geochemistry. A grab sample collected near the adits assayed 1.6 grams per tonne gold, 4.3 grams per tonne silver, 0.0122 per cent copper, 0.0139 per cent zinc and 0.0109 per cent lead (Assessment Report 17273). Another site, approximately 200 metres north of the adits, assayed 2.53 grams per tonne gold, 11.0 grams per tonne silver, 0.93 per cent copper, 1.25 per cent zinc and 0.339 per cent lead (Assessment Report 17273). Both samples are believed to be of quartz veins.
In 1993, Sway Resources Inc. optioned a large number of Crown grants and claims in this area, including the DEADWOOD Crown grant. They proceeded to carry out a program of prospecting, sampling, geological mapping and a 16-hole rotary and diamond-drill program. The program was directed at quartz veins on the adjacent BANNER (082ENE002) Crown grant Lot 1199 to the south. A sample collected from a large quartz vein, in a heavily silicified area near the DEADWOOD adits, assayed 5.8 grams per tonne gold (Property File - Sway Resources Inc., Statement of Material Facts, dated February 14, 1994). A 1995 press release refers to a high-grade sample collected from the northern part of the DEADWOOD Crown grant. It assayed 21.5 grams per tonne gold, 488.9 grams per tonne silver, 0.499 per cent copper, 37.86 per cent lead and 1.43 per cent zinc (George Cross News Letter, No. 82, April 28, 1995).
