The Golden Plug showing is located 2 kilometres southwest of Twin Lakes, 6 kilometres north-northeast of Olalla, British Columbia.
No exploration record prior to 1977 could be found for the Golden Plug showing. During 1977 and 1978, Union Oil Co. of Canada Ltd. conducted exploration consisting of induced polarization surveys, scintillometer surveys and limited geological mapping for uranium in the area. A geochemical soil survey was conducted on part of the Golden Plug showing in 1985. During 1987 and 1988, a limited diamond drilling program was conducted to examine the source of an induced polarization anomaly.
The Golden Plug showing lies along the western margin of a fault-bound basin of Eocene Penticton Group volcanic rocks. At the base of this volcanic succession lies the Springbrook Formation that consists of massive, unsorted, polymictic conglomerate and breccia with lesser sandstone and tuff. The matrix of the conglomerate and breccia is silty and green. Clasts are dominantly volcanics (45 per cent) and chert (35 per cent) with lesser metamorphic rocks (10 per cent), sediments (5 per cent) and intrusions (5 per cent). The lowest member of the overlying Marron Formation is the Yellow Lake Member. At the Golden Plug, the Yellow Lake Member consists dominantly of pyroxene-rich mafic phonolite lava with well developed anorthoclase phenocrysts. This is overlain by trachyandesite flows with conspicuous glomerophenocrystic clots of feldspar of the Kitley Lake Member. Highly vesicular, pyroxene-rich basaltic andesite of the Kearns Creek Member overlies the Kitley Lake Member to the east near Twin Lakes. The Olalla rhyolite of the Marama Formation overlies members of the Marron Formation to the immediate north.
In 1986 and 1988, a drill program was initiated to test an induced polarization anomaly and for epithermal precious and base metal mineralization in the Springbrook Formation. However, the Springbrook Formation was never reached. An intense fracture zone of clay alteration containing quartz and calcite with pyrite, galena, sphalerite and chalcopyrite mineralization was determined to be the cause of the induced polarization anomaly.
Drillhole 88-2 intersected the basal volcanic breccia and lahar unit of the Yellow Lake Member at 287 metres depth. Argillic alteration was locally strong in Olalla rhyolite. Weak to moderate, fracture-controlled carbonate alteration was also present. Three sections from drillhole 88-2 yielded weakly anomalous silver and zinc values. Sample 7952A, over 1 metre at 187 metres, yielded 1.4 grams per tonne silver, 0.10 per cent zinc, 0.03 per cent copper and 0.03 per cent lead (Assessment Report 17843). Sample 7959A, over 1 metre at 193 metres, yielded 2.3 grams per tonne silver, 0.15 per cent zinc, 0.01 per cent copper and 0.07 per cent lead (Assessment Report 17843). Sample 7964A, over 1 metre at 198 metres, yielded 2.1 grams per tonne silver and 0.26 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 17843).
