The Skarn 1 occurrence is located at an elevation of approximately 1500 metres on a northwest-trending ridge, east of the Finlay River and approximately 8 kilometres east-northeast of its confluence with the Firesteel River, about 200 kilometres north-northwest of the community of Germansen Landing.

Regionally, the area is situated within a Mesozoic volcanic arc assemblage, which lies along the eastern margin of the Intermontane Belt, a northwest-trending belt of Paleozoic to Paleogene sediments, volcanics and intrusions bounded to the east by the Omineca Belt and to the west and southwest by the Sustut and Bowser basins.

Permian Asitka Group crystalline limestones are the oldest rocks exposed in the region. They are commonly in thrust contact with Upper Triassic Stuhini Group andesite flows and pyroclastic rocks, and marine sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Lower to Middle Jurassic Hazelton Group. These rocks have been intruded by plutons and other bodies of the mainly granodiorite to quartz monzonite Early Jurassic Black Lake Suite and are in turn unconformably overlain by or faulted against Lower Jurassic calc-alkaline volcanics of the Toodoggone Formation (Hazelton Group).

The dominant structures in the area are steeply dipping faults that define a prominent regional northwest structural fabric trending 140 to 170 degrees. In turn, high-angle, northeast-striking faults (approximately 060 degrees) appear to truncate and displace northwest-striking faults. Collectively these faults form a boundary for variably rotated and tilted blocks underlain by monoclinal strata.

Locally, propylitically altered volcanics host a stockwork zone with 5- to 30-centimetre-wide quartz-carbonate veins containing pyrite and sphalerite. The 4- to 5-metre-wide stockwork zone strikes approximately 120 degrees and dips near vertically.

In 1987, two samples (R-6881 and R-6882) yielded values of up to 0.200 per cent copper, 0.588 per cent lead, 0.728 per cent zinc and 7.3 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 17459). In 1988, two rock samples (GW-7551 and -7553) assayed 0.121 and 0.103 per cent copper with 9.7 and 4.5 grams per tonne silver, respectively (Assessment Report 18396).

In 2000, sampling of the veins yielded values up to 3.893 per cent zinc, 45.7 grams per tonne silver and 0.278 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 26545).

The area has been explored in conjunction with the nearby Pine (094E 016) occurrence and property of the same name. For a complete work history refer to this occurrence.

In 1980, initial silt sampling of the area by Serem Ltd., the predecessor to Cheni Gold Mines Inc., resulted in the staking of the Wrich claims in 1981. Subsequent work, during 1982 through 1985, included geological mapping, prospecting, rock and soil geochemical sampling and geophysics, consisting of VLF-EM and VLF-EMR surveys. In 1987, Cheni conducted a program of rock and soil sampling and geological mapping on the area. An option agreement was made between Skylark Resources Ltd. and Cheni Gold Mines Inc. following this program. The following year, a program included geological mapping, geochemical (rock, soil and silt) surveys and geophysical surveys consisting of VLF-EMR and magnetometer.

During 1997 through 2003, Stealth Mining Corp., on behalf of Electrum Resource Corp., completed programs of rock and soil sampling, geological mapping and ground geophysical surveys on the area. In 2009, Gold Fields Toodoggone Exploration Corp. completed a program of rock and silt sampling, geological mapping, a 180.8-line kilometre ground induced polarization survey and a 2778.0-line kilometre airborne magnetic survey on the area as part of the Pine property. During 2016 through 2018, Amarc Resources Ltd. completed programs of soil and rock sampling, geological mapping, 115.0 line kilometres of ground induced polarization surveys and 1940.0-line kilometres of airborne magnetic surveys on the area as the Joy property.