The GQ occurrence is located on the north side of a west- flowing tributary of the Anstey River, referred to as “Second” Creek, approximately 9.5 kilometres east of the southern end of Hunakwa Lake.
The area lies underlain by coarse clastic sedimentary rocks of the Upper Proterozoic Horsethief Creek Group and calc-silicate metamorphic rocks of the Proterozoic to Lower Paleozoic Monashee Complex, part of the Shuswap Metamorphic Complex, along the western margin of the Frenchman Cap Dome. The core of the dome rocks are probable Aphebian paragneiss and orthogneiss. Lying unconformably on the dome are a succession of metasedimentary quartzites and pelites and concordant nepheline syenite gneisses. To the west these have been intruded by a Cretaceous granodioritic intrusion.
Locally, quartz-sulphide zones have been located in outcrop over an area of about 1.5 by 1.5 kilometres on the GQ claims, and anomalous gold values have been encountered at the SW, SE, NE and Spur D zones. The mineralization is hosted by garnet-bearing paragneiss, orthogneiss and quartz-mica schist, and lesser calc-silicate rock, marble and amphibolite of the Shuswap metamorphic complex. These high-grade metamorphic rocks occur in the hangingwall of the Monashee decollement, to the west of the Frenchman's Cap gneiss dome, part of the Monashee complex. Massive to foliated, granitic intrusive rocks of the mid-Cretaceous Long Ridge pluton (92-94 Ma, U-Pb, R.R. Parrish, 1995, CJES Vol. 32) occur a few hundred metres to the west of the SW zone. The schist/gneiss package is also intruded by abundant pegmatite dikes, some of which contain tourmaline and minor pyrrhotite.
Mineralization consists of 10 to 30- centimetre wide lenses of quartz, calc-silicate and sulphides, which occur along the margins of conformable or slightly discordant, locally tourmaline-bearing pegmatite sills, where they are in contact with marble or schist. Sulphide content ranges from a few percent up to 20-30 per cent in semi-massive pods, consisting mainly of pyrrhotite, minor pyrite and traces of chalcopyrite and scheelite. In all cases, the mineralization has an unusual granular texture with euhedral hexagonal to rounded apatite(?) and quartz grains surrounded by sulphides.
In 1999, sampling of the NE zone yielded values ranging from 0.115 to 1.73 grams per tonne gold with anomalous geochemical values of 20 to 235 parts per million bismuth, 305 to 734 parts per million copper, 5.7 to 11.2 parts per million tellurium and 33.6 to 1210 parts per million tungsten (Fieldwork 1999, pages 210, 213).
In 2000, a rock sample (WP 023R) from the SW zone assayed 1.58 grams per tonne gold, while a float boulder, located 200 metres west of the SE zone, assayed 2.98 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 26423). A chip sampling (SCB 13+53R) of the NE zone yielded up to 1.98 grams per tonne gold across 0.6 metre, while other samples (WP104) yielded up to 0.866 per cent tungsten (Assessment Report 26423).
In 2006, a float sample (GQ06-07) from the Spur D road assayed 11.57 grams per tonne gold and 0.11 per cent copper, while a rock sample (GQ06-19) from the NE zone assayed 3.07 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 28805). In 2008, a float sample (GQ08-05) from the Spur D road assayed 8.5 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 30489). The following year a float sample (GQ09-08) from the Spur D road assayed 7.15 grams per tonne gold, 0.111 per cent copper, 0.336 per cent tungsten and 0.167 per cent bismuth (Assessment Report 31172).
Several new pegmatite-related gold-tungsten-copper-bismuth occurrences were discovered north east of Shuswap Lake in September, 1999 by geologist Warner Gruenwald. He was following up silt samples with anomalous gold values that he had collected during the summer. The GQ claims were staked in fall 1999 to cover the area. In 2000, a program of rock and silt sampling and geological mapping was completed by Gruenwald. During 2006 through 2008, American Goldrush Corporation completed programs of geological mapping, geochemical sampling, minor trenching and a 5.6 line-kilometre ground magnetic survey. In 2009, Rush Metals completed six diamond drill holes, totalling 392.6 metres. The drill holes intersected numerous calc-silicate horizons with disseminated pyrrhotite but yielded only low gold values.
