The Grizzly occurrence is located on the southern shore of the northeastern end of East Barriere Lake, approximately 30 kilometres northeast of Barriere and 80 kilometres northeast of Kamloops.
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.
A mineralized zone striking 120 degrees is exposed over a 135-metre width and an approximately 400-metre strike and is open to the west under East Barriere Lake.
Disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite occur along foliation planes within feldspar-mica paragneissic rocks. The foliation strikes 105 degrees and dips 80 degrees southwest.
A few scattered quartz veins having moderate to steep dips strike at various angles to the foliation. Mineralization is usually weak, except for a 30-centimetre vein with good chalcopyrite.
Chip sampling of the zone returned values from 0.12 per cent to 1.61 per cent copper and minor silver, zinc and gold. Trenching and a drillhole suggest a mineralized area of 150 by 450 metres (Assessment Report 10675).
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 10675). The Bex zone (MINFILE 082M 010), 1200 metres to the east, might be an offset continuation of the Grizzly zone; 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.
The original claims covering the Grizzly and Renning (MINFILE 082M 050) occurrences were held by Barriere Mines Limited prior to 1967. The company created mining trails across the property circa 1964 and completed between six and eight drillholes on the property, but no assays or drill logs from this work have been made available. Jim Gourlay, a former shareholder in Barriere Mines Ltd., stated that no assays had been completed by Barriere Mines Ltd. (Assessment Report 2231). Barriere Mines eventually relinquished the property to Scurry-Rainbow Oil Ltd. and the claims were dropped. Westbrun Exploration Ltd. restaked the claims and held the property, then known as the East Barriere Lake prospect, from 1967 to 1968. Exploration in 1968 consisted of bulldozing nine trenches, drilling one vertical hole to 45.72 metres (150 feet) depth, sampling over the Grizzly 1 Trench and completing an electromagnetic geophysical survey. One quartz vein was sampled at 15-centimetre (6-inch) intervals over a 10.67-metre (35-foot) width. Mineralization was encountered in the lower half of the drillhole and assays returned low copper values (less than 0.15 per cent; Assessment Report 2231). Results of the exploration program indicated mineralization was present over a 243.84-metre (800-foot) width. Souvenir Mines Ltd. of Calgary acquired the property in 1969 and commissioned Angus G. MacKenzie Mining Consultants Ltd. to conduct an exploration program on the property. Exploration activity consisted of a preliminary geological study, ground magnetic geophysical surveying and the collection of five grab samples—four from the Grizzly 1 Trench and one from the Bex Trench (Fennell zone, MINFILE 082M 117) on the adjacent Barriere Exploration property. The area was restaked by Trans-West Minerals in 1980 and, in 1981, the holdings were consolidated with the Fennell property (MINFILE 082M 117). The Grizzly Trench was mapped and sampled in 1982. Ten samples, four grab samples and six chip samples were collected over a 135-metre trench width. The property was later abandoned and restaked as the Sam claims.
In 1990, Minnova optioned the Sam and Griz claims and conducted geochemical and geophysical explorations of the property. A total of 403 soil samples were collected and a magnetic survey was completed across the Griz grid (containing the Grizzly and Fennell zone [MINFILE 082M 117] occurrences). Three distinct multi-element anomalies were identified, forming a linear southeast to northwest trend across the grid. In 2005 and 2006, Jay Murphy conducted a geological mapping program over the Grizzly zone. Murphy completed technical work such as prospecting and geological exploration on the property in 2012 and 2013.
