The Court 1 occurrence is a minor copper showing in part of the historical Aspen Grove copper camp, between Merritt and Princeton, where exploration dates back to the turn of the twentieth century. It is located on the former Ski group of claims (particularly Ski 13-16), on a tributary of Quilchena Creek, 3.5 kilometres east of Highway 5A, 7.5 kilometres northeast of the community of Aspen Grove (Assessment Report 925; Preliminary Map 15; Bulletin 69).
Regionally, the area is underlain by the Upper Triassic Nicola Group, which regionally consists of alkalic and calc-alkalic volcanics and intrusions of island arc origin, and which is the principal component of the Quesnel Terrane in southern British Columbia (Geological Survey of Canada Maps 41-1989, 1713A). The area lies in the Central belt or facies of the Nicola Group (after Preto, Bulletin 69). This belt of rocks mainly consists of subaerial and submarine, red or purple to green augite plagioclase porphyritic andesitic and basaltic flows, volcanic breccia and tuff, and minor argillites and limestone. The volcanics are intruded by bodies of comagmatic diorite to monzonite of Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic age. The area is characterized by long-lived, primarily north-striking faults and related fracturing, which originally controlled intrusion emplacement. East-striking faults are subordinate, and commonly offset intrusive contacts.
The Court 1 occurrence is centred on an outcrop of andesitic to basaltic volcanic rocks in a creek draining into Quilchena Creek (Bulletin 69). This coincides with a copper soil anomaly (Assessment Report 925). These rocks are intruded by aplite dikes (Assessment Report 925). A short distance away there is an outcrop of skarn alteration (Assessment Report 925).
Mineralization at the occurrence is exposed by stripping, and consists of chalcopyrite, pyrite, malachite and azurite. Chalcopyrite and molybdenite are present at the skarn-altered outcrop. The nature of the mineralization is not specified but in showings in the area minerals are characteristically disseminated or hosted in quartz veinlets.
Work History
In 1966, Chataway Exploration Co. Ltd. completed a soil sampling program on the area as the Adit, Creek, CU and Ski group of claims.
In 2001, the Douglas Lake Cattle Co. staked the area and completed a limited program of geological mapping and geochemical sampling in 2002. The claims were re-staked in 2005 and 2006 by R. Billingsley, G. Richards and G. Diakow. In 2007, Etna Resources Inc. completed a 366 line-kilometre airborne geophysical survey on the area as the Aspen Grove property. In 2008, Christopher James Gold Corp. completed a 1113.5 line-kilometre airborne magnetic-radiometric survey on the Big Kidd property. In 2009, a further program of geological mapping, soil sampling and 48.8 line-kilometres of ground magnetic and induced polarization surveys were completed on the Aspen Grove property.
In 2013, Richard Billingsley completed a photo geological structural (lineament) analysis on the area. Also in 2013, New Chris Minerals Ltd., on the behalf of Richard Billingsley, completed a program of rock and soil sampling on the area as the Aspen Grove property. In 2017, Cazador Explorations Ltd. completed a 145.0 line-kilometre airborne magnetic survey on the property.
