The Tedesco flake graphite showing is located on the north side of Perry Peak, adjacent to Eagle Graphite Corporation’s flake graphite operations (MINFILE 082FNW260) to the west. The showing is found on the Blu Starr gemstone property and is reached through a series of logging roads westward from Passmore and Vallican along the Little Slocan River to Perry Ridge. The Blu Starr property is situated at the confluence of the Slocan and Little Slocan rivers near Passmore, approximately 25 kilometres west of Nelson.

The Slocan Blu Starr property lies within the southern portion of the Valhalla-Passmore Gneiss Complex, in the Passmore Dome. The Valhalla Complex consists of a high-grade metamorphic core with outwardly dipping metamorphic layering and foliation. Heterogeneous sequences of biotitic schist (pelitic schist), quartzo-feldspathic gneiss (psammitic gneiss), amphibolite gneiss and minor marble, calc-silicate gneiss, quartzite, metaconglomerate and ultramafic rocks make up the Valhalla assemblage of metamorphic rocks. The Tesdesco area geological units cannot be directly correlated with other areas of the Slocan Blu Starr property. The area hosts distinctive graphite marbles that are not known to occur on other areas of the property.

Large flake graphite is exposed in outcrops along logging roads for over 2000 metres.

The Tedesco area is underlain by amphibolite gneiss, calc-silicate gneiss and biotite-muscovite paragneiss. Locally disseminated graphite comprises up to 15 per cent of the paragneiss. The rusty graphite-bearing gneiss is interbedded with graphite-bearing marble layers 5 to 10 metres in thickness.

The Blu Starr sapphire deposit was discovered in 1991, followed by the discovery of the Blu Moon sapphire deposit (MINFILE 082FNW263) to the northwest in 1993. From 1991 to 1995, approximately 10 tonnes of sapphire-bearing rock was hand mined, yielding approximately 10 kilograms (50 000 carats) of coarse rough sapphire from Blu Starr and 1 kilogram (5000 carats) from Blu Moon (Press Release, Anglo Swiss Resources Inc., December 18, 2012). The property was acquired by Anglo Swiss Resources Inc. in 1995. That same year, Marylou Coyle, PhD, was contracted to study the deposits and make recommendations for development. In 1996, the first organized geological studies of sapphire deposits were conducted, leading to the discovery of aquamarine beryl crystals in quartz-tourmaline pegmatitic dikes. In 1997, a 150 tonne composite bulk sample was extracted from the Blu Moon deposit and sent for processing. Smaller hand samples were taken from Blu Starr and other gem showings on the property. In 1998, a small gem garnet deposit was discovered on a mountainside near the Blu Starr deposit and a 2-tonne bulk sample was extracted. That same year, an extensive mineralized zone of crystalline graphite was discovered in the Tedesco area and the Sapphire Hill occurrences were found near the Blu Moon deposit. Three zones of iolite mineralization were also found north of the Blu Starr deposit in the fall of 1998. One tonne of sapphire-mineralized rock was extracted from Sapphire Hill and two 1-tonne bulk samples containing approximately 25 kilograms of coarse rough crystal and gem iolite were extracted from the I1 and I2 iolite zones. In 1999, a detailed geological examination of the iolite zones was completed.

In 2000, Hampton Court Resources partnered with Anglo Swiss Resources in a joint venture. Exploration by Hampton Court focused on evaluating the potential of placer claims along the Slocan River, west of the Blu Starr deposit. The potential of alluvial deposits along the Slocan Valley was assessed with respect to potentially commercial deposits of gemstones, including garnet, iolite and sapphire. Work that year consisted of 8.5 kilometres of ground-penetrating radar, surface geological mapping and preparation of a report titled Mineralogic Evaluation of the Slocan River Placer Claims. At the same time, exploration continued on other areas of the property. Thirteen new sapphire occurrences were identified, as were occurrences of amethyst quartz, rose quartz and titanite. Ten new iolite-anthophyllite occurrences were discovered along the Rainbow Horizon, and the New Star claim was staked to cover the northern extension of the iolite-anthophyllite–bearing Rainbow Horizon. A potentially large and economic gem garnet occurrence was identified in the Tedesco area. Bulk samples were extracted from the Tedesco garnet deposit (2.76 tonnes) and the I1 Iolite deposit (greater than 100 tonnes). More than 1000 carats of red garnet gem rough were recovered from Tedesco and more than 5 tonnes of specimen crystal and coarse rough gem material were recovered from the I1 Iolite (Assessment Report 26537).

In the early 2000s, Crystal Graphite Corporation (now known as Eagle Graphite Corporation) was granted the option to undertake a due diligence evaluation of the graphite potential of the Blu Starr property. The option lapsed in December 2002 and results from this work have never been made available. Work on the property was suspended until 2008, when another graphite exploration program was undertaken. In the Tedesco area, ground geophysics was used to explore for graphite up to 200 metres in depth. In the west-northwest of the property, three diamond drillholes totalling 812.9 metres were completed. Two drillholes intersected intervals of calc-silicate gneiss and narrow bands of marble similar to that reported to host large flake graphite deposits on the adjacent Eagle Graphite (formerly known as Crystal Graphite) property. Minor traces of flake graphite were noted in the marble bands. In 2010, 525.9 kilometres of airborne geophysical surveys were completed across the entire property. A limited ground survey of soil sampling and prospecting was carried out on the region of known graphite occurrences.

In 2012, an induced polarization survey identified four large electromagnetic conductors in the area surrounding the Tedesco graphite showing. Previous geophysical work had outlined a 3-kilometre-long conductor known to be associated with the Tedesco graphite.

Seven surface samples of altered graphite material collected by Anglo Swiss were assayed and returned low-grade carbon-graphite values up to 3.5 per cent with large crystalline graphite flakes (Press Release, Anglo Swiss Resources Inc., December 18, 2012). Diamond drilling in 2008 returned low-grade values for graphite but confirmed the presence of calc-silicate and marble horizons in association with the graphite.