The Gold King prospect is located along a north-flowing tributary of Tenquille Creek between Mount McLeod and Mount Barbour.

Regionally, the area is underlain by a large, north west-trending, north east dipping, right-side-up, roof pendant consisting of volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Upper Triassic Cadwallader Group. The pendant is contained within intrusive rock, ranging from granite to granodiorite to quartz diorite, of the Jurassic to Cretaceous Coast Plutonic Complex. The Cadwallader Group is unconformably overlain by a relatively thin section of volcano-sedimentary rocks thought to Jurassic or Cretaceous. The Spetch Creek pluton intrudes these two stratigraphic packages. Isolated exposures of Tertiary basalts overlie the above rock units.

At the Gold King prospect, the Cadwallader Group has been subdivided into five units (from oldest to youngest): 1) massive andesite, 2) mixed pyroclastic, 3) felsic volcanic, 4) mixed pyroclastic and 5) sedimentary. The massive andesite unit consists of dark- green massive basaltic andesite flows. The mixed pyroclastic unit consists of pale to dark- green andesitic to dacitic fine tuffs, lithic tuffs, feldspar crystal tuffs and lapilli tuff with minor interbedded porphyritic flows. The felsic volcanic unit consists of light- grey to pale- green rhyolite and rhyodacite flows, commonly feldspar porphyritic. The mixed pyroclastic and sedimentary unit consists of well- bedded andesite to dacite, lithic and lapilli tuffs with abundant limestone, limestone breccias, calcareous feldspar-rich wackes, black shale, siltstone and chert interbeds. The upper sedimentary unit consists of an upward -fining sequence of cobble conglomerate, feldspar-rich greywackes and sandstones, black shale and chert.

The occurrence is hosted by limestone in an assemblage of andesite and dacite flows, breccia and tuff and sedimentary rocks. A shear zone in limestone is marked by a 90-metre wide gossan, which is traceable for more than 1 kilometre. The shear hosts a 3.3-metre wide skarn zone containing massive pyrrhotite, sphalerite, pyrite and some chalcopyrite and magnetite in drusy, crystalline- fractured quartz and as skarn mineralization in the limestone. Massive galena is also reported where the shear is widest. Several other small lenses of massive sulphides are reported in the immediate vicinity.

In 1924, samples are reported to have yielded up to 2.0 grams per tonne gold, 41.0 grams per tonne silver and 5.0 per cent zinc, whereas a picked sample from the following year yielded 44.5 grams per tonne gold, 23.9 grams per tonne silver and 14 per cent zinc.

In 1930, a grab sample, taken from an 8-metre deep shaft, assayed 19.2 grams per tonne gold, 308.6 grams per tonne silver, 0.8 per cent lead and 6.8 per cent zinc (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1930).

In 1952, a vein sample taken across 1.9 metres from the collar of the shaft assayed 4.8 grams per tonne gold, 51.4 grams per tonne silver, 0.4 per cent lead, 2.2 per cent zinc and 0.1 per cent copper (Property File - A.C. Skerl [1952-09-01]: Report on the Properties of National Consolidated Base Metals Company - Near Maud Lake). Other chip samples taken from former trenches or open-cuts, located 30 and 300 metres to the south of the shaft, yielded 1.0 and 2.1 grams per tonne gold, 44.5 and 54.7 grams per tonne silver and 0.3 and 3.0 per cent lead with 1.2 and 1.0 per cent zinc over 1.95 and 1.35 metres, respectively (Property File - A.C. Skerl [1952-09-01]: Report on the Properties of National Consolidated Base Metals Company - Near Maud Lake).

In 1969, a channel sample across 1.25 metres assayed 1.0 gram per tonne gold, 51.3 grams per tonne silver, 0.10 per cent copper, 0.37 per cent lead and 2.40 per cent zinc (Property File - J.A. Mitchell [1969-10-16]: Report on the D Group of Claims). The adit portal was buried by a landslide by this time.

Three samples (14210 to 14212) were taken in 1991. Samples 14210 and 14211 were taken from diopside, epidote, garnet, quartz skarn with pyrrhotite and pyrite mineralization. Sample 14211 yielded the higher values: 0.05 per cent copper, 0.62 per cent lead, 0.43 per cent zinc, 2.0 grams per tonne gold and 12.8 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 21274). Sample 14212, from a 5- to 7- centimetre wide quartz vein, yielded 0.02 per cent copper, 3.23 per cent lead, 0.82 per cent zinc, 4.8 grams per tonne gold and 78.3 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 21274).

In 2004, a grab chip sample (GK-2) from a mineralized skarn zone assayed 0.42 gram per tonne gold, 37.2 grams per tonne silver, 0.130 per cent lead and 0.471 per cent zinc, while a rock sample from the ‘Camp Adit’ dump to the east of the previous sample yielded 12.1 grams per tonne gold, 56.8 grams per tonne silver, 0.55 per cent lead and 0.393 per cent zinc (Butler, S. (2007-03-05): Summary Report on the Gold King Property). Also at this time, a sample from a newly discovered skarn zone in the Gold King occurrence area, referred to as the Creek zone, assayed 1.54 gram per tonne gold, 132 grams per tonne silver and 12.05 per cent zinc (Butler, S. (2008-01-11): Summary Report on the Gold King Property).

In 2005, a rock sample (GKLS-1) taken from a mineralized zone located near a helicopter pad, south west of the Creek zone, assayed 1.19 grams per tonne gold, 35.1 grams per tonne silver, 0.224 per cent lead and greater than 1.00 per cent zinc, while samples (GKLS-5 to -7) from the Gold King zone yielded values up to 0.503 per cent lead, greater than 1.00 per cent zinc and greater than 100 grams per tonne silver (Butler, S. (2008-01-11): Summary Report on the Gold King Property). A float sample (GKLS-FLO) form the Creek zone yielded 0.156 per cent copper, 0.482 per cent lead, greater than 1.00 per cent zinc, greater than 100 grams per tonne silver and 13.52 grams per tonne gold (Butler, S. (2008-01-11): Summary Report on the Gold King Property).

Work History

Mineral exploration began in the Tenquille Lake area in 1916, during the construction of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway. Between 1923 and 1937, work was conducted on the Gold King and Dora May claims, and the Li-Li-Kel property. The zinc-rich skarn and shear-hosted vein type mineralization on the Gold King and Dora May were explored by several open-cuts, a 7.8-metre-deep shaft and diamond drilling. In 1952, National Consolidated Base Metals Company examined the area. In 1961, Phelps Dodge completed a program of geological mapping on the area as the Tenquille claims. In 1969, the area was examined as the D group. Some drilling and blasting were performed at this time. In 1982 and 1983, Tenquille Resources completed programs of ground geophysical surveys, prospecting, trenching and sampling on the area as HIAG claims. In 1987, Ajax Resources completed a program of rock and soil sampling, geological mapping and ground geophysical surveys on the area. In 1989 and 1990, New Camp Resources completed programs of rock, silt and soil sampling and ground geophysical surveys on the area as the Zul property. In 1990, Teck Corp. staked the Apollo, Sun and God claims of the Sungod property, which covered the Gold King prospect. In 2003, the area was staked as the Gold King property by J.T. Shearer. During 2004 through 2006, Goldking Mining Ltd. (later Wolverine Minerals Corp.) completed programs of rock and soil sampling, geological mapping and an induced polarization survey on the area.