The White Elephant occurrence is located at an elevation of approximately 1030 metres on an east-facing slope, 25 kilometres west-southwest of Vernon and north of Shorts Creek.
Regionally the area is underlain by volcanics, mudstone, siltstone, shale and fine clastic sedimentary rocks of the Devonian to Triassic Harper Ranch and(?) Nicola groups, which are intruded by Middle Jurassic granitic rocks of the informally named Terrace Creek batholith. Eocene Coryell quartz latite porphyry to syenite plugs and dikes intrude the igneous and sedimentary rocks, and volcanic rocks of the Eocene Penticton and Kamloops groups overlie them.
Locally, a quartz vein or lens in granodiorite hosts gold, silver, tungsten, bismuth and tellurium values. The highly fractured and faulted quartz vein strikes northeast and dips 60 degrees northwest. The vein, greater than 10 metres thick, is traceable on surface for at least 30 metres. A pod of massive pyrrhotite, up to 4 metres thick, occurs at the footwall contact, although the best gold values occur in lenses and stringers some distance from the vein wall. Pyrrhotite, pyrite, chalcopyrite and tetradymite (gold-bearing bismuth telluride) occur as lens-like bodies with the vein. Stringers and segregations of bismuth telluride, free gold and scheelite are also reported.
Underground workings include a 91-metre inclined shaft with four levels of development to a depth of 60 metres on oreshoots varying from 4.5 to 7.5 metres wide and 15 metres long as identified in the 300-foot level (lowest level of workings). The mineralized zone is reportedly open at depth and along strike.
Prior to closing, in 1935, underground development on the 300-foot level is reported to have averaged 12.7 grams per tonne gold over 2.1 metres (Property File - C.J. Sampson [1988-06-30]: Prospectus: Lucky 7 Exploration Ltd., Report on the Geology, Geochemical Soil Sampling, VLF E.M., Magnetometer, Induced Polarization).
In 1980, samples from a trench on the uppermost mine dump are reported to have averaged 8.6 grams per tonne gold and 17.8 grams per tonne silver (Property File – E.J. Kondra [1980-02-29]: Letters Re: Mineral Claims, Crown Granted Mineral Claims, Vernon Area).
In 1988, a 1.0 metre chip sample (31839) from a quartz body containing a 0.5 metre sulphide bleb assayed 51.98 grams per tonne gold, 10.9 grams per tonne silver and 0.136 per cent bismuth, whereas grab samples from a dump pile yielded up to 35.6 grams per tonne gold and 27.0 grams per tonne silver (Property File - C.J. Sampson [1988-06-30]: Prospectus: Lucky 7 Exploration Ltd., Report on the Geology, Geochemical Soil Sampling, VLF E.M., Magnetometer, Induced Polarization).
The White Elephant (L.4880) occurrence was discovered in 1912 by Archie Clarke. In 1921, a 2-metre shaft had been completed and, in 1922, approximately 264 tonnes of mineralized rock were shipped producing 5257 grams of silver and 13 468 grams of gold.
In 1924, Okanagan Premier Mines Ltd. extended the shaft to 30 metres (100-foot level) and drove a 60-metre crosscut. In 1928, Pre-Cambrian Mines Ltd. continued underground exploration with 60 metres of drifting from the 100-foot level shaft and an unknown amount of drifting at the 35-foot level. In 1929, mining from the pyrrhotite lens (35-foot level) produced 27 tonnes of pyrrhotite concentrate containing low gold values.
In 1930, a new inclined shaft was sunk along the footwall of the quartz body and by 1933 the shaft had been extended to the 200-foot level. In 1934, raises from the 200, 100 and 60-foot levels were driven along with drifts and crosscuts totalling 43.8 metres on the 200-foot level and 27.0 metres on the 60-foot level. In 1935, the inclined shaft was extended to the 300-foot level, and at least 32.1 metres of drifting was completed on the level. During the period 1933 through 1935, production from the quartz body totalled 4882 tonnes and produced 4292 grams of silver and 49 702 grams of gold.
During 1970 through 1980, the area was owned and examined by Vernon Mining Co. Ltd. During 1987 through 1989, W. Blyth completed programs of geological mapping and ground magnetic and electromagnetic surveys on the area. Also in 1987, Lucky 7 Exploration Ltd. completed a program of geological mapping, soil sampling and ground magnetic and electromagnetic surveys on the area.
