The North Pine showing area is underlain by thick bedded sequences of Upper Triassic Nicola Group sediments striking northwest to north and dipping steeply east. The sediments are predominantly poorly sorted conglomerates containing trachyandesitic, basaltic or andesitic clasts, with interbeds of sandstone, siltstone, limy pebble conglomerate and limestone. The sedimentary rocks have been segmented by several west-northwest faults. Strong zones of multiphase, banded carbonate replacement containing highly distorted ankerite, dolomite and quartz veinlets occur in close proximity to the faults. One of these zones was explored in the 1940s and constitutes the original mercury showing. Dolomite veins occur along fractures and carry small masses of tetrahedrite with considerable malachite and azurite as stain and small masses and thin films of cinnabar. In 1986, a sample from a rockcut containing visible cinnabar assayed 0.01 per cent mercury and 1.7 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 18880).

In the 1940s, the North Pine and South Pine claims covered the mercury showing. The Mountie 1,2 claims were staked by M. Morrison in 1981 to cover the original showing and optioned to Placer Development Ltd. who conducted a widely spaced soil sampling survey. During 1985, M. Morrison conducted a VLF-EM 16 survey on the Mountie property. In 1986, the property was optioned to Vault Explorations Inc. who completed geological mapping and one percussion-drill hole. The property was restaked as the Sage 1 and Fir 1 claims in 1988. In 1989-90 and 1992, M. Morrison completed ground magnetometer surveys.