The Bonanaza Fr. (L.1617) occurrence is located on the eastern side of the Granby River, between Volcanic and Toronto creeks.
Regionally, the Granby River fault, a major structure of the Republic Graben, occurs in the area. The fault marks the boundary of the Paleozoic rocks to the west and the Grand Forks Metamorphic Complex, consisting of a thick sequence of quartzites, marbles, gneisses and intrusives, to the east. The Paleozoic sequence consists predominantly of cherts, siliceous argillites and siliclastic rocks of the Devonian to Permian Knob Hill Group and undivided sedimentary rocks of the Triassic Brooklyn Formation. These have been intruded by granodioritic rocks of the Cretaceous Anstey pluton and syenitic to monzonitic rocks of the Eocene Coryell Plutonic Suite to the north and west.
Locally, volcanic tuffs and limestones are intruded by porphyry dikes and diorites to granodiorites. Mineralization was reported to consist of replacement of volcanic tuffs, apparently lensoid in shape, carrying sulphides in silica and calcite. Later reports describe a steeply dipping, southeast-trending, 5- to 60-centimetre wide, shear zone within dacitic rocks, greenstone, argillite and chlorite schists hosting a quartz veined (silicified) zone containing galena, sphalerite, argentite and pyrite as disseminations to small pods. The vein strikes 125 degrees and dips 83 degrees north. Limonite and chlorite alteration are also reported.
In 1926, an underground sample over 1.6 metre of the drift face yielded 2.05 grams per tonne gold, 102.6 grams per tonne silver, 0.5 per cent lead and 5.0 per cent zinc (Property File - Chas. C. Starr [1926-11-16]: Report of Preliminary Examination of the Property of the Grand Forks Mining Syndicate - Old English & French Mine - Porcupine Goldfields Development and Finance Co. Ltd.).
In 1969, drilling on a parallel mineralized zone reportedly yielded 78.1 grams per tonne silver over 9 metres, whereas a bulk sample from the lower adit yielded 5.6 grams per tonne gold, 1269 grams per tonne silver, 12.05 per cent lead, 11.30 per cent zinc and 0.18 per cent copper (Assessment Report 24738).
In 1983, a random chip sample of the vein exposed in the upper adit yielded 1.9 grams per tonne gold and 6.8 grams per tonne silver (Property File - Fraser Canyon Resources Inc. [2006-07-08]: Geological Report of the Bonanza Mineral Claim).
In 1986, sampling of an opencut, along trend to the southeast of the main zone, yielded up to 0.22 and 1.81 per cent lead, 21.5 and 116.3 grams per tonne silver with 1.8 and 0.6 grams per tonne gold over 0.3 metre and 0.5 metre, respectively, whereas a grab sample from the Neta adit yielded 327.3 grams per tonne silver and 6.6 grams per tonne gold (Property File - American Girl Resources Inc. [1987-07-02]: Prospectus Report - Ruby Claim Group).
In 1987, select chip samples from a narrow sulphide seam exposed in an adit yielded 18.25 per cent lead, 8.28 per cent zinc, 3.2 grams per tonne gold and 283.2 grams per tonne silver over 0.5 metre (Property File - American Girl Resources Inc. [1987-07-02]: Prospectus Report - Ruby Claim Group).
In 1988, a drillhole (AG 88-1), located approximately 600 metres to the southeast on the B zone anomaly, intersected a vuggy dacite hosting massive sulphides yielding 25.0 grams per tonne silver and 0.119 per cent copper over an unknown length due to poor core recovery (Property File - American Girl Resources Inc. [1988-12-01]: Statement of Material Facts #87/88 - Ruby claim group).
In the 1989, one drillhole intersected a quartz breccia zone containing pyrite veinlets and assaying 290 parts per billion gold (Assessment Report 24738).
In 2006, sampling of trenches 1 and 2, located north and west of the adit, yielded 0.037 and 0.230 per cent copper, 0.655 and 0.093 per cent zinc, 0.655 and 6.19 per cent lead with 16.3 and 166.9 grams per tonne silver, respectively (Property File - Sookochoff Consultants Inc. [2007-01-23]: Correspondence RE: Bonanza Mineral Claim - Greenwood Mining Division - Phase I Exploration Program).
The Ruby claim group envelopes the Bonanza (Lot 1617) and Neta (Lot 996) reverted Crown grants, which in 1900 were known as the French & English group along with the Colorado, Nevada, Mtn. View and three other Crown grants. In 1900, a 30-metre tunnel was reported. In 1901, two tunnels, 27 and 43 metres long, in addition to two shafts, 21 and 3.6 metres deep, were reported on the Bonanza. Two other shafts, 9 and 7.6 metres deep, and one 12-metre long tunnel were also reported. During the mid-1920s, the area was owned and operated by the Grand Forks Mining Syndicate.
In 1925, the Grand Forks Mining Syndicate shipped 25 tonnes of ore containing 31 grams of gold, 498 grams of silver, 508 kilograms of lead and 1016 kilograms of zinc.
In 1969, three diamond drill holes tested the Bonanza zone. In 1986, American Girl Resources Inc. acquired the Ruby claim group and carried out an initial extensive exploration program of predominantly geophysical and geochemical surveys in addition to limited diamond drilling on the Bonanza adit zone. In 1988 and 1989, three diamond drill holes, totalling 515.1 metres, were completed to test anomalous zones. Exploration programs completed on the Ruby claim group since 1986 resulted in the delineation of a central, 800-metre, northeast-trending zone of geochemical and geophysical anomalies with spot gold values in the soil of up to 3650 parts per billion (Assessment Report 24738).
During 1993 through1995, geological surveys were completed by TKO Resources Ltd., formerly American Girl Resources Inc. In 1996, exploration programs of geochemical and geophysical surveys resulted in the delineation of two magnetometer anomalies.
In 2006, Fraser Canyon Resources completed a program of geological mapping, trenching and sampling on the area. Trenching to the north and south of the main zone, exposed in the upper adit, is reported to indicate potential parallel mineralized zones.
