The Gem area is underlain by Triassic sedimentary rock of the Nicola Group. In 1990, Carverson Mining Company collected four chip samples of pyritic black phyllite from an excavated pit. The samples were combined and analyzed. A value of 0.96 gram per tonne gold was thought to be the most representative analysis figure and was obtained by a cyanide-leach assay of a 120 kilogram sample.