The Quartz Creek Placer occurrence is located on Quartzrock Creek, approximately 94 kilometres north of the community of Dease Lake.

As with many streams in the area, Quartz Creek (or Quartzrock Creek) near Cassiar was not subject to glacial erosion because it lies transverse to the northeast direction of ice travel. Hence the valley is V-shaped and debris filled. Unstratified glacial debris 4.5 to 6 metres thick overlies a 3- to 4-metre thick layer of stratified gravel on bedrock. Interglacial gravel (2 metres thick) and recent alluvium lie on top.

The source of gold is probably from gold-quartz veins occurring in greenstones and metasediments of the Upper Paleozoic Slide Mountain Complex which underlie the area.

Most of the placer mining has been performed at the confluence of Quartz Creek and Troutline Creek, on an old buried channel which trends northwest and has a lower gradient than the present creek bed. The channel has been drifted on for 600 metres upstream.

Work History

Between 1876 to 1890 and 1921 to 1945, a total of 68.3 kilograms (2400 ounces) of gold was recovered.

In 2013 and 2014, Canada Rockies International Investment completed a 1.1 line-kilometre resistivity survey and an air photo interpretation program on the area to identify possible intact placer deposits.