The Silver Chief prospect is on the northeast side of Index Creek, a minor tributary of Gainer Creek, which flows to the southwest into Lardeau Creek. The Silver Chief property was originally composed of a linear, northwest-trending, belt of Crown-granted mineral claims that ran parallel to those hosting the White Quail (MINFILE 082KNW037), Hidden Treasure (MINFILE 082KNW106) and Index (MINFILE 082KNW038) occurrences. The Silver Chief No.2 (L.6476) grant was at approximately 2050 metres elevation, in the same cirque as the Index (L.3956). The other claims in the Silver Chief group extended downhill towards the northwest. Since their reversion, the ground has been covered by several different claim groups, including the May.

The Trout Lake area is underlain by a thick succession of sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Badshot Formation and Lardeau Group near the northern end of the Kootenay arc, an arcuate, north- to northwest-trending belt of Paleozoic and Mesozoic strata that is now classified as a distinct, pericratonic terrane. The arc rocks are bordered by Precambrian quartzite in the east and they become younger to the west, where they are bounded by Jurassic intrusive complexes. They were deformed during the Antler orogeny in the be Devonian-early Carboniferous (Mississippian) and were refolded and faulted during the Columbian orogeny, during the Middle Jurassic. A large panel, the ‘Selkirk allochthon’, was later offset to the northeast by dip-slip motion along the Columbia River fault.

The Badshot Formation is composed of a thick Cambrian limestone that is a distinctive marker horizon in the Trout Lake area. It is underlain by Hamill Group quartzite and overlain by a younger assemblage of limestone, calcareous, graphitic and siliceous argillite and siltstone, sandstone, quartzite and conglomerate, and also mafic volcanic flows, tuffs and breccias, all of which belong to the Lardeau Group. The rocks are isoclinally folded and intensely deformed, but only weakly metamorphosed. They occur as intercalated beds of marble, quartzite and grey, green and black phyllite and schist. Fyles and Eastwood (EMPR BULL 45) subdivided the group into six formations (Index, Triune, Ajax, Sharon Creek, Jowett and Broadview) of which the lowermost (Index) and uppermost (Broadview) are the most widespread. The Triune (siliceous argillite), Ajax (quartzite) and Sharon Creek (siliceous argillite) are restricted to the Trout Lake area. The Jowett is a mafic volcanic unit.

The Silver Chief is in a similar stratigraphic and structural setting to the White Quail [082KNW037], Hidden Treasure (MINFILE 082KNW106) and Index (MINFILE 082KNW038) occurrences; however, the rocks are lower down in the structural section. The tenures are underlain by grey carbonate and green phyllite and metatuff of the Index Formation. They are tightly folded and highly deformed, and both bedding and schistocity strike to the northwest and dip steeply to the southwest.

The workings show at least seven sites where Lade Peak (or "Molly Mac") limestone is mineralized with galena. In some localities, the galena is massive and occurs in narrow veins that pinch and swell in fresh limestone; however, it is more often found disseminated in bleached, siderite-altered, structurally deformed limestone.

The no. 1 zone consists of a series of pits and/or trenches crossing a ridge at approximately 2190 metres elevation, exposing a 0.3 to 0.9-metre wide zone of siderite replacing limestone with disseminated galena. The zone has been traced over a length of approximately 90 metres. A small trench exposes a 7.5-centimetre bedded vein or lens of massive galena in limestone approximately half way between zones 1 and 2.

The no. 2 zone is located at 2175 metres elevation and consists of pits and trenches exposing disseminated galena in a limestone over a width of approximately 60 centimetres.

The no. 3 zone is exposed by a series of pits and trenches, extending over 120 metres in length and at an elevation of 2160 metres. The zone is composed of three parallel bands of massive galena, 7.5 to 10 centimetres thick, in a limestone.

The no. 4 zone has been exposed by pits and trenches for 9 metres at an elevation of 2145 metres and consists of a 15-centimetre wide band of massive galena in limestone.

At the no. 5 or Upper zone, a small cut, east of the upper adit, shows an exposure of highly contorted limestone that is seemingly interbedded with green phyllite. At this locality, the mineralization appears to be controlled by small drag folds, plunging 15 degrees to the east, at the northeast contact of the limestone. The limestone is partially replaced by siderite, quartz and galena, which are particularly well developed in the cores of the folds and pinch out in the adjacent limbs. The greatest concentration of galena appears to be in a 0.25-metre wide band passing through the trough of a small syncline.

At the second adit (no. 6 or Lower zone) is in limestone near its contact with green phyllite on the southwest limb of the northeastern Silver Chief anticline. A lens of siderite on the northwest wall of the adit contains clusters of galena but the zone appears to be cut by a northeast-trending cross fault.

The no. 7 zone is located on a small bench at an elevation of 2010 metres and consists of disseminated galena in a rusty phyllitic limestone over a width of approximately 3 metres.

In 1960, two chip samples were collected across the ‘the largest section of galena mineralization’ exposed the no. 5 or Upper zone, yielding 0.51 gram per tonne gold, 94.3 grams per tonne silver, 16.7 per cent lead and trace of zinc over 1.22 metres and 0.51 gram per tonne gold, 54.86 grams per tonne silver with 12.25 per cent lead (Assessment Report 360). Also at this time, a sample from the no. 4 zone assayed 167.6 grams per tonne silver and 26.29 per cent lead across 38 centimetres (Property File - A.G. Mackenzie [1971-04-01]: Geological Report on the Silver Chief Claims).

In 1962, a chip sample across 1.0 metre of the no. 5 (Upper) zone assayed no gold, 96 grams per tonne silver, 16.16 per cent lead and 0.02 per cent zinc (Bulletin 45, page 74).

In 1970, sampling yielded: 64.02 and 17.98 per cent lead with 385.8 and 91.7 grams per tonne silver from two grab samples from the no. 5 (Upper) zone; 41.89 per cent lead and 179.9 grams per tonne silver from the no. 6 (Lower) zone and 3.4 grams per tonne silver with 0.12 per cent lead from the no. 7 zone (Property File - A.G. Mackenzie [1971-04-01]: Geological Report on the Silver Chief Claims).

In 1977, three chip samples (601F through 603F) from the no. 6 (Lower) zone yielded 77.0, 17.1 and 30.8 grams per tonne silver with 19.60, 14.70 and 4.40 per cent lead over 0.45, 2.52 and 2.58 metres, respectively (Property File - Tacoma Resources Ltd. [1977-04-28]: Geological Report on the Silver Chief Property). Two other chip samples (604F and 605F), taken 225 metres west and 120 metres above the adit, assayed 34.2 and 10.3 grams per tonne silver with 4.95 and 1.45 per cent lead over 1.38 and 1.08 metres, respectively (Property File - Tacoma Resources Ltd. [1977-04-28]: Geological Report on the Silver Chief Property).

The Silver Chief occurrence was first mentioned in 1897, and a 24.4-metre adit was driven on it the following year. Very little work appears to have been done prior to the 1950s, when Sampson Mining Corporation acquired the property. The company did some test pitting; however, it was involved in an ownership dispute and the claims lapsed. They were restaked in 1958 as the May 1-6 tenures and rapidly passed through many different hands. By 1962, there were three adits, a small cut and a dozen or more small pits and trenches on the property. At that time, the upper adit, at 2133 metres elevation, was partially caved. The next lowest adit is at 2051 metres elevation and the third, the lowest, is at 2028 metres elevation.

In 1970, Alberta Silver Mines examined the property. The Silver Chief property was owned by Tacoma Resources Limited in the late 1970s. The company attempted to follow the mineralized zones by means of a VLF-EM geophysical survey but were unable to do so.

During 2006 through 2009, Mineral Mountain Resources Ltd. completed programs of prospecting, geochemical (soil, silt, talus fines and rock) sampling and an airborne geophysical survey on the area as the Kootenay Arc property.