The May prospect is located at 914 metres elevation immediately south of Carmi Creek, 2.25 kilometres west-southwest of Carmi, British Columbia. The prospect is approximately 400 metres west of the former Butcher Boy mine (MINFILE 082ESW132) and approximately 650 metres west of the upper adit of the former Carmi mine (MINFILE 082ESW029).
The area lies within a small roof pendant of Permian Wallace Formation. The pendant is composed of metamorphosed pelitic, siliceous and calcareous sediments bordering foliated granodiorite. Rock types encountered on the south side of Carmi Creek are argillaceous quartzite, chlorite schist and chlorite-talc schist. Hornblende-biotite –foliated granodiorite occurs adjacent to schists and quartzite. Quartz, feldspar dikes and sills intrude chlorite schists along defined fractures. Contacts with country rocks are poorly defined. Latite and dacite dikes are also present. Their contacts are well defined with chilled margins.
The occurrence is located approximately 300 metres east of the intersection of two major faults, an east-west fault in the Carmi Creek valley and a north-south fault along Second Creek. A shear zone in cherty and locally schistose metasediments trends northwest from the Carmi and Butcher Boy mines over approximately 914 metres on surface. The exact relationship between the shear zone on the May claim and the Carmi-Butcher Boy shear is unknown. The May shear is evident by visible slicken-sides. Associated closely-spaced fractures strike 150 degrees. A northwest striking, overturned fold was observed above the upper adit portal.
Mineralization is confined to shear planes and quartz veins hosted in quartzitic chlorite schists. A 5 to 10- centimetre wide silicified shear is located on a steep face immediately east of the lower adit portal. The shear contains galena with significant silver values. The mineralization was traced over 1.5 metres along the shear. Several shears containing streaks of grey gouge, intersected in the adits, are believed to carry native silver and galena. Fine streaks of pyrite were visible in quartzitic chlorite schists. A trench located east of the adits, exposed disseminations of pyrite and veinlets of galena and native silver, similar to mineralized veins at the lower adit portal.
In 1971, a chip sample yielded 6362 grams per tonne silver over 1.2 metres (Assessment Report 3740).
In 1980, a sample of quartz vein with pyrite from the lower adit assayed 0.96 gram per tonne gold (Property File - Kelvin Energy Ltd. [1981-01-01]: Carmi Gold Project - 1980 Final Report).
In 1987, a sample (CAR 05) from a 10-centimetre quartz vein with galena from the May adit assayed 32.80 grams per tonne gold and 980.0 grams per tonne silver, 2.034 per cent zinc and 2.145 per cent lead (Property File - Valentine Gold Corp. [1987-07-28]: Property Evaluation of the Carmi Property).
The May claim was staked before 1901 on parallel veins and a shear zone extending westward from the Carmi and Butcher Boy claims. In 1904, the claim was Crown granted to R.D. Kerr and associates. A three-quarter interest was acquired in the property in 1934 by Carmi Gold Mines Ltd. By this time, development work included two adits: a lower and an upper. The lower adit is 30 metres south of Carmi Creek and 6 metres vertically above. It is approximately 42 metres long following a bearing of 170 degrees. A 12-metre crosscut was driven 24 metres from the portal. The upper adit lies 8.2 metres vertically above and 18 metres farther south. It is approximately 27 metres long along a bearing of 105 degrees.
No work has been done since this time except reopening portals and refurbishing collapsed adits. The property was examined and sampled by G.V. Lloyd Exploration Ltd. in 1971 as part of an extensive exploration program in the Carmi area for Husky Oil Ltd. In 1987, Valentine Gold Corp. sampled and examined the area. In 1992, American Bullion examined the area.
