The Sunkist Brook South occurrence is located about 65 kilometres southeast of Fernie, and a few hundred meters north of Sage Creek, near the Sage Creek Road.
The regional geology in vicinity of the occurrence indicates that the Sunkist Brook area is underlain by dolomitic carbonate rocks of the Helikian Kitchener Formation, Purcell Supergroup. Copper, as chalcopyrite, or chalcocite and bornite, is present in widespread small occurrences throughout the region often associated with quartzitic phases of the sediments, and in many cases with the dikes and sills. Mineralization occurs as disseminations and fine fracture fillings in quartzite beds, in shales, and to some degree in dikes and quartz vein material. Argillites appear to favour the chalcocite-bornite association. Much of the host stratigraphy was historically reported as being the Grinnell Formation.
WORK HISTORY
In 1969, Akamina Minerals Ltd. conducted a regional mapping, and geochemical program on the Grinnell Formation, a section of which underlies the claims held by Mark V and Thor. Widespread occurrences of copper mineralization were located in the Grinnell and neighbouring formations. Some of these were trenched. Most of the resulting assays appear to have been in the 0.2 to 0.9 per cent copper range, with occasional grab samples assaying up to 5 per cent copper (Property File Document 810672). The mineralization is reported to have occurred as disseminations and fine fracture fillings in quartzite beds, in shales, and to some degree in dykes and quartz vein material.
In 1970, Strato Geological Ltd., on behalf of Mark V Mines Ltd and Thor Explorations Ltd., carried out a reconnaissance silt and soil geochemical sampling and prospecting survey on their ABC, DEF, GHI and JKL claims (Assessment Report 2746). A total of 31 rock, 28 stream silt and 60 soil samples were collected for analysis High copper values in silts were found in the areas of claim ABC 29 (082GSE054), ABC 17, and DEF 35 (082GSE093), the latter are correlated with, and explained by a copper occurrence found during the 1971 program on Grid #2 (082GSE093).
In 1970, a geological report on the Langemark Group Sage Claims Nos. 5-16, 42, 44, 46 was completed on behalf of Falconbridge Nickel Mines Ltd (Assessment Report 2749). The claims were centred on Langemarck Mountain and may have been an overstaking of some of the ABC claims.
In 1971, soil geochemistry and geological mapping was completed and approximately 240 samples were collected on behalf of Mark V Mines Ltd and Thor Explorations Ltd. Several anomalous zones were indicated on the ABC, DEF, GHI, and JKL claims (Figure 3, Assessment Report 3336).
In 1972, Mark V Mines Ltd. extended the geochemical work was extended on the company's Sage Creek property. The claims involved were the ABC 1 to 4, and ABC 11 to 34. The soil sampling results revealed four soil new anomalies, in addition to an extension of the 1971 Grid #3 soil anomaly (ABC 16, 082GSE100) (Assessment Report 3931).