The geology of the region consists of (?)Hadrynian to Paleozoic Snowshoe Group rocks. The Snowshoe Group is an assemblage of dominantly metasedimentary rocks within the Barkerville Terrane. The metasedimentary rocks consist mainly of marble, quartzite and phyllite which in the area of the showing comprise the Downey succession. Metamorphism of the region varies from chlorite to sillimanite and higher grade. Mineral deposits of the region are generally confined to greenschist facies rocks.
The Imperial vein outcrops at an elevation of 1813 metres on the east side of Aster-Breakneck Ridge, about 22 kilometres south of Barkerville. The vein is in Midas Formation (Snowshoe Group) black silty quartzite close to its western contact with Snowshoe Group basal conglomerate and lower grey quartzite which lie to the west. The vein is on the western flank of the anticline that extends southward from the head of Aster Creek.
The Imperial vein is a quartz vein which has been traced over a length of 335 metres. The vein strikes 005 degrees and dips vertically to steeply eastward and occupies a strong fault zone which cuts across the enclosing quartzite. The vein is exposed in trenches and natural exposures for a length of about 335 metres. The largest segment of vein exposed is an outcrop of white quartz 30 metres long and 13 metres wide; in trenches it ranges from 1.8 to 3.9 metres wide.
The dump of an adit near the southern end of the vein, now caved, contains quartz pitted with cavities from weathering of pyrite. The quartz has a bleached and barren appearance; it is unfractured, except for several centimetres of crushed quartz along the walls. The adit was driven westward across the vein. Samples are reported to contain low gold values. This vein may lie along the continuation of the zone that hosts the Midas (093A 033) and Jane (093A 030) veins to the south.
In July, 1869, A. Johnson, B. Gallagher, and R. Davies recorded three discovery quartz claims on a north fork of Little Snowshoe Creek. These may have been on what is now known either as the Hebson vein (093A 101) or the Imperial vein.
