The McFarlane North occurrence is located south of Birkbeck Creek, approximately 2 kilometres east-southeast of the creek mouth on Kootenay Lake.
The area is underlain by coarse clastic rocks of the Upper Proterozoic Horsethief Creek Group and a Cretaceous granodioritic intrusive.
Locally, as defined by drilling, granite to leuco-granite and quartz monzonite host sericite and muscovite- altered quartz-pyrite veins with sphalerite and molybdenite mineralization. The intrusives show propylitic and potassic alteration.
In 2006, diamond drill hole MC-06-06 is reported to have yielded intercepts of 0.164 per cent molybdenum and 12,114 grams per tonne silver over 0.74 metre from 158.03 to 158.77 metres deep; 0.518 per cent molybdenum and 172.4 grams per tonne silver over 1.00 metre from 191.31 to 192.31 metres deep and 0.091 per cent molybdenum and 336.9 grams per tonne silver over 0.70 metre from 262.09 to 262.79 metres deep (Assessment Report 28909). Another drill hole, MC-06-07, yielded 85.5 grams per tonne silver over 7.71 metres from 130.00 to 137.71 metre deep and 732.6 grams per tonne silver over 1.05 metres from 187.31 to 189.86 metres deep (Assessment Report 28909).
In 2007, a drill hole (MF-07-05), located 180 metres south of the 2006 drill holes, yielded up to 0.889 per cent molybdenum over 7.3 metres from 201.5 to 211.8 metres deep, including 1.7 metres yielding 1.993 per cent molybdenum (Assessment Report 29706).
The same year, three molybdenite-bearing quartz-muscovite-pyrite veins were identified along the road between the 2006 and 2007 drill pads. The veins range in width from thin fractures with sericitic haloes to 30 centimetres. Chip samples 4 to 11, taken over 8 metres, yielded an average of 0.04 per cent molybdenum, including 0.108 over 1 metre (Assessment Report 29706).
In 2008, diamond drilling yielded up to 0.029 per cent molybdenum over 9 metres, including 0.042 per cent over 4 metres from the schists-quartz monzonite contact (DDH MF08-69; Assessment Report 32595).
The area has been historically explored in conjunction with the nearby Ben Derby (MINFILE 082FNE125) occurrence. In 1966, New Fortune Mines staked the Benderby claims and completed a program of soil sampling, an unknown amount of diamond drilling in four drill holes and a ground electromagnetic survey. No records of this work are reported. In 1967, Kokanee Moly Mines completed a program of soil sampling on the area as the Ben Derby and UNF claims. In 1979, Dekalb Mining soil sampled the area as the MO and Moly claims. In 1980, Cominco completed a program of silt and soil sampling and geological mapping on the area as the Grey claims. The following year, Dekalb Mining completed a program of soil sampling and diamond drilling, totalling 1070.5 metres in 10 holes, and a ground induced polarization survey on the area. In 1987, Armarado Resources completed a ground induced polarization survey on the area as the Ford claims.
During 2005 through 2011, Jasper Mining, in conjunction with Mountain Star Resources, completed programs of rock and soil sampling, a 455.8 line-kilometre airborne geophysical survey, a ground induced polarization survey and 83 diamond drill holes, totalling 16,410.1 metres, on the area as the McFarlane property.
