The Joe Dandy occurrence is located at approximately 425 metres elevation, northeast of Reed Creek, in the historic Fairview mining camp. The community of Oliver lies 1.75 kilometres to the east.
The occurrence lies within the Okanagan terrane of the Intermontane tectonic belt. Polydeformed and regionally metamorphosed rocks of the Carboniferous to Permian Kobau Group dominantly underlie the area. Highly deformed, low- grade, metamorphic quartzite, phyllite, schist, greenstone and marble comprise the main units of a 1900-metre structure succession. Three phases of fold have been identified in the Kobau Group rocks. The initial phase of folding was coincident with pre-Jurassic regional metamorphism, whereas later phases of folding are related to intrusive activity. The main intrusions in the Fairview camp are the Jurassic Oliver granite and the Jurassic to Cretaceous Fairview granodiorite. The Oliver Pluton is heterogeneous and is composed of biotite-hornblende granite, porphyritic biotite granite, garnet-muscovite granite, porphyritic quartz monzonite and syenite. Other intrusive phases cutting the Kobau Group metasediments and volcanics include aplite dikes, granitic, dioritic and mafic stocks, auriferous quartz veins related to Jurassic intrusions and Tertiary northeast-trending mafic dikes.
The Joe Dandy occurrence is hosted by siliceous schist, chlorite-actinolite phyllite and foliated phyllitic quartzite of the Kobau Group, near the contact with granodiorite of the Fairview Pluton. In places, the vein lies between porphyritic dikes and schists.
Mineralization is within a 30- centimetre to 1.0 metre wide bluish white quartz vein striking 115 degrees and dipping 36 to 60 degrees north. The vein is reported to be traceable on surface over 457 metres. High gold values are reported to occur within parallel quartz veins near this intrusive-schist contact. Minerals in the vein include pyrite and galena. Areas where high sulphide mineralization occur reportedly contains good gold values. In 1987, the best gold value obtained was from a sample taken near the northern entrance to the Old Joe Dandy tunnel. Sample JDK-008 yielded 6.3 grams per tonne gold (Yuriko Resources Corp. (1988): Prospectus). The sample was taken from an intensely oxidized quartz vein with minor calcite in folded phyllite.
Preliminary lead isotope studies indicate that the mineralization associated with quartz veins is younger than or as young as the Oliver Pluton (circa 155 Ma; Fieldwork 1988, pages 19-25).
Development was composed of two underground tunnels ('Old' and the 'New' Joe Dandy tunnels) and various open cuts. The 'New' Joe Dandy tunnel also had two drifts: the No. 1 and No. 2. The No. 2 drift is reported to have run along almost the entire vein underground. The No. 1 drift was 68 metres long and intersected a 0.9 to 1.8-metre long ore shoot. The drifts occur in two areas approximately 185 metres apart along the regional west-northwest trend. The total amount of ore mined is not known;, however, approximately 90 tonnes of ore was reported on the dump in 1896. The workings that are accessible are reported as being driven on narrow subsidiary structures. The original owners are reported to have mined and milled a considerable amount of ore in a stamp mill at Fairview (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1986, page 574).
Ore was being mined and milled from the Joe Dandy as early as 1892. In 1895, T. Davis and E. Hammond ran an 18-metre tunnel along a vein and sunk a 17-metre shaft. In 1896, the Joe Dandy claim was Crown- granted (Lot 447) to E. Hammond, who also owned the neighbouring Daisy, Atlas (Lot 664) and Belmont Fraction (Lot 837). A 6-metre tunnel was driven on the Belmont and a 9-metre shaft sunk on the Daisy. A new 18-metre tunnel was driven on the Joe Dandy and a winze sunk to the old tunnel. During the same year, ownership was transferred to the British Columbia Development Corp. Fairview Gold Mining Co. acquired the property in 1897. In 1901, the Fairview Corp. is reported to have bought the Joe Dandy property. The New Joe Dandy tunnel was reopened in 1983 by the Lawrence Mining Corp. The vein was intermittent and sampling indicated low gold values. Further work was carried out from 1987 to 1990 under option to Yuriko Resources. Property work in 1987 was conducted by Shangri-La Minerals Ltd. In 2013 and 2014, Hi Ho Silver Resources completed programs of rock and soil sampling, geological mapping and 38.0 line- kilometres of ground electromagnetic surveys on the area.
