The Ori occurrence is located near Irony Creek, on the north end of Shuttleworth Bay.

Regionally, the area is underlain by a northwest-trending series of sedimentary and volcanic rocks comprising basaltic volcanic rocks of the Upper Triassic Karmutsen Formation (Vancouver Group), which is overlain by limestone of the Upper Triassic Quatsino Formation (Vancouver Group) and limestone, mudstone and siltstone of the Upper Triassic Parson Bay Formation (Bonanza Group) that have been intruded by quartz diorite to granodiorite of the Lower to Middle Jurassic Island Plutonic Suite.

Locally, a 200-metre-wide wedge of limestone, limy argillite and andesite of the Upper Triassic Vancouver Group Karmutsen Formation is surrounded by diorite and granite of the Jurassic Island Plutonic Suite. Skarn is associated with the limestone. Erratic lenses of sphalerite, chalcopyrite and magnetite are present in the skarn. Minor pyrite and molybdenite are also reported.

In 1993, a sample of dump material from the Ori shaft returned values of 4.47 per cent copper and 40.62 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 23167).

Work History

The area was originally explored in the mid-1920s, when a shaft and trenches were completed on a zinc-bearing vein at the Stranby (MINFILE 102I 001) occurrence. In the 1960s, the area was claimed by Quintana Minerals with limited work completed. In 1967, BHP-Utah Mines completed a program of geological mapping, soil sampling and a 2.0 line-kilometre ground magnetic survey on the area as the Ori claims.

In 1982, Electra North West Resources Ltd. completed a program of soil sampling and a ground magnetometer survey on the area immediately south of the occurrence as the BU, DU and SU claims. In 1984, a further ground magnetic survey was completed.

In 1990, Westword Explorations staked the area as the Shuttle 1-4 claims of the Shuttleworth Property and completed a program of prospecting, geochemical (rock and silt) sampling and 10.0 line-kilometres of ground magnetic and electromagnetic surveys. This work identified a number of VLF-EM anomalies and a north-north westerly magnetic high.

During 1991 through 1996, Winfield Resources completed programs of prospecting, geological mapping, geochemical (rock, soil and heavy mineral) sampling and ground magnetic and electromagnetic surveys on the area as the Duck 1-14 and Shuttle 1-6 claims of the Shuttleworth property. This work identified an erratic band of soil gold anomalies over 650 metres in length centred on a magnetic low between two elongate magnetic highs west of the Stranby River. Heavy mineral sampling of Irony Creek yielded five fine gold ‘specks’ up to 1.75 millimetres in size.