The Mak Siccar occurrence is located at about 1260 metres on Manery Creek, on the western slopes of Mount Kobau. The former mine consists of underground workings from three main portals; the lower on the Eclipse (Lot 2976) Reverted Crown grant and the middle and upper portals on the Buller (Lot 2965) Reverted Crown grant.
The former Mak Siccar mine consists of shear-hosted quartz veins developed by three adits, the lower on the Eclipse Reverted Crown grant and the middle and upper adits on the Buller Reverted Crown grant. A group of Crown grants were originally staked between 1900 and 1904. In 1904, the Eclipse Mining and Milling Co. sunk a 24.4-metre winze on the Buller claim which intersected 'good' ore. Later, a 7.6-metre tunnel (lower adit) was reported to intersect a 1.2 to 1.5-metre wide quartz vein with high gold values. The property was operated until 1928 by Eclipse Mining and Milling Co., when Tiger Gold Syndicate was formed by Eclipse Mining and Milling Co. and claim owners. In 1931, the property was overtaken by Mak Siccar Gold Mines Ltd. and operated until 1938. In 1938, ownership was transferred to Whitehead and Davidoff. In 1966, the Buller, Bobbs, Eclipse and Kitchener claims were optioned to Iago Mines Ltd. who constructed a road to the upper adits. Between 1960 and 1986 the area was designated a military reserve with plans to build an observatory on Mount Kobau. The plans were cancelled, however, and the observatory was built in Hawaii. In 1986, Shangri-La Minerals Ltd. conducted wide-spaced geophysical and geochemical surveys and limited geological mapping on behalf of Chelik Resources Inc. In 1990, the property was acquired by Mount Kobau Mining Ltd. who retained Azimuth Geological Inc. to conduct limited soil geochemical, magnetometer and electromagnetic surveys and geological mapping. In 1998, owner/operator Crosscreek Mining Corporation installed a 6 kilometre grid over the Mak 3 and Mak 5 claims. Nineteen soil samples were collected from this grid, along a line just above the upper adit (L12+OOW). The soil geochemistry line indicated slightly elevated gold values in the middle of the sample line, to 102 ppb gold.
Regionally, the Mak Siccar deposit is hosted by polydeformed regionally metamorphosed sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Carboniferous to Permian Kobau Group. The aereal distribution of Kobau Group rocks is restricted by the Similkameen River to the west and the Okanagan fault to the east. Intruding these rocks are small granodiorite plugs of the Middle Jurassic Similkameen intrusion, lying along the Manery Creek fault. A pluton of the Similkameen intrusion is located 1.5 kilometres to the southwest. Post-Middle Jurassic pyroxenite is also found at the Mak Siccar deposit.
The Kobau Group rocks have been subdivided into up to nine units. However, these generally consist of chlorite schist, foliated greenstone and lesser quartz sericite schist. The Kobau Group rocks have a northwest trending schistosity as well as a major northwest trending fold axis. Shears cut these rocks in three directions: north-south on the eastern portion of the property, and northeast and northwest to the west.
The northeast-trending shear is the locale of gold and copper mineralization and development. This shear strikes 030 degrees, dips 60 degrees west, following the course of Manery Creek. A quartz and locally carbonate stockwork up to 40 metres wide is best observed between the middle and upper adit portals. The stockwork contains quartz veins which vary in width from 0.02 to 1.4 metres. The shear-hosted stockwork lies within a small stock of granodiorite 600 by 500 metres in size and intrudes foliated greenstone. The veins strike 213, 240 and 280 degrees with dips ranging from 52 degrees northwest to vertical. Some of the quartz veins above the upper portal are flat lying and lensoidal in shape.
Auriferous quartz veins generally carry chalcopyrite, fine to coarse crystalline pyrite, trace tourmaline and minor malachite and azurite staining, which occur up to 300 metres laterally and greater than 150 metres vertically as determined by the 3 adits driven at 1128, 1250, and 1280 metres respectively. Hydrothermal wallrock alteration occurs along the vein edge in either the hangingwall of the upper adit or the footwalls of the middle and lower adits. The alteration zone ranges from 1 to several decimetres wide. Silicification is most prevalent in the shear zone and typically 10 to 20 centimetres wide, occasionally widening to 1 metre or more over short sections. Sericite alteration is common along with sparse masses of carbonate. Propylitic alteration is characterized by massive chlorite in 1 to several metre wide sections of the shear zone in the lower adit. Minor limonite is also found.
Samples taken in 1986 from the three adits analysed as follows. In the upper adit, sample MSUC-19 yielded 13.8 grams per tonne gold and 6.1 grams per tonne silver over 20 centimetres (Assessment Report 15920). A second sample, MSUC-22, yielded 3.3 grams per tonne gold and 2.0 grams per tonne silver over 30 centimetres (Assessment Report 15920). Sample 90MS-004, taken in 1990 near the upper adit, yield 231.5 grams per tonne gold, 86.4 grams per tonne silver and 0.03 per cent copper (Assessment Report 20115). The sample was composed of quartz vein with minor pyrite and trace chalcopyrite. Sample 90MS-002 yielded 5.11 grams per tonne gold, 9.9 grams per tonne silver and 2.27 per cent copper (Assessment Report 20115).
From the middle adit, sample MSD-26 taken in 1986, yielded 1.53 grams per tonne gold and 0.7 gram per tonne silver (Assessment Report 15920). The sample was taken over 1.4 metres from the offset of the main vein. In 1990, 1.1-metre chip sample 90MS-007 yielded 0.23 gram per tonne gold and 0.40 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 20115).
In the lower adit, mineralization is associated with intermediate development of quartz stringers. In 1986, sample MSL-31 yielded 1.89 grams per tonne gold and 1.6 grams per tonne silver over 0.30 metre of gouge (Assessment Report 15920). A 1990 sample, 90MS-013, yielded 3.54 grams per tonne gold and 1.6 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 20115). Sample 105689, a lower adit dump grab, yielded 6.31 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 20638).
Production between the years 1934 to 1939 yielded 4012 grams of gold and 1960 grams of silver from 189 tonnes mined.