The Lead King group of claims is situated on Nine Mile Mountain, 15 kilometres northeast of Hazelton. It is east of and along strike from the Sunrise property (MINFILE 093M 043). Previous work on the property consists of a shaft and an adit with stripping along veins and open cuts. In the period between 1909 and 1914, 7.2 tonnes produced 22 076 grams per tonne silver and 698.5 kilograms of lead (National Mineral Inventory Card 93M/6 Ag2).
The property is underlain by coarse-grained granodiorite of the Late Cretaceous Bulkley Intrusions, which intrude hornfelsed clastic sediments of the Middle Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Bowser Lake Group.
The veins are hosted in fracture zones in the granodiorite, which is affected by phyllic alteration and silicification in the vicinity of the veins. There are two sets of veins: One set strikes north, dipping between 25 and 45 degrees east; the second set strikes east, dipping between 10 and 35 degrees south. The veins average 30 centimetres in thickness and range from 10 centimetres to 1 metre in thickness. Commonly, several subparallel veins are arranged in an en echelon or sheeted arrangement. The veins commonly pinch and swell and are often faulted.
The veins occur over a length of 400 metres and a width of 150 metres, mineralized with galena, sphalerite, jamesonite, arsenopyrite, cosalite and pyrite in a quartz gangue. A representative sample taken by Kindle assayed trace gold, 313.8 grams per tonne silver, 6.47 per cent lead, 17.11 per cent zinc, 2.63 per cent antimony and 2.43 per cent arsenic (Geological Survey of Canada Memoir 223, page 17).
The first discovery of silver-lead-zinc ore containing antimony was made on Nine Mile Mountain in 1908. In the years that followed, numerous other mineral-bearing veins were discovered in the area. Between 1910 and 1913, small shipments of high-grade silver-lead ore were made from 15 properties.
A 4.5-tonne shipment of ore was made from the Lead King property in 1909. In 1911, considerable work was completed on the property, which consisted of seven claims: the Lead King, Lead Queen, King, Last Chance, Lucky Boy, Lucky Boy No. 1 and Homestake claims. A 45.7-metre-long tunnel had been driven on the Homestake claim. Work completed prior to 1912 included open cuts, tunnels and one shaft approximately 15.2 metres deep. No work was completed on the property between 1912 and 1914. In 1917, Byron R. Jones secured the Sunrise, Silver Cup and Lead King claims on behalf of an eastern syndicate.
The claims were eventually relocated as the Empire group. In 1923, the Empire group was owned by Tommy Rallison, who completed approximately 15.2 metres of stripping on a vein situated uphill from the previous workings on the property.
In 1967, the Lead King property was being explored by Sunrise Silver Mines Limited. Exploration work consisted of four trenches totalling 165 metres.
By 1981, the area was held by Sunrise Metals Corporation. As part of a joint venture agreement with Sunrise Metals, Westmin Resources Limited began work on the Sunrise property. That year, exploration consisted of geological mapping, rock sampling, soil geochemical surveying and trenching. Exploration continued in 1982 with an induced polarization and resistivity geophysical survey over the central portion of the property.
The ground lay dormant until 2005, when Cadre Capital Incorporated staked new claims over the Nine Mile Mountain area and the Sidina Creek area to the north as part of their Hazelton project. The following year, Golden Sabre Resources optioned the claims and carried out a limited exploration program of rock sampling and soil grid geochemistry. Between 2006 and 2012, the claims appear to have been dormant.
By 2012, TAD Mineral Exploration Limited (formerly known as TAD Capital Corporation) expanded their Sidina property to include additional claims covering the Nine Mile Mountain area to the south, formerly held by Cadre Capital. That year, Rio Minerals Limited conducted grid surveys and soil sampling near the Silverton occurrence (MINFILE 093M 038).
