The Reco occurrence is situated at 2043 metres elevation above sea level on the north slope of Carpenter Creek, on Crown grant Lot 624, in the Slocan Mining Division. The occurrence consists of two main vein systems. The southern vein extends from the Reucan Crown grant (Lot 624) through the Goodenough (Lot 581), and the northern vein extends from the Reucan Crown grant on to the Texas Crown grant (Lot 589).

The Reco No. 2 lode strikes northeasterly through the Texas, Ephraim Fraction, Ruecau, and New Denver claims. The Ruecau, early in its history, became known as the Reco for convenience. The history of the property dates from the location of the Texas claim in June 1892. Development work on No. 2 lode began at that time and ore shipments began in 1894. The owners, J.M. Harris and F.T. Kelly, incorporated The Reco Mining and Milling Company, Limited Liability, in 1896. The Ruecau (Lot 624), New Denver (Lot 612), and Texas (Lot 589) claims were Crown-granted to the company in 1896; the Ephraim Fraction (Lot 600) was Crown-granted to the company in 1897. The Omega claim (Lot 618), on the southerly extension of the lode, was Crown-granted to the company in 1900. Production from No. 2 lode covered the periods 1894-1896, 1904-1913, and 1915-1918. The lode was developed from 4 adits over a vertical range of more than 106 metres. The main workings are Nos. 1, 3, and 5 adits, along which an aggregate of almost 1524 metres of work has been done. No. 5, the longest adit, is about 366 metres long. These levels are connected by raises and stopes. Three adits, Nos. 9, 11, and 15 on the Texas claim, and No. 19 adit, started on the Omega claim but passing into Texas ground, were driven to explore the downward continuation of No. 2 lode. These adits are 69.4, 96.9, 163, and 245.6 metres respectively below No. 5 adit.

Production began from No. 1 lode in 1900. The lode was explored on both sides of the Texas-Deadman boundary; most of the workings, however, lie within the Texas claim. The workings include Nos. 1, 2, and 3 adits, and an intermediate level above No. 3, over a vertical range of 30.4 metres. Only about a metre of work has been done on this lode.

Silver Mountain Mines Ltd. held an option on 26 Crown-granted claims during 1958-1960. Work was apparently confined to claims adjacent to those mentioned above.

Reco Silver Mines Limited, incorporated in June 1964, aquired an option to purchase the property from Mrs. A.L. Parris and Reco Mining and Milling. A geochemical survey in the fall of 1964 was conducted over the general area of the No. 2 and 3 lodes, and the area to the northwest. Detailed geological mapping of surface and accessible underground workings was done in 1965.

The Reco No. 3 lode (Reco-Goodenough lode) strikes northeasterly through the Goodenough, and Reco claims; its southwesterly extension, Reco No. 4 zone, occurs on the Slocan Sovereign (082FNW036) and Number One (082FNW203) claims. The No. 3 lode was developed initially under a joint venture between The Goodenough Mines, Limited Liability, and The Reco Mining and Milling Company, Limited Liability. A series of crosscut adits were run in on Goodenough ground to intersect the lode at the Reco-Goodenough boundary. From these crosscuts the respective companies run drifts on their own portions of the lode.

No. 3 lode was in production from 1895 to 1903, inclusive; further production was reported in 1909, 1913, and 1915-1919. Further development work was done In the 1920's, and a few tons of ore were shipped in 1935. The Goodenough claim (Lot 581) was owned and under development by J.A. Whittier, J. Thompson, and J. Martin from 1895. The claim was Crown-granted in 1896. The owners incorporated The Goodenough Mines, Limited Liability, in March 1897. Operations continued into 1907. The company charter was surrendered in 1923.

The Purcell Fraction claim (Lot 849), adjoining the Goodenough on the east, was Crown-granted in 1897 to Purcell Mining Corporation, Limited, of Spokane, Washington; no work was reported.

The Reco-Goodenough lode was explored by Nos. A, 2, 4, 6, and 8 adits and by No. 7 intermediate level over a vertical range of 161.2 metres. Altogether about 1524 metres of drifts and crosscuts were run. All levels were connected by raises and stopes. Most of the development work was done on the Ruecau claim, across which the longest or No. 4 adit extends for almost its entire length of 304.8 metres.

Silver Mountain Mines Ltd. held the property from about 1958; work was confined to a narrow quartz vein at the 1615.4 metre level.

Reco Silver Mines Limited acquired a number of adjacent claims in 1964 and carried out a geochemical survey in the vicinity of the Goodenough claim. By an agreement of November 1966 the company acquired from Silver Mountain Mines a 50 per cent interest in a mineral lease covering nine Crown-grants, the Goodenough, Grey Copper (082FNW033), Idaho No. 2, Bluebird (082FNW034), Rawdon, Stranger, Purcell, Dunedin, and Egalite. Some work was reported on the Purcell vein in 1971. The lease was subsequently abandoned and the Silver Mountain Mines charter was surrendered in 1977.

G. Sipos and associates incorporated Sipald Resources Ltd. in June 1979 to acquire five reverted Crown-grants, the Goodenough, Purcell, Rawdon, Grey Copper, and Idaho No. 2. An adit on the Idaho No. 2 was re-opened in 1980 and crosscutting and drifting carried out on several parallel veins. In 1981 work on the Idaho No. 2 and Purcell claims included an electromagnetic survey, trenching, sampling of vein and dump material.

Regionally, the area lies on the western margin of the Kootenay Arc, in allochthonous rocks of the Quesnel Terrane. In the vicinity of the occurrence, the Quesnel Terrane is dominated by the Upper Triassic Slocan Group, a thick sequence of deformed and metamorphosed shale, argillite, siltstone, quartzite and minor limestone. Rocks of the Slocan Group are tightly and disharmonically folded. Early minor folds are tight to isoclinal with moderate east plunging, southeast inclined axial planes and younger folds are open, southwest plunging with subhorizontal axial planes. The sedimentary sequence has been regionally metamorphosed to lower greenschist facies.

South of the occurrence, the Slocan Group has been intruded by the Middle Jurassic Nelson intrusions which comprise at least six texturally and compositionally distinct phases ranging from diorite to lamprophyre. The most dominant phase is a medium to coarse grained potassium feldspar porphyritic granite. Several feldspar porphyritic granodiorite dikes, apparently related to the Nelson intrusions, also cut the sedimentary sequence near the occurrence (Paper 1989-5).

The claims are underlain by calcareous sandstone, quartzite, argillite and a few narrow limestone beds of the Slocan Group. The major structure is a northwest-trending anticline with limbs dipping about 45 degrees northeast and southwest. Two large northwest trending quartz porphyritic dikes cut the sedimentary sequence in the southeast portions of the Reucan and Texas Crown grants.

At least four subparallel veins are known but most of the past production came from the No. 2 and No. 3 veins. The Reco No. 2 or northern vein cuts across the northwest end of the Reucan Crown grant, extends on to the Texas Crown grant and may correlate with the Slocan Sovereign vein on Lot 1927 (082FNW036), one kilometre southwest. The vein strikes 050 degrees and dips 65 to 70 degrees southeast. It has been exploited in at least four separate adits for a vertical distance of 100 metres. The vein, in the underground workings, had an average width of 75 centimetres but narrowed considerably where it crossed the porphyritic dikes. Galena, sphalerite and pyrite with siderite and quartz occurred in bands rarely exceeding 45 centimetres in width, but in one place was 2.4 metres thick. Crushed rock and gouge filled the remainder of the fissure vein.

The Reco No. 3-Goodenough or southern vein extends from the southern part of the Reucan Crown grant, through the northwestern part of the Goodenough Crown grant and may correlate with the vein on the Number One Crown grant Lot 4560 (082FNW203), one kilometre southwest. The Reco No. 3-Goodenough vein is 225 metres south of the No. 2 vein. It is a 15 to 20 centimetre wide fissure vein that includes a 6 centimetre wide band of massive sulphide. Ore minerals include galena, sphalerite, tetrahedrite, pyrargyrite, argentite and native silver. Pyrite with quartz and calcite are also present. The vein has been exposed in at least 5 adits.

Production from the two main veins between 1893 and 1966 yielded about 36 tonnes of silver, 2858 tonnes of lead, 168 tonnes of zinc, 604 kilograms of cadmium and 62 grams of gold from 7089 tonnes mined. Production records for the Reco No. 3-Goodenough vein were separated from the No. 2 vein in the late 1800s but exact production figures are not available for each year of production during that period. From the 4206 tonnes mined between 1895 and 1905, 393 tonnes are believed to have been mined from the Reco No. 3-Goodenough vein (Minister of Mines Annual Report Index 3, page 198). Although most of the production from the Deadman claim is included with the Noble Five property (082FNW037), some 81 tonnes of lead concentrate recovered from the Deadman Crown grant (Lot 618) in 1965 was included with the Reco production records.