The Ash showing is underlain by rocks of the Helikian Middle Aldridge Formation (Purcell Supergroup).

In the 1950s, small companies conducted mapping and Mag and EM surveys. Magnetic responses resulted in two short holes through overburden which hit a magnetic gabbro intrusion. In the 1970’s, Texas Gulf Sulfur did some wildcat drilling and the first hole (TGS71-1) hit a very significant sulphide zone at subcrop, interpreted as occurring at Sullivan Time. The bands of bedded, high sulphide (pyrite and pyrrhotite) occur over 5.5 metres true thickness with lead and zinc values. This hole prompted more drilling over several years by TGS then Cominco. None of the drilling was successful in penetrating the same horizon. Later in 1979, then again in 1985, Cominco conducted UTEM geophysics over the area. No drill targets emerged from this work. In 1999, Chapleau Resources Inc. drilled on the Pit claims about two kilometers west of drill site TGS71-1. Sullivan Time was interpreted to have been cored but it is not well mineralized. This work was in a different tectonic block.

In late 2002 and early 2003 work on the property by Klondike Gold Corp. included some mapping and review of previous work and compilation. In early 2003, Klondike Gold drilled 1548 metres in 4 holes in the area of Texas Gulf hole TGS71-1. The purpose was to confirm a report that the 1971 hole intersected 5.5 metres of laminated and layered semi-massive sulphides at the Sullivan horizon beneath 100 metres of overburden. The best mineralized interval obtained by Klondike Gold was 4.5 metres (true thickness) at 698 ppm lead and 2227 ppm zinc. Within this was 1 metre of 0.3 per cent lead and 0.89 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 27288). The host rocks are green wackes which are finely laminated to massive in appearance. In 2004 two holes were drilled approximately 2 kilometres west of the original intersection. Drill hole Pit 04-1 was stopped in deformed Middle Aldridge and capped; a second drill hole (Pit 04-2), some 600 metres north northwest of the first, was unsuccessful in reaching bedrock (Figure 3, Assessment Report 27732). Exploration on the Pit/Ash property was dormant from 2004 to 2012.

In 2012, Klondike Gold conducted 1140 hectares of geological mapping on their Pit-Ash property. The work focused mainly on a 6.5- by 1.0-kilometer area south of the St. Mary River along the exposed trace of the St. Mary fault. This detailed mapping has more clearly defined the trace of the fault. A small ground geophysical survey was done on the Pit-Ash claims, east of discovery drill hole 71-1. These ground magnetic and VLF-EM surveys were only partially successful in defining geological structures or lithologic units (Assessment Report 33496).