The Old Sport mine is located on the west side of the Benson River, approximately 500 metres south of the river mouth on Benson Lake.

The area lies within Upper Triassic Vancouver Group, Karmutsen Formation volcanics comprised of fine to medium-grained andesite, basalt and porphyritic flows. The volcanics are conformably overlain by Upper Triassic Vancouver Group, Quatsino Formation limestones. Bedded rocks strike northwest and dip about 35 degrees to the west. The Vancouver Group rocks are intruded by the "Coast Copper stock" of the Lower to Middle Jurassic Island Plutonic Suite. The contact dips 70 degrees to the northeast. Volcanic rocks have undergone pyrite, sericite, epidote and carbonate alteration.

Near the top of the Karmutsen Formation a thin limestone unit is overlain by a conformable diorite sill (the "included diorite" of early reports has been suggested to constitute a 3 to 24 metre thick flow (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1960, page 98). Both Quatsino and Karmutsen limestones have been replaced by garnet-epidote- magnetite-calcite-chalcopyrite-bornite mineralization. The lower ore horizon, below the diorite sill is referred to as the Old Sport Horizon. The upper horizon of lesser continuity is called the Hanging Wall Horizon. The Old Sport Horizon has been developed south to the Benson Lake mine (MINFILE 092L 091), a distance of more than 3 kilometres.

Magnetite, chalcopyrite and local bornite, constitute the main ore minerals. Pyrite is widely distributed; pyrrhotite occurs locally. Minor gold and silver are associated with chalcopyrite. The chalcopyrite occurs as veinlets (plus or minus quartz) and disseminated grains in sill-like lenses, skarn and magnetite. Ore shoots are discontinuous, and their control is not evident.

Production between 1962 and 1973 totalled 2,621,131 tonnes, yielding 11,731,152 grams of silver, 3,868,842 grams of gold, 41,193,033 kilograms of copper and 506,148,445 kilograms of iron. From 1962 to 1973, production averaged 1.55 per cent copper and 27.14 per cent iron. Production from 1964 to 1970 averaged 4.41 grams per tonne silver and 1.45 grams per tonne gold.

In 1914, samples averaged 4.58 per cent copper, 37.18 per cent iron, 17.49 grams per tonne silver and 1.47 grams per tonne gold (Norrie, 1914).

A grab sample assayed 8.65 per cent copper, 38.6 grams per tonne silver and 0.03 per cent cobalt (EMPR Bulletin 101, page 177, Appendix 4B).

Work History

In 1952, Quatsino Copper-Gold completed a program of geological mapping on the area. In 1968, Quatsino Copper Gold completed a program of airborne magnetic and radiometric geophysical surveys on the area. In 1970, Alice Lake Minerals completed an aeromagnetic survey. In 1988 and 1989, Taywin Resources completed programs of prospecting, geological mapping and soil sampling on the area. In 1990, Noranda completed a program of soil sampling on the area. In 2007, Grande Portage Resources Ltd. completed a program of geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling and a 1748.1 line-kilometre airborne magnetic survey on the area as the Merry Widow and Merry Widow Extension properties. In 2016 and 2017, Bridgeland Minerals completed a radar satellite and LIDIR orthophoto geological interpretation program on the area as the Blue Gold/Merry Widow property. In 2019, Mirva Properties Ltd. completed a rock sampling program on the Merry Widow property. In 2020, Roughrider Exploration Ltd. completed a program of rock, silt and soil sampling on the area as the Empire Mine property.