The Upper Gordon River placer occurrence is reported to be located 2.6 kilometres south of Caycuse on Cowichan Lake.

The area is underlain by south east-dipping Lower Jurassic Bonanza Group intermediate to felsic volcanic rocks. These are cut by numerous faults that are in filled with quartz-carbonate material.

Bulletin 21, from 1946, states that placer miners have worked the following rivers and streams of Vancouver Island: China and Loss creeks, and Leech, Gordon, Jordan, Sooke, Sombrio, San Juan, Bedwell, Nanaimo, Gold, and Zeballos rivers.

It appears that most of the gold was derived from bars or in crevices in the bedrock of the river bed, or from benches along the side of the river. Placer gold reported in the area is possibly related to the nearby Gold Dyke (MINFILE 092C  042) occurrence.

In 1885, three placer gold claims were staked along the north side of the Gordon River. In 1886 through 1889, a lone prospector, Paget, worked the area. In 1912, it is reported that Clapp found gold and opal (?) in the headwaters of the Gordon River. No further information is reported.