The Midnight Nails occurrence is located south of Monashee Creek, approximately 1.5 kilometres south east of its junction with Heckman Creek.
The area is underlain by sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic Nicola Group. These comprise andesite lava and tuffs with minor argillite, greywacke, quartzite and limestone interbeds.
Locally, at the Bulldozer Trench showing, discontinuous quartz veins occur in two shear zones, referred to as the Cherry and Hilton shears. The veins are hosted in laminated shale and argillite, which has been intruded by silicified volcanic sills and felsite dikes. The dikes and sills are highly altered, iron rich and contain 2 to 5 per cent biotite. The dike is approximately 4 metres wide and trends 248 degrees. The Cherry shear strikes 090 degrees and dips 40 degrees south. Mineralized pods occur near a lamprophyre dike and sill and contain small amounts of galena, while disseminated pyrite occurs in the argillite-greywacke adjacent to the shears. Both shears are open along strike and down-dip.
In 1983, samples from the Cherry shear assayed up to 158 grams per tonne gold and 1251 grams per tonne silver, while a sample of the altered dike or sill assayed 4.2 per cent lead, 1.86 per cent zinc, 42.2 grams per tonne gold and 212.5 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 11892). In 1987, a sample (R-7) wall rock adjacent to the vein assayed 75.3 grams per tonne gold, 147 grams per tonne silver and 1.96 per cent lead over 0.6 metre (Assessment Report 17386).
In 1988, samples from the vein in the Cherry shear assayed up to 2.16 grams per tonne gold and 0.9 gram per tonne silver over 1 metre, while samples from areas with no quartz veining assayed up to 20 grams per tonne gold, 1.05 per cent lead and 76 grams per tonne silver over 90 metres (Assessment Report 18706). Samples from discontinuous quartz veins in the Hilton shear assayed up to 0.42 gram per tonne gold and 0.7 gram per tonne silver over 40 centimetres, while samples from the shear where no quartz veining is present assayed up to 0.77 gram per tonne gold and 1.9 grams per tonne silver over 1 metre (Assessment Report 18706).
In 2000, chip sampling of trench 2, located 20 metres to the northwest, yielded up to 1.67 grams per tonne gold over 4 metres (Assessment Report 26507).
The number 1 showing, called the second showing in 1988, is located about 300 metres north west of the Bulldozer Trench vein. This showing comprises quartz veins, 5 to 10 centimetres wide, which are exposed in an outcrop of shale and argillite containing chert bands. The veins are discontinuous, often breaking up in the soft, sheared sediment host. The wallrock contains high values of gold and silver. Small lenses of quartz occur within the shale and argillites. The lenses range up to 1.5 metres in length and 0.5 metre in width. The sediments are unaltered, strike north east and dip 48 to 54 degrees south. In 1987, a sample (R-10) taken across rusty silicified shale and quartz vein material assayed 0.2 gram per tonne gold, 9.6 grams per tonne silver, 0.3 per cent lead and 0.04 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 17386).
The number 2 showing is 300 metres north west of the number 1 showing. An outcrop of sheared and altered shale contains disseminated pyrite. Silicified volcanic sills occur along bedding planes that strike 100 degrees and dip 60 degrees south.
The claims were previously staked as the Reb claims but no work was reported. During 1981 through 1986, programs of prospecting, geological mapping, rock and soil, sampling, minor trenching and ground VLF-EM surveys were completed. In 1987, Ashworth Explorations completed a program of geological mapping, prospecting and rock sampling on the area as the Hilton property. In 1988, Hanna Pacific Steal completed a program of geological mapping, rock and soil sampling, ground magnetic and electromagnetic surveys and trenching. In 2000, Little Mountain Resources completed a program of rock and soil sampling, geological mapping, trenching and ground electromagnetic and magnetic surveys.
