The Pataha occurrence is located at approximately 1080 metres elevation on the east side of a low knoll, south of Lendrum Creek and approximately 3.6 kilometres northwest of Ainsworth.
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.
This group of claims lies along the western edge of the Highland and Florence properties and covers an area extending from near Cedar Creek to the South Fork of Woodbury Creek. Refer to the Silver Glance group (MINFILE 082FNE010) and the Noranda (MINFILE 082FNE038) for details of the deposit description.
Work History
Most of the development work on the Hercules claim was done in approximately 1890. The workings consisted of 36.5 metres of tunnel in two adits, a shaft 4.5 metres feet deep and some trenching. In approximately 1895, a 22.8-metre shaft was put down on the Sullivan claim. Apparently, no work has been done on the Noranda claim. The Pataha workings include a number of pits and trenches, at least 1 shaft and an adit located approximately 100 metres to the south of the shaft.
The Hercules-Silver Glance group consists of the Hercules, Sullivan, Noranda, Silver Bell, Glen Ellen, Harrison, Free Silver and Silver Glance claims. Three of the claims, formerly called the Pataha, Ellen and Bugaboo, were relocated in 1951 under the respective names of Hercules, Sullivan and Noranda, respectively.
In 1951, Nubar Mines Ltd. of Toronto held an option on the claims and are reported to have done some diamond drilling. In 1952, the Asbestos-Corporation Ltd. did approximately 914.4 metres of diamond drilling in 30 holes. The results of this work have apparently not been released by the company. In 1952, Guichon Mine Ltd., owners of the Buckeye claim, held an option on all the above claims; however, their work was apparently confined to the Buckeye. During 1951 through 1957 considerable work was done on the area by Triumph Mines Limited. Also in 1956, Highland-Bell Ltd. conducted a program of geological mapping on the area as the Big Bluff, Fred, Mar and Nick groups of claims.
In 1979, the area was held and explored by Ainsworth Resources Ltd. The following year, 12 diamond drill holes, totalling 480.4 metres, were completed.
In 1996, a program of prospecting and geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling was conducted by George Addie on the area as the Silver Hoard property. A grab sample (51934) hosting galena-sphalerite-pyrite±arsenopyrite and chalcopyrite from a caved shaft from the Pataha workings yielded 20 grams per tonne silver, 0.89 per cent lead and 3.70 per cent zinc, and a nearby dump sample (51933) yielded 20 grams per tonne silver, 0.65 per cent lead and greater than 9.99 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 25055).
During 2007 through 2011, Goldcliff Resource Corp. completed programs of prospecting, geological mapping, geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling and an airborne geophysical survey on the regionally extensive Ainsworth Silver property. In 2012 and 2014, David Wallach prospected and rock sampled the area as the Ainsworth property. In 2015, Goldcliff Resource Corp. conducted a program of prospecting, geological mapping, geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling and a 4.1 line-kilometre ground electromagnetic survey on the area as a part of the Ainsworth Silver property.
In 2020 and 2021, Goldcliff Resource Corp. conducted a further program of geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling and a 508.0 line-kilometre airborne magnetic, electromagnetic and radiometric survey on the Ainsworth Silver property. Also in 2021, a 48.0 line-kilometre airborne (drone) magnetic survey was conducted on the area by Taylor Lorenzen. In 2023, a 92.0 line-kilometre airborne magnetic survey was conducted on the area by Shane Smith.
