The Westmont property, comprising the Westmont (Lot 8929), Eastmont (Lot 8924), Oddfellow, White Cloud, Lily G., Yankee Girl and Clipper Crown-granted claims and fractions, is located on the north slope of the valley of Enterprise Creek, 12.5 kilometres northeast of Slocan. The mine workings consist of at least five adits, located east of Westmont Creek, ranging in elevation from 150 to 400 metres above the main road along Enterprise Creek.
The property is underlain chiefly by coarse-grained, porphyritic Nelson monzonite. The granite is traversed by basic dikes along which some renewed faulting has occurred. Faulting follows two principal directions: one striking northeast and steeply dipping and the other striking northwest and dipping steeply northeast.
The main lode, as exposed in the lower No. 3 and No. 4 adits, is mostly a steeply dipping fault-fissure zone that strikes northeast; however, approximately 120 metres from the portal of these two adits the lode swings to a more easterly strike and dips 70 degrees north. The main lode varies up to 2.4 metres in width and averages 1.2 metres wide. The lode is composed of broken and crushed rock, partly cemented by quartz, which also forms veins and lenses 0.5 metre or more thick. The quartz is banded and also shows some comb structure. It carries disseminations, pockets and streaks of galena, sphalerite, pyrite, tetrahedrite, ruby silver and native silver, intimately associated with one another in varying proportions. The richest ore was found between No. 2 and No. 3 levels. In some places high silver is associated with galena but elsewhere combinations of tetrahedrite, sphalerite and native silver yield the best silver values.
In 1968, underground sampling of the fifth level yielded up to 778.4 grams per tonne silver across 30 centimetres, whereas chip samples from the fourth level yielded up to 1334.1 grams per tonne silver (Property File - Eastmont Silver Mines [1971-02-01]: Prospectus Report on the Eastmont Property).
In 1979, diamond drilling, from the north drive, intersected a parallel vein structure located approximately 60 metres to the west. Two samples of vein material assayed 2363 and 1351 grams per tonne silver (Property File - Hoko Explorations [1981-04-04]: News Clippings - Westmont). Also at this time, sampling of the lowest level averaged 858.4 grams per tonne silver, 7.60 per cent lead and 12.20 per cent zinc (Property File - Hoko Explorations [1981-04-04]: News Clippings - Westmont).
In 1987, a sample (JL-125) assayed 2300 grams per tonne silver, 0.974 grams per tonne gold, 0.247 per cent copper, 7.8 per cent lead, and 12.97 per cent zinc (Open File 1988-11).
Development work on the Westmont property began in the 1890s, with production starting in 1907 and continuing until 1914. Subsequent mining, until 1971, mainly by lessees, was intermittent. Production from the mine, during 1907 through 1980, totalled 3211 tonnes of ore that yielded 11 084 830 grams of silver, 2058 grams of gold, 199 781 kilograms of lead, 65 920 kilograms zinc, 54 kilograms of copper and 68 kilograms of cadmium.
The showings were discovered in approximately 1895 by F. Griffith, who in subsequent years carried out development in opencuts and an exploration adit; however, no significant amount of mineralization was discovered until 1906. In 1907, the Westmont Silver Mining Company, Limited was incorporated in Ontario to develop the property. In 1909, the Eastmont, White Cloud, Oddfellow, Eastmont Fr., Clipper, Westmont, Lily G, White Cloud Fr. and Yankee Girl Fr. claims (Lots 8924–8931 & 8935, respectively) were Crown-granted to the company. The property was acquired by The Ellis Silver Mining Company, Limited, which was incorporated in Ontario in March 1909. Development work was carried out each year from 1907 until 1914 and included greater than 457 metres of crosscuts and drifts in adits No. 3, 4 and 5. H.D. Lea & Associates held a lease on the property in 1918 and 1919 and carried out stoping between levels 3 and 4. Further work was reported in 1927 and 1929.
No further activity is reported until 1956 when the property was owned by J.A. Cullinane and associates, of Nelson, under the name Ellis Mining Syndicate. Lessors Myers and Thickett shipped ore from No. 4 dump to the Van Roi mill at Silverton. Further shipments from No. 4 dump in 1957 were under the name Chexdeco Mining Limited, which was incorporated in July of that year.
Silver King Mines Limited was incorporated in September 1958 to acquire an option on the property. The No. 4 adit was re-timbered from the entry to the intersection of the main vein, a distance of 60 metres. At this time, caved ground was cleared west of the intersection, for approximately 300 metres, to provide sufficient access to the bottom of the old stope area to re-establish natural ventilation. East of the intersection, 30 metres of drifting was done on the main vein and approximately 400 tonnes of ore was removed from the stope above the drift. The option was abandoned in the summer of 1959. Sterling Silver Mines Ltd. held an option on the property in 1963 and 1964. A new crosscut adit was driven and 152.4 metres of diamond drilling was carried out.
In 1967, the nine Crown-granted claims were optioned by G. Bandeen and W. Wingert, who incorporated Eastmont Silver Mines Ltd. in March 1968. A mineralized surface occurrence was identified by trenching between the No. 3 and 4 portals and subsequently mined out to the fourth level. Development work and stoping between the No. 4 and 5 levels continued into 1971. Hoko Exploration Ltd. optioned the property from J.A. Cullinane in July 1978 and a 50-50 joint exploration agreement was reached with Alto Exploration Ltd in October 1978 . The purchase was completed and the title transferred to Hoko. Exploration work in 1979 included 217 metres of diamond drilling in four holes. In 1980, a 150-metre tunnel was driven to give access to the north lode on the fifth level.
