The Golden Gate occurrence is located approximately halfway between Bridesville and Johnstone Provincial Park, on the north side of Highway 3. The showing is located on the steep eastern slopes of the Rock Creek valley at 910 metres elevation, 600 metres north of the confluence of Rock Creek with Baker Creek. The property and surrounding area have undergone mineral exploration dating back to the turn of the century, most with no record of work. The Rock Creek (Lot 2527) was Crown granted to A. Megraw in 1903.
The oldest rocks in vicinity of the Golden Gate occurrence belong to the Carboniferous to Permian Kobau and Anarchist groups. Amphibolite, greenstone, quartzite, chert, chlorite schist and minor marble comprise the Kobau Group and amphibolite, greenstone, quartz chlorite schist, quartz biotite schist and minor serpentinized peridotite comprise lithologies of the Anarchist Group. Penticton Group lithologies outcrop to the east while Middle Jurassic porphyritic granite, granodiorite and monzonite Nelson intrusions are found to the immediate north. Smaller plugs, dikes and sills of biotite granodiorite, quartz diorite and granite of Middle Jurassic to Cretaceous age intrude the Anarchist Group rocks.
Middle Jurassic altered biotite granodiorite underlies the Golden Gate occurrence. Immediately to the east a fault contact separates this intrusion from mainly coarse boulder and pebble conglomerate of the Penticton Group. Diorite and rhomb porphyry, presumably of Middle Jurassic age, are also found. To the south and west of the Golden Gate occurrence lie lithologies of the Anarchist Group. Foliated marble is common along the contact between the Anarchist Group and biotite granodiorite.
The occurrence consists of several trenches and one large opencut. Massive pyrrhotite, pyrite and chalcopyrite occur in quartz stringers and veins hosted in greenstone and diorite. Galena is also reported (Geological Survey of Canada Map 539A). The diorite also carries 2 to 5 per cent pyrite and magnetite. Limonite indicates surface oxidation of massive sulphides. The best mineralization to date has been found immediately above a pumphouse, where a cut exposes a 1.5 metre wide zone of semimassive to massive pyrrhotite, pyrite and chalcopyrite with minor sphalerite. The zone strikes 160 degrees and dips 70 degrees to the west. Milky white limonite- stained quartz are numerous around the opencut. These have been prospected in the past by a series of trenches. Sulphides are sparse in vein exposures. The diorite contacts are commonly altered to massive muscovite over tens of centimetres.
In 1992, property exploration was conducted by Crownex Resources (Canada) Ltd. The best assay results to date were obtained from grab sample 92-KET9-59R. This sample, taken from the Rock Creek Mines caved adit, yielded 5.55 grams per tonne gold, 58.8 grams per tonne silver, 0.38 per cent copper, 0.93 per cent lead and 0.21 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 22784). Another sample, 92-KET8-15R, yielded 0.20 gram per tonne gold, 13.2 grams per tonne silver, 0.13 per cent copper, 0.58 per cent lead and 0.39 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 22874). The assay results of rock geochemical samples taken in 1991 also yielded similar values (Assessment Report 22175).
