The April occurrence is located approximately 39.0 kilometres northeast of Kimberley, at the headwaters of Nicol Creek and 2.5 kilometres west of the Wildhorse River.
The April occurrence area is underlain by northerly striking, steeply dipping Helikian Gateway Formation (Purcell Supergroup) carbonate and clastic rocks, and a unit of mafic flows all of which are unconformably overlain to the east by Cambrian carbonates and fine clastics. The stratigraphy has been intruded in the northeast by an alkali-feldspar porphyritic syenite stock. At the margins of the intrusions, sediments have been metamorphosed to marbles, hornfels and skarns and locally have had low grade sporadic copper mineralization introduced along fractures and joint surfaces. Chalcopyrite on these surfaces has locally weathered to produce malachite staining.
Locally, a 1- by 3-kilometre Cretaceous fine-crystalline to porphyritic stock of quartz monzonite, monzonite and minor syenite intrudes the Sheppard Formation (Purcell Supergroup) of mid Proterozoic age, and the Jubilee Formation, McKay Group and Beaverfoot Formation of Cambrian and Ordovician age. Skarn and fracture-related copper-gold showings are present along the intrusion margin.
The April claims were staked by DeKalb Mining Corporation in 1979 and 1980. Subsequent exploration consisted of geochemical surveys, geophysical surveys, geological mapping, prospecting, and trenching, which exposed minor chalcopyrite. A geophysical survey was conducted in 1982 over some of the more geochemically anomalous areas, and a total of 13.85 kilometres VLF-EM surveying was done.
Soil geochemistry indicated several extensive areas with anomalous copper values in the halo zone around a syenite stock. Prospecting in these areas revealed sporadic low-grade copper mineralization as disseminated chalcopyrite in fractures and quartz veins as well as malachite staining along joint surfaces. In 1982, DeKalb Mining Corporation initiated bulldozer trenching on one of the anomalies in the northwestern portion of the April claims along two lines. Chip sampling of outcrops exposed in the trenches revealed high background values of copper in altered diorite (up to 0.09 per cent copper, considered low-grade) (Assessment Report 11078).
During the 1980’s, Dome Exploration (Canada) Limited focused on their Hot 1 copper anomaly (082GNW050) 2.5 kilometres to the east-southeast of the April occurrence, where rock sampling and 6 drillholes were completed.
In 2005, Ruby Red collected rock samples about 1 kilometre to the southeast at the Do Drop showing (Assessment Report 28268). In 2007, Ruby Red Resources collected 364 soil and 72 rock samples about 1.5 kilometres (and further) to the northeast from the April showing (082GNW049), revealing new copper, lead, zinc, and silver mineralization on their Do Drop property (Assessment Report 29942). In 2008, Ruby Red completed work on their Do Drop/Wild Horse property on or near the Hot 1 (082GNW050) showing area. Work consisted of the collection of 445 soil samples and was conducted in the area of the new showings (see Do Drop, 082GNW146) previously found in 2007 and over the Hot 1 showing to the east-southeast (Assessment Report 30642).
The showing has been explored as part Dew Drop property in the Dewdney Trail Gold project of PJX Resources Inc. Exploration on the property prior to its acquisition by the SG Spirit Gold Inc., and subsequent option to PJX in 2010 consisted of: prospecting; follow-up soil geochemistry; rock geochemistry; trenching, data compilation into GIS format; geological mapping and small drill program.
In 2016, PJX Resources Inc. conducted geological mapping and rock geochemistry sampling on the Dewdney Trail Property (Assessment Reports 36649).
Refer to Hot 1 (082GNW050), Do Drop (082GNW146), and East Ridge (082GNW117) for related geological and work history information.
