The Belle (Irish Molly, W.C.) occurrence is located in the north western head waters of the Indian River, at an elevation of approximately 850 metres, approximately 2.5 kilometres south of Mt. Baldwin.
The area occurs on the eastern edge of the Britannia- Indian River pendant, which hosts the volcanogenic deposits of the Britannia camp (MINFILE 092GNW003). The Britannia-Indian River pendant is mainly a calc-alkaline, sub-aqueous volcanic and sedimentary sequence of felsic to intermediate pyroclastics, flows, cherts, argillites and greywackes. The entire pendant has been classified as part of the Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Gambier Group. Cenozoic to Mesozoic Coast Plutonic Complex intrusives surround portions of the stratified rocks, creating screens or pendants. These bodies are oriented north westerly throughout the Coast complex. Pliocene to recent Garibaldi Group basaltic dikes and sills intrude both the pendant and plutonic rocks.
The occurrence area is underlain by Gambier Group rocks consisting of a sequence of andesitic to dacitic crystal and lapilli tuffs and flows, and cherty rhyolitic tuffs, lapilli tuffs and flows surrounded by quartz diorite of the Coast Plutonic Complex. The prospect is on, or close to, the Indian River shear zone, a discontinuous zone of shearing that trends northwest along the Indian River valley. The stratified rocks strike northwest and dip moderately southwest. All rock units have undergone some silicification and biotite is developed throughout. A common alteration mineral assemblage includes chlorite-epidote-quartz-sericite; pyrite is common. Cordierite-bearing biotite hornfels is related to the quartz diorite intrusive. Faulting and fracturing is intensely developed throughout the Gambier Group rocks.
Three styles of mineralization are evident on the property: (1) discontinuous layers up to 2 metres thick of coarsely crystalline to mainly disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite, occuring at the contact between felsic metavolcanic rocks and basaltic dikes with gangue mineralogy composed of quartz, limonite and sericite; (2) veins and layers of coarsely crystalline quartz-chalcopyrite, rarely more than 0.5 metres wide, with minor pyrite parallel to bedding within the felsic volcanic rocks; and (3) disseminated sphalerite and galena with traces of chalcopyrite and pyrite in cherty to sericitized felsic breccias.
In 1983, at least 10 showings with copper or zinc values exceeding 0.5 per cent were reported over a lateral distance exceeding 800 metres on the W.C. claim, with the best exposures occurring in a creek canyon bisecting the claim block and other exposures located approximately 150 and 250 metres west and 100, 250 and 650 metres south east of the creek showing. Sampling of the type 1 style of mineralization from the creek canyon yielded up to 15.7 per cent copper and 109.1 grams per tonne silver over 0.5 metre (Assessment Report 11121). Sampling of the other mineralized exposures to the west, also type 1 mineralization, yielded averages from 2.5 to 7 per cent copper and up to 17.3 per cent copper, 112.2 grams per tonne silver and 2.1 grams per tonne gold over 0.1 metre, while sampling of the south eastern mineralized exposures, of type 3 mineralization, yielded 0.5 to 1.0 per cent copper, 3.26 to 7.06 per cent zinc and 0.17 to 1.09 per cent lead (Assessment Report 11121).
During 1910 through 1918, two short adits, 152 metres apart, and numerous open cuts were completed on several contiguous, cancelled Crown grants that extended over a strike length of 1800 metres near and along the south west side of the Indian River. The adits are reportedly no longer accessible, their portals having been buried by rockslides.
In 1970, New Jersey Zinc Exploration Company completed a ground electromagnetic survey on the area. In 1978, Placer Development prospected and mapped the area as the Bob claim. In 1980, Maggie Mines completed a program of rock and soil sampling on the area. In 1983, Stackpool Minerals completed a program of rock, silt and soil sampling, geological mapping, ground electromagnetic surveys and one diamond drill hole, totalling 346.8 metres, on the area as the W.C. claims. In 2015, NEK Canada Mining Group completed a program of rock sampling and geological mapping on the area.
