The Empire past producer is located 17 kilometres northwest of Kaslo, British Columbia. The occurrence is at 1600 metres elevation between Emerald and Ten Mile creeks, and north of Kaslo Creek. It was first discovered in 1899. Thirty two tonnes production occurred in 1960, from which 9331 grams silver, 31 grams gold, 4411 kilograms lead and 4379 grams zinc were recovered.
Silver-lead-zinc mineralization occurs in the Triassic Slocan Group, locally consisting primarily of black fissile phyllites with interbedded limestone, calcareous phyllites and brown gritty quartzites. The general structural trend is 310 degrees, dipping generally southwesterly. Greenstones and ultramafic rocks of the Permian Kaslo Group unconformably underlie the Slocan Group to the east, also hosting silver-lead-zinc mineralization. Satellite stocks, dikes and sills are generally correlative with the Nelson batholith to the immediate south. Late stage lamprophyre dikes are also common.
Little geological description is available for the occurrence. But it was known that a drift was extended along a vertical quartz vein along an argillite contact. Maximum width of the vein was 1.5 metres. Inferred mineralogy from commodities recovered and neighbouring occurrences are argentiferous galena and sphalerite. Silver and lead are reported, in order of importance.
In 1982, Red Diamond Mines Limited completed an exploration program including soil sampling, geological mapping, and a magnetometer survey of the Snuffy and Lobo claims. Anomalous gold, silver, and nickel values were found. Geochemical values of alteration zones on the properties correlated with mineralized zones immediately north of the claims.
In 2006, Rio Minerals Limited for Cavan Ventures Incorporated completed an exploration program consisting of grid surveys, soil and silt geochemical surveys, rock sampling, and geological mapping. Soil and silt geochemistry gave overlapping anomalies to historic findings at Emerald and Voyageur areas. Specifically, lead, copper, and antimony patterns at the Voyageur locality. Two general trends of single element anomalies were observed. The first, an arsenic anomaly of a broad N-S trending zone along the eastern edge of the grid. The second, a silver anomaly of a broad WNW trending zone. Anomalous gold found in soil and silt sampling correlates poorly with lode mineralization of the area, but instead defined a broad, contiguous, NNW trending zone between Emerald and Voyageur locations.
