The Marian occurrence is located on the north side of Whipsaw Creek, approximately 26.5 kilometres southwest of Princeton.
The region at the headwaters of Whipsaw Creek is underlain to the west by intrusive and metamorphic rocks of the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous Eagle Plutonic Complex and to the east by metamorphosed volcanics and sediments of the Upper Triassic Nicola Group. The contact between the two units strikes north-northwest.
This showing is hosted in a bed of limestone within a zone of migmatite and chlorite schist along the contact between the Nicola Group and the Eagle Plutonic Complex. The bed strikes 160 to 165 degrees, dips 45 degrees southwest and is 1.5 to 2.4 metres thick. The unit is exposed intermittently over a length of 500 metres.
Two areas of skarn mineralization occur in the northern and southernmost limestone exposures. Mineralization consists of sphalerite, pyrite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite with minor galena and molybdenite in a garnet-epidote-diopside or quartz-epidote skarn. Magnetite is also reported. This mineralization occurs over widths of 1.2 to 2.4 metres in several adits.
A grab sample of sorted ore assayed 4.5 grams per tonne gold, 209 grams per tonne silver, 1.8 per cent copper, 15.8 per cent zinc and trace lead (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1915, page 245).
In 1990, a grab sample (38091), from near the southern adit portal at an elevation of approximately 1600 metres, yielded 0.120 per cent copper, 3.56 per cent zinc, 39.9 grams per tonne silver and 1.6 grams per tonne gold, while another grab sample (001), from a nearby trench, yielded 0.374 per cent copper, 6.192 per cent zinc, 78.6 grams per tonne silver and 2.73 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 21186). Also at this time, a sample (002) from the northern adit yielded 0.280 per cent copper, 3.31 per cent zinc, 31.7 grams per tonne silver and 0.82 gram per tonne gold, while another sample (004) from a former shaft or pit, located approximately halfway and slightly east of the adits, yielded 0.630 per cent copper, 3.92 per cent zinc, 89.3 grams per tonne silver and 3.33 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 21186).
In 2012, a grab sample (201503) of quartz vein material from a former pit yielded 10.5 grams per tonne gold, 275 grams per tonne silver, 0.315 per cent copper and 1.59 per cent zinc, while a grab sample (201514) from near a former adit yielded 4.9 grams per tonne gold, 253 grams per tonne silver, 0.138 per cent copper and 0.735 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 33631).
The showing was prospected, trenched and tunnelled by S. Spencer and Pacific Slope Mines Ltd. between 1915 and 1930. Whipsaw Mines Ltd. mapped the showing in 1970. During 1982 through 1993, World Wide Minerals completed various programs of prospecting and geochemical sampling and drilled 16 holes, totalling 1769 metres, on the area. During 1995 through 1998, Martech Industries completed 10 diamond drill holes, totalling 1033.5 metres, on various targets over the Whipsaw property. In 2000, a pulp sampling program was completed to test for platinum group elements from former trenching and drilling programs but results were disappointing. In 2005, Canfleur Mining completed a program of sampling and seven diamond drill holes, totalling 1452.8 metres, on the area. During 2010 through 2015, Martech Industries completed programs of rock and soil sampling.
