The Old Copper Mine, or Griffith zone, is a poorly exposed showing on the south shore of Sooke Peninsula. A shaft, now full of water but reported to be 31 metres deep, has been sunk about 5 metres north of the high tide line.

The area is underlain by the Tertiary Sooke Gabbro, which forms the basement of the Metchosin Volcanics and is composed of coarse-grained gabbro with about equal parts of bytownite and diopside and about 5 per cent olivine. Dykes of leucogabbro contain up to 80 per cent bytownite. Local agmatization, amphibolitization and mineralization of the gabbro apparently occurred later along shear zones.

On the beach on either side of the shaft is a waste dump containing chalcopyrite and highly oxidized material, probably hornblendite. Rocks on the shore contain hornblende and closely disseminated chalcopyrite and are cut by joints or faults striking about 020 degrees (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1948, page 170). Pyrite, pyrrhotite and minor amounts of native copper also occur and calcite, quartz and sheared hornblende are reported to be gangue minerals (Huestis, 1948). Malachite and azurite have also been observed (Assessment Report 3584, page 2).

The original workings are reported to date back to 1863, when Captain Nagel sank the main shaft.

In 1951, programs of geological mapping and ground geophysical surveys were completed on the area as the June, Lorna, Moffat and Pac claims. In 1969 through 1971, Citex Mines completed programs of geochemical sampling, geological mapping and ground electromagnetic surveys on the area as the T and ZZ claims. Channel sampling of a 1.2 metre wide mineralized vein assayed up to 2.20 per cent copper, 8.6 grams per tonne silver and 0.34 grams per tonne gold over 60 centimetres (Assessment Report 3584).

The zone was drilled circa 1971 by Mascan Explorations Limited. One hole drilled in the adit area contained a 33.5 metre section grading 0.86 per cent copper; another hole 106 metres to the north intersected 3 metres grading about 1 per cent copper. A grab sample assayed 11.50 per cent copper and 2.74 grams per tonne gold (Supplementary Assay Report, in Reports on Copper - Nickel Mineral Occurrences in East Sooke Peninsula).