The MD 5 occurrence is located at an elevation of approximately 1460 metres, 3.5 kilometres east of Little O.K. Lake and southwest of the Highland Valley Copper (MINFILE 092ISW012) open pit in the southwestern Highland Valley.

The area is underlain by Bethsaida phase quartz diorites of the Early Jurassic to Late Triassic Guichon Creek Batholith. Faulting and shearing are extensive, the strongest direction being 115 to 120 degrees with moderate to steep dips. Other fault directions are 055 to 060, 095 to 100, and 135 to 140 degrees. Intense sericite alteration and oxidation is associated with faulting.

Locally, a pendant of quartzite, 1.5 metres wide, within quartz diorite, is intensely mineralized with disseminated chalcopyrite, whereas areas of granodiorite, quartz diorite and quartz porphyry host chalcopyrite and minor molybdenite mineralization as fracture-fillings and associated with quartz veining.

In the mid-1950s, drilling on the MD 5 and FC 1 Fraction claims is reported to have yielded 0.16 per cent copper in hole GD 11 and 0.10 per cent copper in each of holes GD 9, 10 and 12 (Property File - Carr, J.M. [1957-01-01]: Claim and Workings Map II - Bethsaida). Trench sampling yielded 0.3 per cent copper over approximately 30 metres (Property File - Carr, J.M. [1957-01-01]: Claim and Workings Map II - Bethsaida).

Also at this time, drilling on the DV 1 Fraction claim, located approximately 200 to 300 metres to the north, is reported to have yielded (from north to south) 0.25 per cent copper in hole GD 3, 0.30 per cent copper in hole GD 2, 0.35 per cent copper in hole GD 1, 0.25 per cent copper in hole GD 6 and 0.20 per cent copper in holes GD 5 and 4 (Property File - Carr, J.M. [1957-01-01]: Claim and Workings Map II - Bethsaida). Surface sampling of the southern end of the zone is reported to have yielded 0.33 per cent copper over 18 metres (Property File - Carr, J.R. [1956-08-09]: N-S Section through E Trench - Bethsaida).

In 1966, diamond drilling to the north, on the southwest corner of the MD 3, yielded intercepts of 0.34 per cent copper over 11.7 metres, 0.29 per cent copper over 7.5 metres and 0.2 per cent copper over 21 metres in hole C66-3; 0.16 per cent copper over the length of hole C66-2 and 0.21 per cent copper over 43.5 metres, 0.34 per cent copper over 19.5 metres, 0.26 per cent copper over 26.7 metres and 0.32 per cent copper over 3.6 metres in hole C66-1 (Property File - Cominco Ltd. [1967-12-21]: Plan of Diamond Drilling & Geology and Valley Copper IP Anomaly - Bethsaida).

In 1967, a drillhole (no. 17), located to the east on the Grr. Fr. claim, yielded 0.11 per cent copper and 0.008 per cent molybdenum over 70.2 metres (Property File - Cominco Ltd. [1967-12-21]: Plan of Diamond Drilling & Geology and Valley Copper IP Anomaly - Bethsaida).

In 2015, a drillhole (V15-017), located approximately 250 metres west of the occurrence, yielded 0.13 and 0.11 per cent copper with 0.003 and 0.005 per cent molybdenum over 30 and 20.1 metres, respectively (Assessment Report 36086).

Work History

The area was originally staked in the early 1900s as the Tamarack and Osprey properties and been explored in conjunction with the Bethsaida (MINFILE 092ISW042) occurrence. During 1955 through 1958, Bethsaida Mines completed programs of ground geophysical surveys, soil sampling, trenching and drilling. In 1963, Buttle Lake Minerals examined and completed a program of geological mapping on the area as the Bethsaida property. During 1965 through 1968, Cominco Ltd. completed programs of geological mapping, geochemical sampling, geophysical surveys and diamond drilling on the area.

In 2015, Teck Highland Valley Copper Corp. completed a program of diamond drilling on the area as the Valley South zone as part of the Highland Valley (MINFILE 092ISW012) pit expansion program.