The Shrew showing is located 3.7 kilometres north of the Eagle Creek/Chehalis River confluence.
Property exploration on the Shrew showing began in 1976 and 1977 when Chevron focused on the potential for copper-lead-zinc volcanogenic mineralization in the area. The property was restaked in 1989 by J. Cuttle, who carried out prospecting and soil, silt and rock geochemical sampling in 1991 and 1992.
On a regional scale, the volcano-sedimentary strata found between Harrison Lake and Chehalis Lake area contains two distinct episodes; Middle Jurassic Harrison Lake Group in the south and Lower Cretaceous Fire Lake Group in the north. The Brokenback Hill Formation represents a relatively complete section of bimodal island arc volcanics and associated clastic sediments. These two lithological packages are separated by shales and volcaniclastic sediments of the Middle Jurassic Mysterious Formation and Upper Jurassic Billhook Formation. The Harrison Lake fault and Fire Creek thrust form major northwest trending fault structures to the northeast of the Shrew showing.
Much of the showing is underlain by a sequence of highly faulted felsic to intermediate volcanics and associated agglomerates, tuffs, shales and sandstones of the Harrison Lake Formation. These are overlain by finely banded tuff and argillite of the Echo Island Member and grey to black shale and argillite of the Mysterious Creek Formation. A fault bound sliver of dacitic to rhyolitic tuff and andesitic flows of the Lower Cretaceous Brokenback Hill Formation occurs along the northern edge of the Eagle 1 claim. Bedding of the units is generally very flat with dips to the west and southwest of approximately 20 to 45 degrees. These units have been intruded by feldspar porphyry and quartz diorite plugs.
Two types of mineralization occur at the Shrew showing. Extensive skarn mineralization and hornfels occurs along the northwest trending contact between the Harrison Lake Group and Echo Island Member. The skarn and hornfels are mineralized with massive coarse pyrite, pyrrhotite and minor arsenopyrite. Other float and limited outcrop samples indicate polymetallic mineralization occurs discontinuously, over a 540 metre length, in a snow chute on the west side of Eagle Creek. Float boulders contain massive and banded pyrite, pyrrhotite, sphalerite with minor chalcopyrite and arsenopyrite. This mineralization is confined to at least three northeast trending faults of limited extent and gossanous zones.
Samples (mostly float) from the central gossanous zone in a creek gully on the Eagle 1 claim have yielded up to 13.7 per cent zinc, 8.9 per cent arsenic, 25.71 grams per tonne silver, 0.3 per cent lead, 0.2 per cent copper and 0.90 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 21083). The samples were highly epidote altered mafic and lesser rhyolitic volcanics.
In 1990, a total of 23 rock float samples and 1 rock outcrop sample were taken. Sample Eag-JC-28 from outcrop, yielded 1.5 grams per tonne silver, 0.01 per cent zinc and 0.01 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 21083). Float samples yielded up to 26.0 grams per tonne silver, 12.1 per cent arsenic, 0.20 per cent lead, 13.7 per cent zinc and 0.9 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 21083). Additional rock float samples taken in 1991 yielded similar values. A second creek was prospected in 1991, which yielded anomalous values from 4 rock float samples. Sample 32012 yielded 0.04 per cent copper, 0.84 per cent zinc, 0.01 per cent lead, 0.05 gram per tonne gold and 2.5 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 22533). A copper (plus/minus gold and barium) and a arsenic soil anomaly were determined in the area in 1991.
