The Highland Chief past producer is located 2.25 kilometres west-northwest of the summit of Mount Wallace and 2.00 kilometres east of Beaverdell, British Columbia (Geology 1975, Figure G-17).

Initial prospecting began in the Beaverdell area in the late 1880s. The first ore was shipped in 1896. The major producing mines in the Beaverdell silver-lead-zinc vein camp, from west to east, were the Wellington (082ESW072), Sally and Rob Roy (082ESW073), Beaver (082ESW040) and Bell (082ESW030), with numerous other small workings throughout the area.

The first recorded work on the Highland Chief occurred in 1920 when E. Maloney developed a small silver-lead vein by a short tunnel. By the end of 1921, Maloney had driven the tunnel 6 metres along a high-grade silver-lead vein. Maloney deceased in 1923 and in 1925 the property was acquired by M. Smith and associates, who formed the Highland Chief Mining Co. Numerous opencuts and short adits were driven in the following year. Development work consisted of about 148 metres of drifting, 188 metres of crosscutting, 25 metres of raising and 79 metres of surface trenching and opencuts. The majority of this work occurred between 1938 and 1941. The property was optioned to Highland-Bell Ltd. in 1949, owner of the Beaverdell mine. In 1970, ownership was transferred to Teck Corp. The Beaverdell mine operated until 1991.

The Highland Chief claim (Lot 2345) adjoins the Beaverdell mine (082ESW030) on the northeast. Mineralized quartz vein structures occur in a fault/shear zone at or near the contact of Wallace Formation metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks which overlies Westkettle granodiorite, estimated to lie 91 metres vertically below.

Mineralization is found in quartz veins in metamorphosed Wallace Formation rocks and occurs as low-grade segregations or as stringer- type mineralization 5 to 10 centimetres in width. The mineralization consists of galena, sphalerite, pyrite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite and occasional films of native silver in a gangue of mainly quartz. The mineralized structures tend to horsetail and disperse within the Wallace Formation. The veins and hostrocks are intensely brecciated and fractured. A picked sample of ore-grade material from the Blacksmith tunnel in 1926 yielded 1371.2 grams per tonne silver, 0.7 gram per tonne gold, 12 per cent lead and 15 per cent zinc (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1916, page A208).

Recorded production from the Highland Chief was 13 tonnes mined in 1922, 1938, 1939 and 1941. Recovery included 72,252 grams of silver, 836 kilograms of lead and 797 kilograms of zinc.

For a detailed description of the geology and mineralization of the area refer to the Beaverdell (082ESW030).