The Flathead 9 mineral occurrence is located on a ridge west of Howell Creek and east of Hunger Lake (Leslie Creek), approximately 50 kilometres southeast of Fernie. Numerous Cretaceous intrusions comprising syenite to monzonite, occur as stocks, sills, dikes, plugs and possible diatremes, and are found within the sedimentary strata extending 11 kilometres to the northwest and 7 kilometres to the east of the Flathead 9 area.

The Flathead 9 occurrence is underlain by a thick series of limestones, dolomites and black shales of Mississippian Rundle Group (Livingstone, Mount Head and Etherington formations), intruded by a syenite stock. This stock is enclosed by coarse crystalline, skeletal calcarenites. Within these rocks, an aureole of coarse equigranular marble has been developed for a distance of about 100 metres around the stock. Small bodies of calc-silicate skarn were also found along the contact with the stock.

The Flathead 9 (A grid) was established on the large intrusion of fine to medium grained porphyritic to massive syenite. Quartz veins up to 2 centimeters and small breccia zones of rock fragments set in a massive garnet groundmass are present. Limonitic, siliceous, clay altered fracture zones transect the stock in several places.

Work completed in 1985 and 1986 on the "A Grid" area of the property by Dome Exploration Canada Ltd, outlined encouraging rock, float and soil results and revealed a small calc-silicate vein (less than 0.5-metre in width) which returned an analysis of 1.5 grams per tonne gold, 7.1 grams 2.3 per cent zinc, and 0.3 per cent copper (Assessment Reports 14162 and 15359).

The 1987 drill program by Dome consisted of 10 holes and resulted in several holes intersecting syenite intrusive rock throughout their full lengths while one hole encountered only marble and the others intersected a mixture of marble, limestone and syenite. The results of the drilling, which tested only a small region of the grid, were considered technically encouraging but economically weak with the best intersection being 7.58 grams per tonne gold over 1.5 metres in hole 138FA6 (Assessment Report 16676). Hole 138FA6 consisted of oxidized syenite and unoxidized syenite with pyrite, calcite and chlorite fracture coatings to 152.4 metres.

Results of hand trenching on two clay-altered shear zones within the “A” grid were more encouraging with free gold being panned from the zones and grab samples grading up to 36.80 grams per tonne gold (as reported in Assessment Report 31338). Gold mineralization was noted to be correlative with increased limonite.

WORK HISTORY

Dome Exploration (Canada) Limited (later Placer Dome Inc.) staked the first mineral claims on the Flathead property in 1984 following the discovery of several gold anomalies during a silt sampling program conducted that year in the vicinity of Trachyte Ridge.

Further work completed in 1985 and 1986, focusing on the "A Grid" area of the property, outlined encouraging rock, float and soil results and the discovery of a small calc-silicate vein (less than 0.5-metre in width) which graded 1.5 grams per tonne gold, 7.1 grams per tonne silver, 2.3 per cent zinc and 0.3 per cent copper (Assessment Reports 14162). Work on the Flathead 1-12 claims in 1985 included work on three separate grids (A, B, C) prospecting, geological mapping and collection of 917 soil samples and 27 rock samples (Assessment Reports 14162). In 1986, work on the Flathead 1-12 claims included exploration on five separate grids (A, B, D, E, F) consisting of grid construction, prospecting, geological mapping and collection of 545 soil samples and 63 rock samples (Assessment Reports 15359). A soil gold anomaly measuring 1000 metres by 300 metres with peak soil values to 5590 parts per billion was outlined on the "A Grid" and a raft of limestone cut by red and white chalcedonic veins within the syenite was noted. Additional minor grids were located at several other locations on the claim block including the "E grid" where a greater than 200 parts per million soil copper anomaly was located but never evaluated. Success on the A grid, which included grab samples up to 36.80 grams per tonne gold was sufficiently successful to justify a diamond drill program the following season.

The 1987 field program of Dome Exploration at Flathead (later Crowsnest) was initiated on the “A Grid” and “B Grid” (Assessment Report 16676). The A Grid drill program totaled 1262 metres in ten holes and was completed using a helicopter. Also, in 1987 exploration was initiated on the “B Grid” (Flathead 8, 082GSE090), located about 5.5 kilometres to the southeast, and resulted in the discovery of a "sulphide rich gossanous boulder" that returned an analysis of 122 grams per tonne gold (3.56 ounces per ton) and can be considered the initial discovery of significant mineralization on the "B grid". This sample consisted of limonite, pyrite, chalcopyrite with minor quartz and altered rock fragments. Besides the drilling, the collection of 339 soil and 39 rock samples from four separate grid systems were completed on the Flathead claims.

From 1988 to 2009 inclusive, various owners and operators continued work on in the area, primarily on the "G, H and K grids (082GSE070) and the "B Grid” (082GSE090) (Assessment Report 31338).

Refer to Flathead 6 (082GSE070) and Flathead 8 (B Grid) (082GSE090) for related geological and work history details.