The Moose and Deer 4 showings are located approximately 5 kilometres north-northeast of Woodcock in the Sedan Creek area. The area had been investigated for lead-zinc-silver mineralization between 1927-31, molybdenum mineralization from 1958-64 and precious metal mineralization from 1964 to 1980. Access to the property is provided via the Cedarvale road which links up with the Cassiar Highway at Kitwanga.
The area is underlain by brown to black argillite, siltstone, greywacke and minor pebble conglomerate of the Middle Jurassic to Upper Cretaceous Bowser Lake Group. The sediments are intruded and hornfelsed by stocks and dikes of granitic quartz-feldspar+/-biotite porphyry of the Juro-Cretaceous Coast Plutonic Complex. Locally, these beds show tight recumbent folding with low angle thrust faults.
The granitic porphyry has been sericitized, silicified and contains a high concentration of primarily barren quartz veining. The occurrence consists of two showings, the Upper or Northern, and the Lower or Southern, approximately 500 metres apart.
The Upper showing occurs on the Deer 4 claim and consists of quartz stockworks in the porphyry and adjacent hornfelsed sediments. Mineralization is sparse and occurs in highly silicified, sheared and fractured zones where small grey quartz stringers cut milky quartz. Mineralization commonly occurs in northeast trending, steeply north dipping veins, shears or fractures from 1 millimetre to 3 centimetres wide. Intense veining is concentrated in an area of 450 by 150 metres in the central part of the intrusive complex and appears to be cut off to the east by a fault. Mineralization consists of pyrite, galena and rare chalcopyrite, sphalerite and molybdenite in grey quartz gangue. A grab sample (#1625) assayed 0.26 per cent lead, 0.05 per cent copper and 0.003 per cent molybdenum (Assessment Report 619).
Mineralization at the Lower showing on the Moose claims appears to be concentrated in northwest trending, vertically dipping quartz and quartz carbonate veins and stringers in granitic porphyry. The veins and stringers occupy shears and are up to 0.61 metre wide. The mineralization does not extend into the hornfelsed sediments. Samples from the Lower showing averaged 0.21 per cent molybdenum (Assessment Report 619). Anomalous gold and silver values have been obtained from the contact zone. The average molybdenum content for both showings is 0.014 per cent.
A selected grab sample containing galena, sphalerite, arsenopyrite and pyrite assayed 0.686 gram per tonne gold, 274.234 grams per tonne silver, 6 per cent lead and 13 per cent zinc; tin has also been reported (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1927, page 129).
In 1964, a concentrated program on behalf of the Doreen Mineral Development Co.comprised mapping, soil sampling, trenching and rock sampling on the Upper or Northern showing. At least 30 and probably more surface workings in the form of pits, trenches and short adits are present on the Lower showing. On the Upper showing, two old pits were noted. The majority of these workings were excavated by the original discoverer of the claims, D.C. MacGregor (ca. 1927). Part of the original showings were restaked in 1979 by E. Sargent (Star 9 claims east of Kix 1 and south of Kix 2) and optioned to Newmont who carried out geochemical and magnetometer surveys and geological mapping. AMAX of Canada Limited subsequently staked claims in 1979 to cover the remainder of the known showings and carried out preliminary geological mapping and geochemical sampling. In 1980, a program of geological mapping and geochemical sampling was conducted. In the spring of 1988, the ground was staked as the Morningstar claims by C.E. Carlson and J.F. LeBlanc; Equity Silver Mines Limited optioned the claims in March of 1989. In May 1989, a multi-element soil and talus fines survey was undertaken in the area around the old trenches and pits; four diamond-drill holes totalling 542.5 metres were drilled to test a multi-element soil anomaly and to test the showings at depth. The option was dropped in 1990. An EM-16 electromagnetic survey was canied out in 1991, followed by limited trenching and self-potential surveying in 1992. In 1994, Carlson and LeBlanc initiated diamond drill exploration of the property under an agreement with Noble Contracting. Two holes were completed in 1994 (374.9 metres) and one in 1995 (84 metres). In 2002, Carlson and LeBlanc and Noble Contracting completed one vertical hole totalling 154.2 metres.
