The Gold Cord showing is situated in the headwaters of Gilt Creek, on a ridge between Anderson Creek and the Fraser River.

The upper Gilt Creek area is underlain by Early and Middle Jurassic Ladner Group sediments east of the Hozameen Fault—a major, steeply dipping, north-northwest–trending fracture system that separates rocks of the Methow-Pasayten trough from members of the Permian to Jurassic Hozameen Complex to the west. Most of the mineral occurrences in the area lie east of but generally close to this fault, which encloses metaplutonic rocks of the Coquihalla serpentine belt between Mount Dewdney and Siwash Creek. The Ladner Group and, to a lesser extent, Hozameen Complex rocks are cut by a variety of small intrusive bodies ranging in composition from gabbro through granodiorite to syenite. A thin, fault-bound belt of serpentinite, representing the lowest division of the Hozameen Complex, parallels the fault to the west.

In the area of the Gold Cord occurrence, dark grey to black slate and argillite of Ladner Group predominate. These variably folded sediments strike north-northwest and dip steeply to the east and west. Slaty cleavage, parallel to bedding, is well developed. Topography and shearing of the sediments observed west of the occurrence indicate the presence of a north-northeast–trending fault.

From 1978 to 1983, the Gold Cord showing was explored by Aquarius Resources Ltd. as part of the Spuz Project. Two tunnels were apparently driven on "barren-looking" quartz veining that occupied narrow fissures in the slate. The longest tunnel, a crosscut 146.3 metres long, is described as having encountered and followed small veins for a distance of 10.7 metres. Reports of "good milling ore" have not been confirmed and a sample taken from the dump in 1982 assayed only low precious metal values (Bulletin 79, page 70).

OreQuest Consultants Ltd. completed a program of rock and soil geochemistry in 1984; detailed sampling above the switchback roads at upper Gilt Creek yielded elevated values in arsenic, mercury, copper and zinc.

The showing remained dormant until Murray Halliday completed a prospecting and geochemistry program in 2006; sampling of the showing reported values up to 28.8 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 29071).

Alexandra Resources were unable to locate the showing in 2012. A program of rock and stream moss matt sampling in the vicinity of upper Gilt Creek failed to yield significant values of gold or indicator elements.