The Eva Bell (Lot 2031), Manitou (Lot 1753) (082ESE098) and Halifax (Lot 3042) (082ESE099) are adjacent claims in the south central part of the Burnt Basin camp. This small mining camp is situated approximately 13 kilometres northeast of Christina Lake and roughly 25 kilometres west of Trail in southeastern B.C. Access to the property is via Highway 3 from either Grand Forks or Castlegar to the Paulson Bridge. From a point 0.4 kilometre southwest of the Paulson Bridge a dirt road extends along the eastern side of the claims and across the southern part of the property. Elevations range from 1,300 metres on Halifax claim to the highest point at 1450 metres on the Eva Bell claim.
The claims lie in a 3-kilometre-wide northeasterly trending belt of Mount Roberts sedimentary rocks (Permian). The belt is bounded on the north by Nelson plutonic rocks (Jurassic) and outliers of the Coryell batholith (Tertiary) on the south. The sedimentary units are mostly limy siltstones interbedded with platy limestone. These beds are sharply folded plunging 25 to 60 degrees northwest with axial planes inclined northeast. The sediments are intruded by altered offshoot pulaskite and pulakite porphyry dikes from the Coryell batholith that mostly trend parallel to the axial planes of the folds.
The mineral showings in the claim area comprise both massive sulphide bodies and disseminations composed of galena, sphalerite, magnetite and pyrrhotite in limey argillaceous hornfelsed rock. Skarns are especially well developed around the upper Eva Bell showings. The associated mineralization consists of pyrite, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, magnetite, chalcopyrite, galena and sphalerite accompanied by exotic accessory minerals including cubanite, nicolite, violarite, loellingite, cobaltite, acanthite and argentian pentlandite. These minerals are concentrated in small pods commonly, measuring 1.5 x 2 x 3 metres, closely associated with pyroxene, calcite, amphibole, and hematite commonly on bedding planes and in the crests of folds.
The Gold Knoll zone is located approximately 300 metres north west of the Upper Eva Bell zone and comprises narrow mineralized quartz veins.
Work History
Little has been recorded regarding the early prospecting in the area other than in 1901 a shaft, 12 metres deep, and a crosscut adit were developed on the Eva Bell claim. In 1902, Eva Bell claim was Crown granted to J. Rogers and H.L. Jones. Since 1965, several operators have explored the showings and shipped small quantities of ore. In 1965, Christina Lake Mines Ltd. completed geological, geochemical and magnetometer surveys and a minor amount of diamond drilling. This was followed in 1968 by Dalex Mines Ltd. completed an induced polarization survey, considerable stripping and trenching and 7 drill holes totalling 653 metres. A few years later in 1971 Burnt Basin Mines Ltd. undertook a program of geological mapping, a magnetometer survey, trenching and stripping, drilling that included 5 holes totalling 200 metres, and production of 43 tonnes of ore grading 210 grams per tonne of silver, 16 per cent zinc and 8 per cent lead. In the period 1972 to 1975, Donna Mines Ltd. reported line cutting and a magnetometer survey on the Eva Bell and Halifax claims and five short drill holes, cat trenching and percussion drilling on Eva Bell. At this time the company shipped 13,500 tonnes of ore. In 1975 to 1976, Alviji Mines Ltd., a company closely associated with Donna Mines Ltd., operated the property and shipped 485 tonnes of ore grading 106 grams per tonne of silver, 4.45 per cent lead, 6.75 per cent zinc and 21.5 per cent magnetite. The company name 'Alvija' was changed to Paulson Mines Ltd. in 1976. In 1977, Paulson Mines Ltd. completed 457 metres of drilling on the Halifax claim and published intercept values, up to 2 metres, grading 420 grams per tonne of silver, 19.7 per cent lead and 14.9 per cent zinc. In 1978, Oliver Resources Ltd. completed 10 kilometres of electromagnetic, induced polarization and magnetometer surveying and the following year Granges Exploration Ltd. did 291 metres of diamond drilling on the Eva Bell and BP No.2 claims.
In April 1986, West Rim Resources Inc. acquired an option agreement on the property, the object being to evaluate the Mother Lode (Lot 1508) and the Eva Bell (Lot 2031) and Halifax (Lot 3042) claims. The program included a detailed fill-in soil geochemical survey that was carried out across the Halifax and Eva Bell claims and the intervening Manitou claim (Lot 1753). The results indicate a more or less continuous zone of mineralization 350 metres long and 100 metres wide across the three claims.
In 2007, samples from the Gold Knoll zone assayed 43.07 and 42.78 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 29724). Also in 2007, trenching exposed a 5-metre wide by 11-metre long zone of semi-massive to massive magnetite-sphalerite mineralization, trending 090 to 100 degrees, which is truncated by a fault to the west and remains open to the east. Samples yielded from 13.72 per cent zinc, 2.86 per cent lead, 2.50 per cent copper and 460 grams per tonne silver over 3.0 metres to 3.89 per cent zinc, 0.22 per cent lead and 12.5 grams silver over 5.0 metres from a separate zone (MacIntyre, D. (2018-11-26): Technical Report - Molly Gibson Lode Property).
In 2018, Rich River Resources, on the behalf of Golden Lake Exploration Inc., completed a program of prospecting and geochemical (rock, soil and silt) sampling on the area as the Molly Gibson-Golden Lode property. Three samples (32049 to 32051) from the Upper Eva Bell zone yielded from 3.3 to 4.8 per cent zinc, 0.348 to 2.72 per cent lead and 18.2 to 29.0 grams per tonne silver (MacIntyre, D. (2018-11-26): Technical Report - Molly Gibson Lode Property).
