The Cantin Creek property is located approximately 21 kilometres east-southeast of Quesnel and 7 kilometres east of the confluence of Cantin Creek with the Quesnel River. Access to the property from Quesnel is either via the Wells-Barkerville Highway (Route 26) for 16 kilometres east from Highway 97 to #300 Forest Service Road then southeast for 4 kilometres to #500 Forest Service Road and then in a southerly direction for 15 kilometres to the property. An alternate route is via the Quesnel-Hydraulic Road from Highway 97 in a southeasterly direction for 23 kilometres to Sardine Flats and the bridge crossing of the Quesnel River at Gravelle Ferry, then east on #2700 Forest Service Road for 9.5 kilometres and then north on #500 Forest Service Road for 11 kilometres to the property.
The Canton Creek property is underlain predominantly by northwesterly trending Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic Nicola Group felsic and mafic volcanic rocks, marble and siltstone. A broad zone of polylithic felsic breccia crosses the claims. Breccias consist of compact accumulations of feldspar-rich, subangular fragments up to 10 centimetres in diameter. Most of these breccias are matrix-supported and poorly sorted. This unit has been intruded by the Cantin stock in the central portion of the property. On the west side of the claims, a massive belt of limestone outcrops sporadically below the felsic breccia unit. Maroon basalt outcrops farther west. East of the felsic breccia unit, siltstone, marble and their hornfelsed equivalents, which dip 60 degrees to the southwest, underlie much of the terrain. The bedded sequence is cut by a large lobe of felsic intrusive rock just east of the main Cantin stock. The marble/siltstone unit, which is thought to correlate with the limestone horizon to the west, was the key target for previous exploration. The marble/siltstone unit is bounded on the northeast by calcareous and propylitized basalts.
The area was first staked as the CAN 1 mineral claim by the Cariboo Project (Fox Geological Consultants Ltd., Newconex Canadian Exploration and Dome Exploration). During 1977, the Cariboo Project conducted preliminary mapping, geochemical sampling and drilled five percussion holes totalling 409 metres. In 1982, Dome Exploration (Canada) Ltd. staked the Gerimi 1-29 claims, totalling 548 units and covering both the Cantin stock and the Gerimi body to the south. An extensive grid of 146 line kilometres was established in 1982 and 1983 to facilitate geochemical and geophysical surveys. Between 1984 and 1991, induced polarization surveys were performed as well as some 5850 metres of diamond drilling exploring for gold skarn mineralization. Results from this drilling include a 6 metre section of pyritic, propylitized basalt in hole G-25 that yielded 1.72 grams per tonne gold and an 11 metre section in hole G-21 that averaged 1.41 grams per tonne gold and contained dense chalcedony and quartz-carbonate veinlets (as reported in Assessment Report 27548). In 1998, work carried out by Fox Geological Services Inc. for Paramount Ventures & Finance Inc. included an extension to the grid, soil sampling, 10.5 line kilometres of induced polarization/resistivity surveying and the relogging of five diamond-drill holes.
In April 2003, Cross Lake Minerals Ltd. and Gold Giant Ventures Inc. (later acquired by Cross Lake) took an option on the property. The initial program consisted of re-cutting 7800 metres of grid line and 6.0 line kilometres of induced polarization and magnetic surveys. Two holes totalling 573.02 metres were completed in 2003. Drilling by Cross Lake identified significant epithermal alteration in a thick sequence of intermediate to mafic volcanic rocks. A zone of oxidation extends to a depth of roughly 30 metres. Fragmental basalt is the dominant unit and is variably propylitized and cut by a network of vuggy, quartz-carbonate veins. The best intersection was 2.64 grams per tonne gold over 1.6 metres from 161.2 to 162.8 metres in hole CC-03-1 (Assessment Report 27548).
