The Sunrise deposit is situated on Nine Mile Mountain, 16 kilometres northeast of Hazelton.
The Nine Mile Mountain area is underlain by interbedded sandstone, siltstone and shale of the Middle Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Bowser Lake Group. The sediments form broad, moderately dipping synclines and anticlines whose limbs usually dip at angles of less than 45 degrees. A 3-by-1–kilometre westerly elongated stock of coarse-grained granodiorite of the Late Cretaceous Bulkley Intrusions intrudes the sequence along the north side of the mountain. A potassium-argon age date of hornblende from the stock returned an age of 72 Ma (Geological Survey of Canada Open File 2322). Sedimentary rocks are often hornfelsed adjacent to the intrusive contacts. Numerous quartz veins occur in the granodiorite and the surrounding sediments and are related to fracture systems.
Mineralized quartz veins at the Sunrise occurrence occur in coarsely crystalline granodiorite and are generally hosted in moderately dipping structures (10 to 50 degrees). The veins are locally exposed for long distances and pinch and swell greatly. Branching vein structures are common. The Sunrise main structure is a zone 213 metres wide and 304 metres long. This zone lies between elevations of 1432 and 1584 metres, with its north boundary approximately 152 metres south of the sedimentary contact. A system of network-mineralized veins and veinlets occurs in zones adjacent to the main structure and measures from 10 centimetres to 3 metres wide.
There are two main intersecting sets of veins on the Sunrise property. One set strikes northeast and dips from 30 to 50 degrees southeast; the other set strikes east and dips from 10 to 40 degrees south. The veins range from 30 to 152 metres in length and from 7 centimetres to 1.76 metres in width. Many of the veins contain irregularly distributed sulphides, in the following order of abundance: jamesonite, sphalerite, galena, cosalite, pyrite, arsenopyrite, argentite and tetrahedrite. Twelve veins have been partially exposed.
Local shearing and faulting, evidenced by numerous chloritic slips and slickensides, are common in the areas of mineralized vein concentrations. The veins in the granodiorite are generally enveloped by zones of phyllic (sericitic) alteration characterized by the abundance of quartz, sericite and disseminated pyrite. Silicified zones around veins are common.
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.
In 1909, work completed on the Sunrise claim group included five open cuts and stripping. Hazelton Sunrise Mines Limited owned the Sunrise claim group in 1911. Considerable work was completed on the property that year, including a 60-metre tunnel and two open cuts 15 and 13.7 metres long, respectively. In 1915, the Sunrise claim group was Crown granted to Thomas McRostle and James L. Hatch. That year, approximately 67 tonnes of ore from the Sunrise claim group were shipped to the smelter at Trail. Ore mineralization was dominated by argentiferous galena.
In 1917, Byron R. Jones secured the Sunrise, Silver Cup and Lead King claims on behalf of an eastern syndicate. Several months of work was conducted on the Sunrise property and included activities such as surface stripping and exposing veins in shallow cuts. One vein was exposed for 152.4 metres, displaying consistent size and mineral values throughout.
In 1918, J. Errington, on behalf of an eastern syndicate, optioned the Sunrise property among others. The claims were examined and sampled, and minor stripping work was completed on some veins. The option was allowed to expire and the claims were then optioned to the American Smelting and Refining Company in 1919, by which time ownership of the claims had transferred to Sunrise Mining Company. All development work was confined to the upper zone, which was stripped on the surface and exposed in large open cuts. An incline shaft was later sunk 12 metres. The option on the property was dropped in 1920.
In 1921, the claims were owned by the Sunrise Mining Company. The claims were optioned to the Tretheway brothers in 1923. Two drift tunnels explored one vein and an existing tunnel that cut flat-lying ore bands was driven in further. W.S. Harris completed 61 metres of drifting on the property in 1925. Hazelton Sunrise Mines Limited completed development work on the property in 1927. From 1923 to 1927, the main adit was driven 133.5 metres. By the late 1920s, a 228-metre adit and an 18-metre raise had been driven on the Sunrise claim. Trenching and prospecting completed between the 1930s and 1950s resulted in the discovery of additional veins.
As of 1950, the Sunrise property consisted of six Crown-granted claims, owned by T.E. Wilson.
In 1967, the Sunrise property was being explored by Sunrise Silver Mines Limited. Several trenches were blasted at the time to expose the “main” vein. The vein was found to have an average true width of 1.7 metres and can be traced for 210 metres. A weighted average of assays returned values of 322.4 grams per tonne silver, 3.35 per cent lead, 2.86 per cent zinc and 0.64 per cent antimony (Property File, Cyprus Anvil Sunrise Silver Mines Ltd., 1967).
Other past development included open cuts, drifting, crosscutting and numerous adits. Crude ore from surface and underground workings were shipped off the property. A portable mill also processed small amounts in 1979 and 1980. In 1979, contract mining produced 17 tonnes of concentrate with 4.11 grams per tonne gold, 1488 grams per tonne silver, 18.1 per cent lead, 15.4 per cent zinc, 5 per cent arsenic, 5 per cent stibnite and 0.28 per cent copper (Assessment Report 10477, page 5).
By 1981, the property 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 the 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).
As of 1950, 67.1 tonnes of silver-lead-zinc ore had been shipped from the Sunrise property (Ministry of Mines Annual Report, 1950, page 83).
