The RING EAST occurrence is located 1 kilometre east of the Ring Zone prospect, approximately 43 kilometres north-northeast of Williams Lake, and approximately 61 kilometres southeast of Quesnel, British Columbia.
In the southeast part of the Beaver (formerly Ben) property, the Ring Zone occurrence is situated between the Mount Polley Mine and the Gibraltar Mine. The Beaver property lies on the Fraser Plateau, a flat and gently rolling area mostly covered by glacial drift. The property covers northwest trending height of land between the Beedy Creek and Beaver Creek Valleys, two prominent topographic lineaments considered to mark significant faults (Assessment Report 35173).
Situated within the Cache Creek Terrane, the Ring East occurrence is underlain by rock units of the Permian to Triassic-aged Cache Creek Complex. Noted rock units include marine sedimentary and volcanic rocks including phyllite, siliceous phyllite, ribbon and massive chert, argillite, mudstone, sandstone, limestone, tuff, mafic volcanic rocks, and serpentinite. The area is bounded to the east and to the west by rocks of the Quesnel Terrane. The structural geology of the Beaver property is not well understood or documented. The fabric of the underlying sedimentary and volcanic rocks trends north-northwest (Assessment Report 35173).
Although not formally mapped, drilling across the Beaver property intersected several zones containing shallow-dipping, variably serpentinized dunites, with lesser peridotites and gabbros. The serpentinite is mostly composed of antigorite and lizardite. Accessory magnetite (up to 10 per cent) and chlorite are dispersed within serpentine-rich pseudomorphs and within vein-like domains. The ultramafic rocks occur within interbedded marine sedimentary rocks of the Cache Creek Complex (mudstone, greywacke, sandstone, conglomerate), and volcanic rocks (tuff, dacite, basalt). Alteration styles include serpentinization and silicification. Nickel and cobalt mineralization are hosted in variably magnetic serpentinized ultramafic rocks, mostly contained within the nickel-sulphides heazlewoodite and pentlandite (Assessment Report 35173).
2014 drilling encountered variable serpentinized dunite with intersections of andesite, tuff, graphitic shale, and silicified volcanic rocks and mudstones. Results of drilling include 50.6 metres grading 0.18 per cent total nickel (0.15 per cent sulphide nickel), and 0.010 per cent cobalt (in BN14-20 from 9.6 to 60.2 metres down hole depth) (Assessment Report 35173).
In 2023, the diamond drill hole defining the Ring East showing returned the following values: DDH B23-04 averaged 0.18 per cent nickel, 0.01 per cent cobalt, 0.42 per cent chromium and 22.03 per cent magnesium over a 112.2 metre interval.
WORK HISTORY
Very limited work was recorded on the Ring Zone occurrence until Westhaven Ventures optioned the property from claim owner B.H. Kahlert in 2012. Rock geochemical samples were taken, and one induced polarization line (2 kilometres) was completed (approximately 500 metres south) in 2012 (Assessment Report 33544).
In 2014, Westhaven Ventures completed a property wide airborne magnetic survey, consisting of 851 line kilometres, with flight lines oriented east-west and spaced at 200 metre intervals. The Ring Zone, west of Ring East occurrence was defined by a 1.5 kilometre, circular, ring-shaped magnetic anomaly. Follow up work at the Ring Zone included prospecting and soil sampling, identifying multiple parallel, northwest-striking zones of anomalous nickel values. Detailed ground magnetic surveying was completed in August and October, to enhance the results of the airborne magnetic survey. Throughout 2014, a total of 4 holes (381.9 metres) were drilled at the Ring Zone, targeting magnetic anomalies.
In 2021, Inomin Mines Inc. conducted eight line-kilometres of VLF-EM and 291 line-kilometres of ground magnetometer over their Beaver property, including the Ring East occurrence. Follow-up drilling focusing on magnetic anomalies was done in 2021 and 2023 in an areas surrounding the Ring East occurrence. Drilling intersected uniform concentrations of sulphide nickel, cobalt and magnesium mineralization in shallow south to southwest-dipping serpentinites in most areas (Assessment Reports 40133, 41401). Two further airborne (helicopter and drone) magnetic surveys were completed over Inomin's Beaver-Lynx project in 2024 and 2025 (Press Release inominmines.com Feb. 6, 2025).
