The Ray prospect outcrops on a southeast-facing rock bluff along the west bank of the Similkameen River, 12 kilometres south-southwest of Princeton.
This area along the Similkameen River, in the vicinity of Smelter Lakes, is underlain by intrusive rocks of the Lost Horse Intrusions and the Smelter Lake stock (Copper Mountain Intrusions), both of Early Jurassic age, and volcanics of the Upper Triassic Nicola Group. All units are unconformably overlain to the east by volcanics and sediments of the Eocene Princeton Group.
The rock bluff is comprised of strongly-altered, dark, massive andesite or basalt formerly included with the Wolf Creek Formation (Geological Survey of Canada Memoir 171). These rocks are cut by dark grey to pink porphyritic syenodiorite, microsyenite and latite dykes of the Lost Horse Intrusions. Most of these dykes strike slightly west of north and dip steeply west. These dykes are up to 9 metres wide.
The extensive but uneven alteration gives the volcanics the appearance of a breccia. Veins, patches and larger masses of altered rock contain a variety of minerals, including augite, biotite, pink orthoclase, white albite, grey scapolite, chlorite, epidote, calcite, and minor quartz. Magnetite is also present, as disseminations and in fractures.
Mineralization consists of chalcopyrite and pyrite, either together or separately, as disseminations and fine seams in the altered volcanics. Stronger mineralization occurs close to one distinctive pink porphyritic latite dyke, 3 metres wide. Small pods of disseminated sulphides occur in more extensive and irregular zones of orthoclase alteration.
This mineralization is developed over a broad area, 300 metres long and at least 120 metres wide. Sampling and diamond drilling has outlined one zone, 120 metres long and 60 metres wide, that is estimated to grade 0.10 to 0.18 per cent copper (Assessment Report 941, page 2). One series of 16 chip samples, 4.0 to 9.1 metres long, averaged 0.10 per cent copper, and a second series of 9 chip samples, 4.9 to 15 metres long, averaged 0.18 per cent copper (Assessment Report 941, page 15). Five diamond-drill holes, totalling 261 metres, averaged 0.18 per cent copper (Assessment Report 941, page 15).
This prospect was trenched, sampled and diamond drilled (6 holes) in 1962 and 1963 by Copper Mountain Consolidated Ltd. Adera Mining Ltd. conducted geological, geophysical and soil surveys and trenching in 1966. Tri Valley Exploration Ltd. carried out additional trenching and 155 metres of percussion drilling in 5 holes in 1969.