The BZT occurrence is located approximately 30 kilometres southwest of Castlegar, BC on the east side of highway 3, about 12 kilometres northeast of the town of Christina Lake, BC.
Metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks correlated with the Mount Roberts Formation trend east-west at the BZT occurrence and dip variable to the north and south.
In 2006, Astral Mining Corporation conducted a helicopter-borne geophysical (electromagnetic) survey and geochemical (rock and soil) sampling on the area as the JJ property. Overall, the geochemistry survey on the Bonanza Pass area yielded three significant gold anomalous zones oriented north-south that correlated to the orientation of local quartz veins. During this time, 38 channel samples were taken from mineralized quartz veins at seven sites in the Bonanza Pass area. With the exception of the last channel, all samples taken from the Bonanza Pass area were over 1 metre and yielded values from 0.003 to 4.745 grams per tonne gold (Brittliffe, D., Terry, D. (2007-02-28): 43-101 Report on Exploration at the Jumping Josephine Property, Southeastern British Columbia).
In a 2007 drilling program conducted by Astral Mining Corporation, two holes were drilled over a total of 643.29 metres (Turner, A. (2008-03-27): Technical Report on 2007 Exploration at the Jumping Josephine Property). The drill holes targeted down dip extensions of the local quartz veins 500 and 300 metres north of their surface exposures. The mafic rock sequence of the Carboniferous to Permian Mt. Roberts Formation that is intersected with multiple sills and dikes, of syenite and diorite were bisected by the drill holes. Summary of significant assays was given at 4.5 metres averaging 0.54 grams per tonne gold, and anomalous molybdenum at multiple intervals described further in the report (Turner, A. (2008-03-27): Technical Report on 2007 Exploration at the Jumping Josephine Property).
In 2014, Orex Minerals Ltd. earned a 100 per cent interest in the Jumping Josephine property, which includes the BZT occurrence, and other MINFILE occurrences (082ESE275, 082FSW408, 082FSW409, and 082ESE101). Exploration and small-scale development on and around the current property dates back to the early 1900s. Sporadic exploration has been conducted since then, with recent work since 2006 by Kootenay Gold and Astral Mining. The BZT occurrence is located within a larger area referred to by Orex Minerals as the Bonanza area, which also includes MINFILE 082ESE101.
Rock sampling and drilling by Orex Minerals in 2014 encountered metavolcanic rocks and limy metasedimentary rocks, intruded by felsic stocks/sills, and subsequently cut by syenite and mafic dikes. Felsic to intermediate intrusive rocks appear to interfinger with the metavolcanic rocks. Skarn style alteration is common in the metasedimentary rocks, with strong silica, epidote, garnet, and chlorite alteration associated with pyrite, pyrrhotite, magnetite, and trace chalcopyrite. Silicified zones hosting narrow quartz-pyrite veinlets returned the highest concentrations of gold in the Bonanza area. Surface rock samples returned up to 4.34 grams per tonne gold in sample Q646037. Three drill holes (totalling 1068 metres) drilled at the BZT occurrence intersected broad zones of silica-epidote-chlorite-garnet skarn alteration containing pyrite, pyrrhotite, and local trace chalcopyrite. Samples from drill hole 14JD156 intersected 1 metre at 1.69 grams per tonne gold (300 to 301 metres downhole), 1 metre at 12.90 grams per tonne gold (306 to 307 metres downhole), and 1 metre at 2.25 grams per tonne gold (311.5 to 312.5 metres downhole). Drill holes 14JD157 and 14JD158 intersected narrow intervals of low-grade gold mineralization associated with skarn and skarn-hosted quartz veins (Assessment Report 35457).
