The Blackbird (L.174) occurrence is located near the southwest bank of Krao Creek, approximately 950 metres west-southwest of the north end of Loon Lake.

Regionally, the area is underlain by hornblende schists, limestone and banded quartzite of the Upper Mississippian to Permian Milford Formation and basaltic volcanic rocks of the Carboniferous to Permian Kaslo Group. Granodioritic intrusive rocks of the Middle Jurassic Nelson Batholith are exposed to the west.

Locally, a historical adit has been driven in a southerly direction along mineralized fractures in a micaceous quartzite. A quartz-carbonate vein, striking northwest and containing coarse-grained disseminations of galena and sphalerite, is also reported on the claim. Later drilling on the vein, in 1980, intersected medium- to fine-grained disseminations of pyrite, pyrrhotite, galena and sphalerite in quartz-carbonate–filled breccias and in stockworks to stringers, varying from 0.07 to 0.30 metre thick, of quartz-carbonate veins. The mineralized zone is reported to be a tabular body striking 120 degrees and dipping 65 degrees to the southwest in micaceous quartzites and hornblende-chlorite-biotite schists.

In 1980, a chip sample from the collar of the adit assayed 6.02 per cent lead, 11.80 per cent zinc, 456.0 grams per tonne silver and 0.62 gram per tonne gold over 1.5 metres (Assessment Report 8992). Also at this time, diamond drilling yielded intercepts including: 10.38 per cent zinc, 7.70 per cent lead and 98.4 grams per tonne silver over 1.2 metres (46.9 to 48.1 metres down hole) in hole 80-23, located across the creek to the northwest of the adit; 4.18 per cent zinc, 0.56 per cent lead and 109.0 grams per tonne silver over 1.30 metres (49.07 to 50.37 metres down hole) in hole 80-34, located west of the shaft and south of the previous drillhole (Assessment Report 8992). Drillholes 80-35, 80-37 and 80-38, located southwest of the adit, yielded intercepts including: 4.30, 13.10 and 20.30 per cent zinc, 2.50, 15.80 and 21.56 per cent lead with 85.7, 158.4 and 286.3 grams per tonne silver over 3.46, 0.85 and 0.62 metres, respectively (Assessment Report 8992).

Work History

A historical adit, likely dating to the early 1900s or late 1800s, is reported on the Blackbird claim.

In 1979, David Minerals Ltd. conducted a program of geochemical (stream and silt) sampling on the area as the Peanut Butter claims of the Ainsworth property. The following year, 29 diamond drill holes, totalling 1772.4 metres, were completed on the Black Chief, Earl, Blackbird, Dictator, Glengarry, United and Last Chance claims.

In 2012, David Wallach prospected and rock sampled the area as the Ainsworth property. In 2022, a 72.0 line-kilometre airborne (drone) magnetic survey was conducted on the area as the Ainsworth Mill property.