The Wishing Well occurrence consists of radioactive tufa associated with cool springs. It is located in the middle of a small group of claims, staked probably around 1954, on the east side of Deer River, 12 kilometres north of the Liard River, 25 kilometres north-northwest of Mount Prudence (Property File - H., S., 1964).

The area is underlain by shale, siltstone and sandstone of the Upper Devonian Besa River Formation, belonging to Ancestral North America (Geological Survey of Canada Open File 673 and Map 1713A).

Quaternary deposits of calcareous tufa have formed around cool springs. The water in the springs is slightly radioactive, possibly from dissolved radon gas, or from minute amounts of radium. At least some of the tufa is also mildly radioactive, possibly due to the deposition of uranium or radium salts (Property File - H., S., 1964). Analyses of similar radioactive tufa from hot springs in the Liard region actually indicate that no uranium or thorium is present, suggesting that the radioactivity is most likely due to small amounts of radium, derived from bedrock (Geological Survey of Canada Economic Geology Report Number 16).

WORKY HISTORY

In 1955, A.R. Archer (1956) (Property File Document (PFD)) reported that, “Q.N.I. prospectors found an exceptionally large radioactive travertine deposit on the Deer River. Five claims were staked to cover the ground. Samples of travertine assayed 0.13 per cent U3O8 equivalent although chemical assay gave 0.01 to 0.02 per cent U3O8 and a trace of thorium. Although chemical samples gave little encouragement, assessment work on the five claims . . . was conducted in July 1956 by Q.N.I.”

In 1956, four holes were reported to have been cored with a packsack drill. Core recovery was low and resulted in the loss of all earth material. Holes 1 and 2 indicated 7.6 metre depth of travertine underlain by gravel. Drill holes 3 and 4 were drilled near the hot spring vent, penetrating 7.6 metres of soft travertine with no core recovery. A trench/cut 4.3 metres high, 1.8 metres deep and 2.4 metres wide was made in the travertine cliff. Eight pit samples, averaging 0.75 metre in depth, were dug. A geiger-counter held over a large blue pool near the hot springs vent were reported to have “indicated a count of at least double the regional background.” Archer (1956) concluded that,” there is probably one million tons or more of travertine deposit in the Deer River.