The Dominion occurrence is located 37 kilometres southwest of Invermere in the Golden Mining Division, at 1615 metres elevation above sea level. The occurrence is on the north side of the ridge that separates Coppercrown and Stark creeks and consists of four Reverted Crown grants: Lot 9178 (Black Bird), Lot 9179 (Grey Eagle), Lot 9180 (Lucky Boy) and Lot 9181 (Delight).
The area is underlain by Proterozoic clastic sedimentary rocks and Cretaceous intrusive rocks. The occurrence is within the Dutch Creek Formation of the Proterozoic Purcell Supergroup. The Purcell Supergroup strata include the Aldridge, Creston, Kitchener, Dutch Creek and Mount Nelson formations (Paper 1990-1).
In the vicinity of the occurrence, rocks of the Kitchener and Dutch Creek formations have been further subdivided and assigned to the Van Creek and Gateway formations (Open File 1990-26).
The Dutch Creek Formation includes green and black laminated argillite, quartzite, siltstone and buff dolomitic siltstone. The Van Creek Formation consists mainly of coarse to medium grained, light grey to dark green quartzite, siltstone and silty argillite and correlates with the strata of the Lower Kitchener Formation.
The Gateway Formation consists of an interbedded sequence of quartzite, green siltstone and buff dolomite that correlates with the lower portion of the Dutch Creek Formation. The contact with the underlying Van Creek Formation is gradational or marked by the basaltic flows of the Nicol Creek Formation.
The sedimentary rocks have undergone regional metamorphism to at least greenschist facies.
The Dutch Creek Formation, which hosts the occurrence, consists of buff to cream coloured dolomite, siliceous dolomite and grey to black argillite.
Mineralization is primarily located within narrow shears within siliceous dolomite near the argillite contact. Mineralization consists of pyrite, galena, malachite, azurite, arsenopyrite and tetrahedrite.
The prospect has been explored by at least seven small adits that were driven on a shear that marks the contact between the argillite and the dolomite.
Adit 1 was driven on the contact of the dolomite and argillite and followed the contact for 6 metres. Malachite, azurite and galena occur in a siliceous shear zone. A chip sample from the shear assayed 72 grams per tonne silver over a width of 0.2 metre (Assessment Report 17008).
Adit 2 was driven on a shear zone within the dolomite for a distance of 27 metres. A stope was developed within the zone but no production records are available. It is estimated that possibly as much as 36 tonnes may have been mined (Property File - Quantum Resources Prospectus, 1989). Within adit 2, the mineralization is 0.3 to 0.6 metre wide and consists of brecciated, silicified dolomite with disseminated galena, malachite, azurite, pyrite and tetrahedrite. A representative grab sample from the mineralized shear assayed 728 grams per tonne silver, 2.7 per cent copper and 5.1 per cent lead (Assessment Report 17008).
Adit 4 was driven on a shear zone within the dolomite for 66 metres. The mineralization is similar to that of adit 2 and is 0.5 to 1.1 metres wide. A grab sample from the adit assayed 38 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 17008).
Adit 6 was driven on a shear that follows the contact between the dolomite and argillite for 15 metres. The adit followed a narrow shear 0.2 to 0.7 metre wide that contained disseminated galena, pyrite, sphalerite and minor tetrahedrite. A grab sample from the shear assayed 160 grams per tonne silver, 3.8 percent lead and 1.3 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 17008).
Adit 7 was driven perpendicular to the contact but did not intersect it. Adits 3 and 5 are caved and were inaccessible (Property File - Quantum Resources Prospectus, 1989).
