The Fife occurrence is located south of Sutherland Creek and east of the community of Fife on Christina Lake.
The area is underlain by limestone, greywacke and fine clastic sedimentary rocks of the Carboniferous to Permian Mount Roberts Formation that have been intruded by a complex assemblage of Middle Jurassic gabbro, diorite and granite. To the north and east, syenitic to monzonitic intrusive rocks of the Eocene Coryell Plutonic Suite are exposed. The sediments have been intensely folded with variable strikes and dips. Local areas of garnetiferous skarn are noted along the contacts of the Mount Roberts Formation and the granodiorite and diorite intrusions.
There is very little available data on the mineralization on the Fife claims, but it is assumed to be similar to occurrences in the Burnt Basin camp located 13 kilometres north (MINFILE 082ESE099 and 082ESE102). In the Burnt Basin camp, mineralization includes magnetite/sulphide replacements and sulphide disseminations. Small replacement deposits occur in recrystallized limestone adjacent to dikes and were mined principally for silver, though they contained significant but erratic zinc, lead, copper and gold values.
In 2013, select rock samples from outcrops around the (collapsed) main entrance tunnel, dumps and several small shafts of silicified and hornfelsed sedimentary (shale, mudstone, sandstone, biotite schist) rocks hosting pyrrhotite, pyrite, magnetite and chalcopyrite yielded values up to 8.25 grams per tonne gold, 4.04 per cent copper and 67.2 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 34309). Other samples taken from a roadcut located immediately north of Sutherland Creek yielded up to 0.148 per cent copper (Assessment Report 34309).
At the Fife occurrence, 27 tonnes of ore produced 93 grams of gold and 1134 kilograms copper.
Mrs. Irene Buckland held under lease the six Crown grants that composethe Fife property, which straddle the Kettle Valley Railway between the villages of Fife and Christina Lake. The greatest period of activity appears to have been in 1909 and 1910, when Fife Mines Co. Ltd. owned the property. The main tunnel totalled 244 metres; side drifts and crosscuts, 91 metres; shafting and winze, 87 metres; stations, 15 metres; shaft from surface to first crosscut, 23 metres; drift at this point, 10 metres and tunnel No. 1, 21 metres. One small stope was then developed, from which 181 tonnes of ore were mined. Several ore shoots were encountered showing ore of good grade; the average of their shipping product was 4 per cent copper and from $3 to $6 in gold and silver; with the best gold values being obtained from the deepest workings, where at times it ran as high as $12 per ton (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1910). In 1911, 1524 metres of diamond drilling was completed. On at least one occasion since 1910 the workings have been partly cleaned out and rehabilitated.
In the summer of 1953, Miners Western Limited cleaned out the old adit and drove around some badly caved ground to connect with the old workings. The connecting drift was 42.6 metres long.
In 1969, Boundary Exploration Ltd. completed a program of silt and soil sampling, geological mapping and an 8.0 line-kilometre ground magnetic survey on the area. In 1970 and 1971, Imperial Oil Enterprises completed programs of rock and soil sampling, geological mapping and ground magnetometer surveys on the area as the FCC group of claims.
In 2013, A.B. Firmston prospected and sampled the area as the Golden Goose and Cannonball properties. The main tunnel had reportedly collapsed by this time.
