The Sands Creek property is located near the mouth of Sands Creek, a small stream that flows westward into the Clearwater River 3 kilometres north of the village of Clearwater.
The oldest rocks on the property are thin bedded micaceous quartzites and siliceous argillites of the Devonian to Permian Fennell Formation of the Slide Mountain Group. They strike northwestward and dip vertically to steeply south. These rocks are intruded by coarse-grained granodiorite and pegmatite of the Cretaceous Raft batholith. The granodiorite is cut by quartz veins ranging in thickness from 5 to 46 centimetres and which strike easterly and dip vertically to steeply south. The veins pinch and swell and are strongly broken by faulting, and they are rarely continuous beyond three metres.
A strong east-west shear zone extends down Sands Creek at the molybdenite showing. Molybdenite, pyrite and chalcopyrite occur in patches and hairline fractures in quartz veins and pegmatite dikes near the granodiorite-sedimentary contact. Disseminated molybdenite was observed in drill cores, but no extensive nor massive mineralization was noted.
In 1960, grab samples returned up to 1.49 per cent molybdenum and chip sampling, over 2.0 metres, returned 0.47 per cent MoS2 (EMPR Property File RIMFIRE - Chisholm, E.O. (1960-04-18): Property information form and correspondence for Lucky Terry Group).
The showings were described briefly by Walker in 1930. A limited amount of surface work had been done on the showings when they were examined by Stevenson in June 1938. Three claims were located on the showings in 1939, the Sands Creek 1 and 2 claims owned by Gordon and I.A. Bennett, and the Morning Star claim, owned by J.L. Carden. No work was reported at this time. The showings and surrounding area were covered by 77 claims located in 1959 and 1960 by Messrs. Wrixon, Fuller and Pearson. American Pacific Exploration Limited acquired the property, and in July 1960 formed Sandy Creek Mines Limited to carry out exploration work. Work during 1960-61 by Calder Molybdenum Company consisted of bulldozer trenching and 12 short diamond-drill holes. Bethlehem Copper did geological mapping and 3 percussion holes totalling 131 metres in 1972.
