The Apple 1 occurrence is located about 8.6 kilometres south of the west end of Bowser Lake approximately 47 kilometres north of the community of Stewart.
The Middle to Upper Jurassic upper Hazelton Group, referred to as the Iskut River Formation, occurs through the central and eastern parts of the Bowser property. The formation includes bimodal volcanics, as well as porphyritic intrusions and debris flows. The Iskut River Formation is capped by black carbonaceous pyritic mudstone interbedded with a light and dark banded tuffaceous siltstone, which are distinct in the region and referred to as the Quock Member (Formation) (formerly known as the “pyjama beds”) (Fieldwork 2017). Locally, the base of the Quock includes well sorted sandstone and conglomerate beds.
The geology in the cirque where the Apple 1 showing occurs is similar to the Koopa Bowl prospect (104A 233), where quartz veins are present close to the Iskut River Formation and Quock Member contact. Sampling in 2017 showed that precious metal assays were close to background. Lead and zinc are anomalous with the best sample (B064216) grading 0.186 per cent lead, 0.404 per cent zinc and 6.78 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 37443). This sample site was described as quartz-calcite stockwork veining within a dark grey mudstone lens, sandwiched by volcanic rock. Clay, sericite, silca and pyrite alteration occur around veins. Sulphides are reported to be disseminated in veins, and as crystals and disseminations around veins.
In 2017, Pretium Exploration conducted grassroots prospecting, sampling and mapping on their Bowser property, mostly southwest and south of Bowser Lake. They collected 2901 rock and 429 silt samples (Assessment Reports 37435, 37443). Several new MINFILE occurrence are documented and a number previously documented occurrences were visited by Pretium.
In 2018, beyond the Brucejack mine area (104B 193), Pretium continued to evaluate their surrounding 1250 square kilometres of mineral claims. From July to October, 31 diamond-drill holes totalling 7725.1 metres were completed on the Bowser property; 10 holes tested the Lilliane (104A 112), 2 holes tested the Moonlight (104A 005), 9 holes tested the Bluffy (104B 075), 1 hole tested the Virginia K (104A 118), 3 holes tested the Outlaw (located 1.3 kilometres north of Moonlight Glacier 1 (104A 120), 4 holes tested the Haimila (104A 226), and 2 holes tested the Ridgeback (located 1.9 kilometres west of Koopa Bowl (104A 233). The exploration targets were widespread and drillholes targeted epithermal, porphyry copper, shear zone-hosted gold, and volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) style mineralization. The company also carried out mapping and prospecting (Assessment Report 38235).
As of September 2019, two drills were testing the high-priority A6 zone volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) target located 14 kilometres northeast of Brucejack mine; a third drill targeted a VMS system at the Canoe zone (104B 732, 734) located 15 kilometres west-southwest of Sharktooth; and a fourth drill targeted an intrusion-related gold system at the Koopa zone (104A 222, 229, 233) located 10 kilometres south of the Sharktooth. Drilling earlier in the summer also focussed on the Tuck zone (104B 730) located 22 kilometres west of Sharktooth and Liliane zone (104A 112) located 17 kilometres south of Sharktooth, both epithermal gold system targets.
To date (2019), approximately 26,103.1 metres have been drilled in 81 holes. To facilitate exploration work, the Bowser property has been divided into zones and the drilling took place in seven of these zones: A6 Anomaly, Canoe, Koopa, Tuck, Haimila, Kirkham, and Lillianne (Assessment Report 39085).
See Betty (104A 008) and Koopa Bowl (104A 233) for details of relevant work done on Pretium's grassroots project on their Bowser property, including significant property-wide geophysical surveys completed prior to to 2017. Refer also to West (104B 193), located 23 kilometres west of Sharktooth, for details of related mineralization and a common work history relating to the Brucejack project of Pretium Resources.
