The Sheep Creek vein is exposed for approximately 200 metres at between 2248 and 2316 metres elevation on the south side of Similarity Mountain. It is on the Lardeau (L.3470) claim, which is at the southeast end of the "Wagner Group" of crown granted mineral claims (Lardeau (L.3470), McCartney Fr. (L.3471), Duncan (L.3472), Ould Jim Fr. (L.3473), Ella (L.3474) and Lardeau Fr. (L.3477)). The Sheep Creek area is at the head of Hall Creek, a northeast flowing tributary of the Duncan River. The Sheep Creek adit is at 2225 metres elevation and is separated from the Wagner [082KNW212] adits, on the "Duncan Knob", by a glacier.

The "Wagner Group" claims were originally owned by C.T. Porter and Associates and most of the early work was done on the Duncan claim, to the northwest of Sheep Creek. They collared a portal above a glacier, at about 2500 metres elevation, on the Duncan claim and drove 50.9 metres of drift and crosscut and sunk a 16.7 metre winze prior to having the claims crown-granted in 1900. C.T. Porter, incorporated Wagner Mines Limited in 1903 but there was little work done at that time. However, the Princess Marie (L.3475) and Queen Mary (L.3469) claims [082KNW225] were added to the group. They are on strike to the southeast of Sheep Creek. Leadridge Mining Company Limited, a subsidiary of St. Joseph Lead Company of New York, held the "Wagner Group" and several adjacent properties in 1949. Work included trenching and diamond drilling in 6 holes both in the vicinity of the Wagner workings and to the southeast; two holes intersected mineralization but core recovery was poor and no worthwhile results were obtained.

Sheep Creek Mines Limited optioned the property in 1951. It drove a new adit (Sheep Creek adit) at 2225 metres elevation on the Lardeau claim, on the south side of the glacier, approximately 900 metres southeast of the original workings, the following year. The adit was driven as a crosscut and drift for 184.4 metres to explore what was presumed to be the same vein exposed in the Wagner adits. Granby Consolidated Mining, Smelting and Power Company Limited optioned the Wagner and adjacent groups, totalling 76 claims, from J. Gallo, of Howser, in 1955. No work was reported on the Wagner group and the agreement terminated at the end of the year. In 1958, Mr. Gallo carried out some surface stripping on a portion of vein exposed by recession of the glacier.

Silvex Resources Corporation optioned the Wagner Group in 1981 and work resumed in the "Duncan Knob" area. It drove an adit (Silvex adit) into the "Knob" at about 2468.8 metres elevation, 38 metres below the original adit. The adit was driven 39.6 metres and a raise begun; followed by diamond drilling (330 metres in 6 holes). In 1982 the raise was extended 12.1 metres and a small ore shipment was made by lessees. Turner Energy & Resources Limited acquired the Wagner property in 1985 and, in a subsequent joint venture agreement Mikado Resources Limited acquired a 70 per cent interest. Further Work in the Silvex adit in 1985-86 included 14.3 metres of drifting, 10.7 metres of raising and a substantial amount of underground diamond drilling. A sample of 72.5 tonnes of development ore was shipped to Trail and is included in production for Wagner [082KNW212]. At the same time, the Sheep Creek adit was rehabilitated. Silver State Resources Incorporated held the adjacent Redcliff 1 and 2 claims in 1985 and carried out geological mapping and geochemical rock sampling. Turner Energy & Resources acquired the property from Silver State (S.M.R. Technologies Limited) in October 1985.

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 young to the west, where they are bounded by Jurassic-age intrusive complexes. They were deformed during the Antler orogeny in Devonian-Mississippian time and were refolded and faulted during the Columbian orogeny, in 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 it is 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 Wagner - Sheep Creek property is underlain by isoclinally folded, northwest striking and southwest dipping carbonaceous and calcareous phyllite and phyllitic schist of the basal part of the Index Formation and the upper part of the Badshot limestone. The mineralization is in quartz-carbonate veins in phyllitic rocks close to the limestone contact. The limestone contact is 183 metres east of the Wagner adits. The rocks strike at 130 degrees and dip 40 to 70 degrees to the southwest. The only intrusive rock in the area is an aplite sill 150 metres heast of the Duncan adit.

The Sheep Creek vein is exposed for 213 metres at around 2275 metres elevation and is composed of rusty quartz with phyllite fragments. It contains small veinlets and disseminations of pyrite, sphalerite and galena. In 1952 Sheep Creek Mines Limited collared a portal to the south of the vein at 2225 metres elevation and drove a crosscut to it. It then drifted to the northwest along the vein for 184 metres. The shear-hosted vein system was thought to be the same as that exposed on the Wagner [082KNW212] property, approximately 900 metres northwest along strike and 304 metres higher in elevation.

In the mid 1980s, Mikado conducted a major exploration program on the Wagner - Sheep Creek property. In 1985, it rehabilitated the adit and discovered several new mineralized veins in the vicinity of its portal. Eighteen metres west of the portal, it located a quartz vein system over 2.4 metres wide that produced an assay of 0.34 gram per tonne gold, 96.0 grams per tonne silver, 3.1 per cent lead, 1.49 per cent zinc across 1.5 metres, and 0.03 grams per tonne gold, 548.6 grams per tonne silver, 14.6 per cent lead, 2.13 per cent zinc across 1.4 metres. In the same general area, there are a series of small crosscutting, gold-bearing, quartz veins 5.0 to 30 centimetres wide. They assayed 14.4 grams per tonne gold and 9.4 grams per tonne gold with values in silver, lead and zinc. Also, 213 metres east of the portal another galena-rich quartz vein system assayed 195.4 grams per tonne silver, 9.74 per cent lead, 1.9 per cent zinc and 0.03 gram per tonne gold across 91 centimetres (George Cross Newsletter #207, Oct.28, 1985). Spectrographic analysis of an ore sample indicated 0.15 per cent tin (Property File: personal communication: G. Addie, District Geologist to K.E. Northcote, 1976). Based on its work in the Silvex area, Mikado estimated a resource of at least 20,000 tonnes averaging 15 per cent lead and 685.7 grams per tonne silver on the Wagner property (Northern Miner October 10, 1981, page 20).