The Aufeas occurrence is located southwest of Silverhope Creek, approximately 3.5 kilometres south-southwest from its junction with the Fraser River.
Most of the following deposit description is taken from a report by Victor Dolmage (Property File - The Aufeas Gold Deposit, 1938). Two principal veins (and apparently several minor ones) called the Main and the C veins occur on the property. Also occurring is a large mineralized fault situated close to the veins and a wide mineralized shear situated 90 to 180 metres south of the veins. All development work has been confined to the quartz veins, primarily the Main vein.
The Main vein has been exposed at surface by open-cuts for approximately 52 metres. A long crosscut tunnel was driven to intersect the vein and drifts were run in both directions along the vein. The east drift is 12 metres and the west drift is reported variably as 122 metres or 61 metres; a plan of the workings on file in Victoria shows the latter length but indicates it is partially caved (Arnold, 1936). A stope was driven in the west drift for 17 metres and a small winze was sunk to 3 or 5 metres. The distance up dip of the Main vein to the surface is 91 metres.
The veins occur in a large body of quartz diorite of the Cretaceous Spuzzum pluton, approximately 800 metres north of its contact with and intrusion of younger Oligocene quartz diorite and granodiorite. The veins consist of arsenopyrite with a little quartz and minute quantities of chalcopyrite and pyrite. The wallrocks are intensely sheared and altered but contain little or no sulphides.
The Main vein and the C vein are parallel, striking east. The Main vein dips 50 to 60 degrees south and the C vein, which occurs 12 metres to the north, dips 20 degrees south. The width of the Main vein varies from approximately 5 to 69 centimetres but the average is only 23 centimetres. After a "thorough sampling", Dolmage concluded that the average assay from the vein was 17 grams per tonne gold. Surface values are higher than those in the tunnels.
The C vein is narrower and has been traced for approximately 15 metres. Over half this distance the vein is a mere stringer; over the other half it is 7 to 10 centimetres wide. The C vein is similar in composition to the Main vein but has a higher gold content. Two samples assayed 131.66 grams per tonne gold and 219.43 grams per tonne gold, respectively (Dolmage, 1938).
In 1985, diamond drilling on the ‘Aufeas’ vein yielded up to 22.6 grams per tonne gold over 1 metre; while underground channel sampling of the western-most stope yielded up to 8.2 grams per tonne gold over 1.75 metres (Assessment 15872; DDH 85-2). Also at this time, diamond drilling (holes S86-1, 6, 7 and 8) on the Creek vein (Wardle Creek fault zone), located just down slope from the main workings, yielded one intercept of 57.6 grams per tonne gold over 15 centimetres (Assessment 15872).
In 2015, a 0.3 metre chip sample of the surface exposure of the vein yielded 13.10 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 35900).
The Aufeas deposit was discovered in 1910 and has been periodically investigated since then. According to Brewer, 178 metres of crosscutting and 157 metres of drifting were completed by 1915 (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1915, page 255). Cairnes reports that 127 tonnes of ore were mined and partly sacked in or by 1914 (GSC Summary Report 1920 Part A, page 36). It is not clear if an ore shipment was made at that time or not. Production records indicate mining activity from 1937 to 1940. Little information on the actual type of development is available for this period except that stoping operations were carried out from a single drift in 1939, the year during which 70 per cent of recorded production occurred (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1939, page 86).
Production from 1937 to 1941 totalled 487 tonnes and, yielded 18,226 grams of silver, 13,686 grams of gold and 4,526 kilograms of copper. Production in 1940 and 1941 from the Star is attached to this property.
In 1982, the area was prospected as part of the June Extension claim. In 1983, a program of prospecting, soil sampling and five diamond drill holes, totalling 120.09 metres, were completed on the area as the Hunter Group. The diamond drill holes were located to the south west to test the possible extension of the known veins. None of the core was assayed at this time but it was recommended that a 10.3 metre section of extreme chloritic alteration from the end of hole no. 2 be assayed. During 1984 through 1986, Silver Cloud Mines completed programs of rock, silt and soil sampling, 55 metres of underground development and twelve diamond drill holes, totalling 913.7 metres, on the area as the Hunter and Mac claims. In 1996, the area was prospected as the S.C. 1 claim. In 2015, the area was prospected by D. Hunchuck.
