The Silver Basin property is located at approximately 2195 metres elevation in Bugaboo Pass, at the headwater of Bugaboo Creek, some 53 kilometres northwest of Invermere.
The No. 21 (Lot 1977) and Western Cross (Lot 1978) claims were staked by T. Mercier in 1898 and bonded to the Golden and Fort Steele Development Company, Limited. Exploration work was done in opencuts and two short adits. The claims were Crown-granted to the above in 1900.
In 1936, Resident Mining Engineer H. Sargent visited the No. 21 and Western Cross which had been optioned by the Silver Basin Mining Syndicate from T. Mercier along with three adjoining claims, Walker, Chipperfield and Nix. Silver Basin referred to this property as the Summit group. Sargent reported that a Crown-grant plan showed three adits on the eastern slope and several cuts and pits on the saddle. A new adit was apparently driven on the property in the late 1930s.
In 1952, a one ton shipment of ore was reported under the names N. Robert and R.L. Kirk of Golden. Through a November 1968 option agreement, W. Wolfenden and W. Jones acquired the Crown-grants from Y.G. Mercier. This option to purchase was transferred to Purcell Development Co. Ltd. by an agreement dated August 1969. Wolfenden and Jones and L. Wilder transferred their interest in adjacent ground, held as the Silver Basin claims, to the company by agreements dated June 1969 and April 1971. Purcell Development held a 70 per cent interest under various agreements. The remaining interest was held by Frontier Sulphur Company Inc., of Tulsa.
Purcell Development apparently restaked the located ground in 1969 as the Silver 1-29 claims and again in 1973 as the Silvertip 1-29 claims. Work during 1969 included geological mapping, sampling, an electromagnetic survey and 304 metres of diamond-drilling in 9 holes. During 1970, a magnetometer survey over 3.2 kilometres, trenching and 604 metres of diamond-drilling in 6 holes was carried out. Stripping was reported in 1971 and 670 metres of diamond-drilling in 8 holes in 1973.
An inventory was reported at 13,426 tonnes grading 69.98 grams per tonne silver, 4.73 per cent lead, 3.34 per cent zinc and 0.16 per cent copper (National Mineral Inventory 082K/10 AG 2).
The rocks in the area are reported to be limestone and limy argillaceous schist of the Upper Proterozoic Horsethief Creek Group. Porphyritic granite intrudes the country rock and may be related to the Cretaceous stock to the northwest.
Three types of mineralization were observed by Sargent: 1) dark granular limestone which has been replaced irregularly by massive, fine-grained, mixed sulphides consisting of galena, sphalerite, pyrite and chalcopyrite; 2) quartz veins mineralized with well-crystallized galena, with some pyrite and chalcopyrite, occurring in fine grey limestone or limy schist and; 3) veins and irregular quartz lenses in schist, mineralized by occasional bunches of pyrite.
Sargent also visited the Basin Group, held by the Silver Basin Mining Syndicate, which is in the area of the No. 21 and Western Cross. They are reported to be in a large basin on Green Mountain reached by about 5.6 kilometres of trail from the end of the road up Bugaboo Creek. The trail from the Basin Group branches from the trail to the No. 21 and Western Cross area.
