The Dino prospect is located about 400 metres east of American Creek and 1000 metres south-southeast of the south end of Kimball Lake. Kimball Lake is a small lake, part of American Creek, about 19 kilometres north of the confluence of the creek with the Bear River.
The Virginia K claims are on the eastern limb of the open, north plunging American Creek anticline. The American Creek fault trends along the valley. The claims are underlain by rocks of the Lower Jurassic Unuk River Formation (Hazelton Group) (Bulletin 58; 63). The rocks comprise lowermost black argillites, capped by a thin limestone, overlain by tuff and minor rhyolite. The predominantly argillic sequence is, in turn, overlain by a thick sequence of purple, green and red fragmental rocks that include tuff, breccia, agglomerate and conglomerate with subordinate limestone and chert interlayers (Assessment Reports 8982, 15365).
Three types of mineralization occur on the Virginia K claims (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1932, page 59):
1. Replacement shear zone in argillite.
2. Veins between interbedded sandstone, sandy argillite and tuffs near the top of the predominantly sedimentary sequence.
3. Fracture zones consisting of quartz veins and veinlets in reticulated structures.
The Dino prospect is located at the southern part of the Virginia K No. 3 claim (Lot 5816). The vein, in a small fault trending 320 degrees and dipping 35 degrees northeast, is hosted in a folded limestone unit. Mineralization comprises a 2.5 to 15 centimetre wide vein of argentiferous galena on the footwall of the fault, overlain by about 30 centimetres of fault rubble containing lead-zinc mineralization and oxidized material in the limestone (Assessment Report 8982). A composite sample from a bulk sample (680 kilograms) of the vein material assayed 6231.1 grams per tonne silver, 0.17 gram per tonne gold, 28.38 per cent lead and 6.91 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 8982).
Several other mineralized occurrences have been reported on the Virginia K No. 3 claim. A northeast striking, west dipping replacement zone (referred to in early reports as the No. 1 vein; Minister of Mines Annual Report 1931) is 3 to 6 metres wide and can be traced for about 300 metres. The zone contains "black cherty streaks of argillaceous limestone and numerous oxidized bands of sulphides. The deposit is so oxidized that it is difficult to obtain samples of unaltered primary vein matter, but pyrite, galena, and sphalerite can be distinguished" (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1931, page 44). The exact location of this mineralization is not known, but it is assumed to be in the western part of the Virginia K No. 3 claim. Cuts 3, 4 and 5 were probably emplaced on this zone (Property File - Map, 1929). A sample from the No. 4 cut, probably close to the southwest corner of the Virginia K No. 3 claim, assayed trace gold, 170.1 grams per tonne silver and 6.14 per cent lead across 4.6 metres (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1931, page 44).
A vein (referred to in early reports as the No. 3 vein) lies in the east-central portion of the Virginia K No. 3 claim. The vein, northwest striking and steeply south dipping, is 0.76 metre wide. Samples from the vein assayed 2.1 grams per tonne gold, 4439 grams per tonne silver and 49.12 per cent lead across 0.76 metre (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1931, page 45).
Another vein, about 210 metres east of the No. 4 cut on the No. 1 vein, strikes northeast and dips north. Mineralization comprises chalcopyrite in a quartz gangue (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1931, page 45).
In 1929, D. Kimball discovered mineralization in the area. That year the Virginia K., BLK, Bryant and Dundee (104A 074) claim groups were staked and the Excelsior Prospecting Syndicate was formed. The Virginia K. group was staked on the east side of the valley. The exact location of the other claim groups is not known, but they were apparently staked on the west side of the valley and may have extended to the south. Excelsior discovered several silver-lead-zinc occurrences on the Virginia K. claims in 1931 and continued intermittent exploration until 1938. In 1960, Newconex performed geological mapping and sampling on the claims (referred to in Assessment Reports 16842 and 18430); the results of this work are not known. In 1980, Komody Resources Ltd. (later renamed Fest Resources Corp.) conducted further geological work, resulting in the discovery of the Dino vein on the Virginia K No. 3 claim. In 1986, Square Gold Explorations Inc. (later renamed Glacier Resources Inc. and then Golden Glacier Resources Inc.) carried out geological mapping and sampling on part of the Virginia K. group (mainly the Virginia K No. 3 and Virginia K Fraction No. 3 (104A 118) claims). The following year Carmac Resources performed geological mapping and sampling on part of the claim group (mainly the Virginia K No. 5 and Virginia K Extension No. 2 claims (104A 117)). In 1990, Northair Mines carried out talus sampling on the claims.
