The Bex zone is located south of the northeastern end of East Barriere Lake, approximately 30 kilometres northeast of Barriere and 80 kilometres northeast of Kamloops. The Bex zone is located northeast of the Fennell zone occurrence (MINFILE 082M 117), between Upper John Creek Road and West Road.
The area is underlain by probable Lower Cambrian to Hadrynian Spapilem Creek–Deadfall Creek Succession (unit SDQ, Map 56). The rocks consist of quartzite, micaceous quartzite, grit and phyllite with lesser staurolite-garnet-mica schist, calc-silicate schist and amphibolite. These rocks are cut by Late Devonian orthogneiss and sillimanite-bearing paragneiss (unit Dgnp). To the northeast, the rocks are cut by post-tectonic granitic rocks of the Mid-Cretaceous Baldy Batholith. Locally, the intrusion is a quartz-diorite with related quartz-monzonite along the contact with the paragneiss.
Mineralization consisting of disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite along foliation planes occurs within feldspar mica paragneiss. The foliation strikes 120 degrees and dips 45 degrees southwest. Geochemical results have outlined an anomalous zone of approximately 1200 metres, striking 120 degrees.
A northeast-striking fault zone is interpreted to laterally offset the quartz-diorite/paragneiss contact 400 metres to the left, as supported by geochemical results (Assessment Report 14124). The Bex zone, 1200 metres to the west, might be an offset continuation of the Grizzly zone (MINFILE 082M 049); however, based on observations from a 2006 mapping program on the Grizzly zone, owner/operator Jay Murphy concluded that this was unlikely for two reasons: There is no physical or geological evidence to support the interpreted fault, and the Grizzly mineralization exists as a distinct and separate feature. Grizzly zone mineralization differs from Bex zone chalcopyrite mineralization in that the second is confined to foliation planes within the paragneiss and copper is the only identified economic element. In the Grizzly zone, however, chalcopyrite and pyrite are marginally more abundant, are present in scattered quartz stringers and veins and along foliation planes, and minor silver occurs in addition to the copper.
Initial exploration in the area was conducted by J.A. (Sandy) Fennell in the late 1960s. Fennell located the Fennell zone, a heavily rusted zone with anomalous copper values, while prospecting in the area and carried out an exploration program of trenching and short drillholes. In 1967, Barriere Exploration Ltd. acquired the property and established 975 metres (2700 feet) of gridlines centred on the mineralized zone and completed ground magnetic and geochemical surveys over the grid. No significant results were obtained from the program. In 1969, while conducting exploration on Souvenir Mines Ltd.’s East Barriere Lake prospect (Renning [MINFILE 082M 050] and Grizzly [MINFILE 082M 049] occurrences) to the north, Angus G. MacKenzie Mining Consultants Ltd. collected a grab sample from the Bex Trench (also referred to as Trench 2; Assessment Report 2230). In 1971, Canadian Superior Exploration acquired the Bex claims from Barriere Exploration Ltd. and staked additional claims in the surrounding area. That year, Canadian Superior conducted a program consisting of geochemical sampling and induced polarization geophysical surveys. The induced polarization survey outlined a large, weak induced polarization anomaly stretching over 2.5 kilometres from the Upper John Creek access road to East Barriere Lake with spotty geochemistry values in an area to the north. Drilling of the anomaly encountered considerable widths of disseminated chalcopyrite of sub-ore grade. No drilling was completed in the trench areas. In 1976, Sandy Fennell restaked the area as the Jay claims and excavated Trench 1. The following year, Fennell hired Jay Murphy, P.Eng., to conduct an exploration program consisting of geological mapping and rock sampling. Five grab samples were collected and sent for assay and Trenches 1 and 2 were mapped but, due to sloughing in Trench 2, little outcrop was observed. Based on observations of the property, Murphy concluded that both trenches were located on the same mineralized trend.
In 1981, Trans-West Minerals drilled four short drillholes under the Fennell zone trench. The following year, Trans-West Minerals rechecked the Canadian Superior Exploration geochemical anomaly identified in 1971, conducting a soil sampling program over a tighter grid. Results from the program confirmed the 1971 geochemical anomaly and identified a promising anomalous zone between two previous Canadian Superior drillholes.
In 1990, Minnova Incorporated optioned the Sam property from Murphy and conducted an exploration program over the Fennell zone. Exploration that year consisted of geochemical soil sampling, a magnetometer geophysical survey and a small induced polarization survey over an area to the east and west of the old trench. Promising results were obtained to the west of the trench but never drill tested. The following year, Minnova drilled two diamond drill holes on 200-metre step-outs east of the trench, encountering no significant results.
In 2005 and 2006, Murphy carried out a geological mapping program over the Grizzly zone (MINFILE 082M 049) to the west. Observations made during this program indicated that the Grizzly zone was not a faulted extension of the Bex zone but was instead a distinct and separate zone of mineralization. In 2007 and 2009, Jay Murphy completed structural mapping on the Bex zone (MINFILE 082M 010) to the northeast, followed by a grab sampling program in the same area in 2011. Murphy completed technical work such as prospecting and geological exploration on the property in 2012 and 2013.
