The Nicola occurrence is located approximately 0.5 kilometre west of the north end of Miner Lake and 3.5 kilometres southeast of Aspen Grove.

Regionally, the area is underlain by the Upper Triassic Nicola Group, which regionally consists of alkalic and calc-alkalic volcanics and intrusions of island arc origin, and which is the principal component of the Quesnel terrane in southern British Columbia (Geological Survey of Canada Maps 41-1989, 1713A). The area lies in the Central Belt or facies of the Nicola Group (after Preto, Bulletin 69). This belt of rocks mainly consists of subaerial and submarine, red or purple to green augite plagioclase porphyritic andesitic and basaltic flows, volcanic breccia and tuff, and minor argillites and limestone. The volcanics are intruded by bodies of comagmatic Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic diorite to monzonite. The area is characterized by long-lived, primarily north-striking faults and related fracturing, which originally controlled intrusion emplacement. East-striking faults are subordinate, and commonly offset intrusive contacts.

The occurrence is hosted in calcite-veined, red volcanic and laharic breccia of the Upper Triassic Nicola Group (Central belt, Bulletin 69). Occasional small grains of native copper occur along the walls of cavities in the breccia.

Work History

The occurrence was explored by two shafts, each 3.7 metres deep, and one trench, excavated in 1901.

During 1969 through 1973, Aspen Grove Mines Ltd. completed programs of soil sampling, a 16.0 line-kilometre ground induced polarization survey, a 12.0 line-kilometre ground electromagnetic survey and 38.0 line-kilometres of ground magnetic surveys on the area immediately west of the occurrence as the HH, Mix and 3-Way claim groups. Also in 1972, Krancor Oil & Gas Ltd. completed a program of soil sampling and a 20.0 line-kilometre ground magnetic survey on the area as the Emerald claims.

In 1990, MineQuest Exploration Associates Ltd. rock sampled the area as the Ley 1-3, Al 1-2 and Ken claims. The following year, a 6.5 line-kilometre induced polarization survey was completed on the claims. In 1992, Pacific Copper Fields Inc. and MineQuest Exploration Associates Ltd. completed a program of geological mapping and rock sampling on the claims.

In 2008, Christopher James Gold Corp. completed a 1113.5 line-kilometre airborne magnetic-radiometric survey on the area as the Big Kidd property.

In 2011 and 2012, Xstrata Copper Canada Corp., on the behalf of Jiulian Resources Ltd., completed programs of prospecting, geochemical (rock and soil) sampling and a 56.8 line-kilometre induced polarization survey on the Big Kidd property.