The Blue Chip occurrence is located at an elevation of 120 metres, approximately 800 metres east-northeast of the Jones Lake Access Road near Laidlaw.
The area is underlain by black phyllitic and quartzitic slates that have undergone repeated periods of deformation. Muller reports that the parent rocks are largely upper Paleozoic (probably Hozameen Complex) but may be in part Mesozoic, with metamorphism having occurred in the Cretaceous (Geological Survey of Canada Paper 69-47, page 33). These metasediments have been penetrated by an apophyses or cupola of the Miocene Mount Barr Batholith consisting of hornblende-biotite quartz diorite approximately 250 by 250 metres in area.
Mineralization is restricted to quartz veins in the quartz diorite. The veins strike east-northeast, dipping at low angles to the south and, varying from 10 to 45 centimetres in thickness. A minor second set of quartz veins occupy south-trending shear and fault zones that dip steeply to the east and west. These veins are generally less than 2.5 centimetres wide, and are composed of quartz, calcite and minor sulphides.
Locally, a strong sericite alteration is found for up to 60 centimetres on either side of the main quartz veins. Several pulses of sulphide deposition associated with the quartz veins are recognized. The first is a pyrite-arsenopyrite assemblage, followed by a pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite assemblage, followed by a marcasite-telluride-native gold succession. Sulphide mineralization in the veins is dominated by pyrrhotite.
A sample of sulphide mineralization from one vein assayed 349.03 grams per tonne gold across 30 centimetres (Campbell, 1968). The same report states that other samples of similar mineralization yielded negligible gold while samples of altered wallrock with no sulphides yielded up to 77.49 grams per tonne gold. In 1981, a bulk rock sample (W4) of quartz vein material from the main adit assayed 0.87 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 9894). In 1985, rock sampling (samples 85T061 and 85T068) of the eastern adit yielded up to 36.5 grams per tonne silver and 5.40 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 14894).
A trial shipment of 1.49 tonnes of vein material was shipped to the Tacoma smelter in 1957 but no results were reported (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1957, page 66).
It is reported that four adits exist on the property, two excavated prior to 1970 and two after. These are referred to as the western, central, eastern and creek adits. During 1964 through 1972 the area was held by Almaza Mining as the Diane claims. During 1968 through 1970, programs of stripping, blasting and 27 metres of underground development were completed. During1977 through 1981, programs of geochemical sampling were completed on the area as the WA 1-2 claims by Aquarius Resources. In 1985, Kerr Addison Mines completed a program of rock sampling and geological mapping on the area as the Blue Chip property. In 1990, the area was prospected by J.T. Shearer.
