The Tarheel occurrence(s) are located on the north side of Bobbie Burns Creek, approximately 29 kilometres south-southwest of Golden. The claims are located in the head waters of what was known locally as "Spruce Tree Creek", which apparently joins Bobbie Burns Creek at approximately 1524 metres elevation.
The lower claims are reportedly located at an elevation of 1889- metres, 365 metres above what was locally known as "Spruce Tree Camp" on Bobbie Burns Creek, and may relate to or be the same as the Tennessee (MINFILE 082N 051) occurrence. The upper showing, staked as the Rainbow claim, is located on top of a narrow ridge at 2377- metres elevation.
The area is underlain by slates, schists, argillite, limestone and quartzites of the Hadrynian Horsethief Creek Group.
Locally, a 36-metre drift or adit has been driven on a strong, well-defined quartz vein at the lower showing (1889 metres elevation), and a 30-metre drift adit has been driven along a quartz vein at the upper showing (2377 metres elevation (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1917, page F143).
The lower showing comprises a well-defined quartz vein within northwest- striking slates and schists. The vein is locally mineralized with pyrite and chalcopyrite, and its strike and dip is almost identical to the hostrock. For a short distance above the adit that follows this vein, intercalated bands of quartz and schist are copper-stained (malachite?) over a 4.8 metre width.
At the upper showing, which contains similar mineralization, a quartz vein is locally well mineralized above an adit, over a width of 30 centimetres. The host rocks in this vicinity are contorted and consist of broken argillite and some limestone stained with iron oxides (limonite?).
In 1966, Westgate Mines prospected and sampled the area as the Bend claims. In 1979, Norcen Energy Resources Ltd. optioned the holdings of Cochrane Oil and Gas Ltd. between Vermont and Warren Creeks and carried out a program of geological mapping, prospecting, geochemical soil sampling, geophysics and diamond drilling. In 1980, Norcen continued to work on the same area with a program of geological mapping, regional and detailed geochemistry, geophysics and diamond drilling. In 1982 and 1983, additional programs were carried out on these claims by Cochrane Oil and Gas and Bluesky Oil and Gas Ltd., including diamond drilling. In 1979 and 1980, the First Nuclear Corporation staked a substantial number of claims, from McMurdo Creek at the north end to the northern boundary of the Cochrane ground just north of the Ruth Vermont Mines, following the results of a 1979 stream sediment geochemical survey. Field work in 1980 included geological mapping, prospecting and geochemistry. In 1981, the First Nuclear Corporation continued exploration of the DEB claims with geological mapping, sampling and prospecting. At the end of this program the size of the claim group was reduced to 376 units covering the favourable and anomalous stratigraphy. In 1982, MineQuest Exploration Associates Ltd., working on contract to Samim Canada Ltd., further explored the DEB claims, principally through geological mapping, prospecting, reconnaissance soil geochemistry, mostly on widespread contour lines, and rock-sampling and trenching. In 1983, work by Samim saw 7.7 kilometres of IP surveys completed; a total of 493 metres drilled in 11 BQ holes; and 1096 soil, 227 rock and 27 silt samples collected.
