The property is located between elevations of 1700 and 2130 metres astride Pontiac Creek, a northerly flowing tributary of Woodbury Creek, some 35 kilometres northeast of Nelson. The claims, which include the Sunset, Pontiac (082FNW111) and Scranton (082FNW112), lie within Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park, 1 to 2 kilometres from the eastern boundary.
A series of quartz veins striking northeastward are exposed at intervals for a distance of about 2135 metres. Most of the early exploration work on this vein system was done at its extremities and comprised the Pontiac workings at the northeasterly end and the Sunset workings at the southwesterly end. Following the consolidation of the property in 1930 development work was carried out at lower elevations in the mid section of the property on the Scranton claim, on the east side of Pontiac creek (known as the Lower Pontiac workings), and in the "Sunset" workings on the Grandview Fr. claim on the west side of the creek.
The first reported activity and first production from the Pontiac claim was recorded in 1898.
The first reported activity at the southwesterly end of the vein system was in 1899 when Woodbury Mines, Limited, a Spokane, Washington company, was carrying out development work on the Sunset No. 5 and Mayflower claims of the Sunset Group. The workings at that time comprised some 244 metres of drifts and crosscuts in 4 adits, and 2 shafts. Ore shipments began in 1899. Work on the property continued into 1901, the workings then comprising 7 or more adits.
Two claims, the International and Vernon, located adjoining and southwest of the Sunset group, were owned by C.F. Caldwell and associates of Salt Lake City. Assessment work in 1899 included a short adit on the International claim.
Subsequent details are lacking but apparently the Sunset and Mayflower claims lapsed and the ground was restaked as the Sunrise, Grandview and Granite claims. The Sunrise claim (Lot 5991) was Crown-granted to J.A. Poyntz in 1904. The adjacent Grandview (Lot 6279) and Granite (Lot 6278) claims were Crown-granted to W. Chaplin and A.G. Caldwell respectively in 1907.
Activites at the various workings ceased in about 1908 and some of the claims were subsequently acquired by C.F. Caldwell. In 1930 Hon. J.D. Chaplin, C.F. Caldwell, T. Doyle and J. Henry, owners of the various claim groups, gave an option to purchase the Scranton Consolidated Mining Company which was incorporated in Portland, Oregon to consolidate and develop the property. Investigation of the Scranton claim began but little was accomplished until 1939-40 when the main workings on the Scranton claim (lower Pontiac workings) were driven.
A new company, Scranton Mines Limited, was incorporated in British Columbia in August 1951 to acquire the 14 claim property; the company head office remained in Portland, Oregon. On the west side of Pontiac creek, on the Grandview Fr. claim, the "Sunset" drift adit, which was begun in 1950, was driven southwesterly at about the 1737-metre elevation. By the end of 1952 the workings comprised about 268 metres of drifts and crosscuts and a 23-metre winze. In 1953 diamond drilling in 11 holes totalling 548.6 metres was done to determine the vein extension on the Sunrise claim. Little further activity took place until 1960-61 when an additional 30 metres of drifting and crosscutting and 43 metres of underground diamond drilling was carried out in the Scranton workings. A new adit about 30 metres long was driven 15 metres below the old Pontiac workings.
Blue Star Mines Limited optioned the property in 1964 and carried out stripping and 209.3 metres of diamond drilling on the Scranton claim and extended the lower Pontiac adit an additional 79 metres.
No further activity was reported until 1967 when exploration was begun in a new adit at the 1800-metre elevation on the west side of Pontiac creek at the southeast edge of the Grandview claim. The adit was driven as a crosscut for 30.4 metres, intersecting a strong quartz vein which was drifted on. Silver Star Mines Ltd. acquired the property from Blue Star Mines and Scranton Mines through a stock transaction. A new adit was begun in 1968 at the 1737-metre elevation to explore the downward extension of mineralization in the 1800-metre level; drifting, raising and stoping was carried out on both levels. Some ore was shipped to the Blue Star mill at Ainsworth. Stoping of ore proved uneconomical and the operation was shut down in 1970.
Adit, trench, and drill indicated reserves on the 1737 and 1800-metre levels ("West Sunset") workings were estimated in November 1969 by W.M. Sharp at 42,680 tonnes averaging 8.06 grams per tonne gold and 240 grams per tonne silver, 9.1 per cent lead, 7.6 per cent zinc, plus cadmium values. (Northern Miner, March 12, 1970). Further production was reported during 1975-76.
David Minerals Ltd. acquired the property from Silver Star Mines, and the Ainsworth mill from Blue Star Mines, in 1977. Indicated reserves were reported at 17,935 tonnes averaging 9.26 grams per tonne gold and 240 grams per tonne silver, 8.2 per cent lead, and 8.0 per cent zinc (Northern Miner, January 12, 1978, page 24).
The country rock is hornblende potassium feldspar porphyritic granite and lesser hornblende diorite. The vein is less than 1.5 metres wide, limonite stained and sulphide-poor. The footwall granite is fractured and limonitic over 1 metre or less. The hangingwall is sharply defined and locally sericitized. Mineralization includes intergrown galena and sphalerite. Pyrite occurs as coarse aggregates and finely crystalline concentrations rimming galena. Erratic high grade gold values suggest free gold occurs in the veins. A grab sample from the Sunrise upper portal taken in 1987 assayed 32 grams per tonne gold, 310 grams per tonne silver, 21.2 per cent lead and 13.8 per cent zinc (Open File 1988-11).
Production from 1899 to 1901 totalled 145 tonnes yielding 313,269 grams silver, 2,333 grams gold and 57,494 kilograms lead. Later production is included with Scranton (082FNW112).
