The Black (BK) occurrence is located on the east side of Deception Mountain.
The area is underlain by metasedimentary rocks of the Proterozoic-Paleozoic Snowshoe Group, along the south margin of a granitic pluton informally referred to as the Deception stock.
Locally, bedrock exposures include skarn, calc-silicate schist, quartz-biotite schist and quartzite, locally cut by aplitic, pegmatitic and granitic dikes. Layering and schistosity show gentle to moderate dips to the southwest. Scheelite and molybdenite occur in skarn adjacent to a felsic intrusive.
The calc-silicate unit has been mapped at surface from the BN (MINFILE 093A 260) zone to the south, through the RC (MINFILE 093A 259) zone to the BK zone to the north over a distance of approximately 2.5 kilometres. A completed mineralogical description can be found in the Ridley Creek (MINFILE 093A 259) occurrence.
The area has been explored in conjunction with the Fox occurrence (MINFILE 093A 211). The Fox property was optioned by Happy Creek Minerals Ltd. in December 2004, and an exploration program comprising grid layout, soil and rock geochemical sampling, prospecting, geological mapping and diamond drilling was completed through 2011. In 2007, sampling of large sub-crop and angular float at the base of a prominent cliff returned values between 1.03 and 3.69 per cent tungsten (Assessment Report 30824). In 2010, trenching returned up to 1.25 per cent tungsten trioxide and 0.12 per cent zinc over 7.3 metres in trench BK-2, and 2.11 per cent tungsten trioxide and 0.15 per zinc over 3 metres in trench BK-5 (Assessment Report 32054).
In 2012, Happy Creek Minerals Ltd. completed a 29-hole diamond drilling program on the Fox property. Five of the drill holes targeted the Black showing, with the F12-20 drillhole returning encouraging results of 0.68 per cent tungsten trioxide across 5 metres (Press Release, Happy Creek Minerals Ltd., November 19, 2012).
In 2013 and 2014, Happy Creek Minerals continued programs of geological mapping and drilling on the Fox property, primarily on the RC (MINFILE 093A 259) zone and surrounding area. In 2015, Happy Creek Minerals completed a program of airborne magnetic and radiometric surveys, soil sampling, prospecting and geological mapping. Six diamond drill holes, totalling 1500 metres, were also completed on the Creek zone near the east end of the Nightcrawler (MINFILE 093A 258) zone.
In 2016, Happy Creek Minerals completed a program of trail construction, soil sampling, surface chip and channel sampling in 11 trenches, rock sampling, geological mapping and 28 diamond drill holes, totalling 2330 metres, on the BN, BK and RC zones. Sampling of trenches from the BK zone defined continuity of the zone, at surface, for over 20 metres along strike with up to 3.42 per cent tungsten tri-oxide over 3.4 metres, while drilling yielded intercepts including 0.70 per cent tungsten tri-oxide over 5.2 metres in hole F16-14 and 0.67 per cent tungsten tri-oxide over 6.0 metres in hole F16-15 (Desautels, P. (2017-03-10): NI 43-101 Resource Update for the RC Zone and Maiden Resource Estimate for the BN Zone of the Fox Tungsten Project).
In 2017, Happy Creek Minerals completed a further 66 diamond drill holes, totalling 6983 metres, on the Fox property along with prospecting, geological mapping and hand trenching.
In early 2018, Happy Creek Minerals released an updated mineral resource estimate, using a greater than 0.175 per cent tungsten tri-oxide cut-off grade, with a total indicated resource for the RC (MINFILE 093A 259) zone of 582,400 tonnes grading 0.826 per cent tungsten tri-oxide and a total inferred resource for the RC, BN and BK zones of 565,400 tonnes grading 1.231 per cent tungsten tri-oxide (Desautels, P. (2018-02-27): NI 43-101 Resource Update for the RC and BN Zones and Maiden Resource Estimate for the BK Zone of the Fox Tungsten Project).
