The Milligan 9 showing is located on the southern boundary of the Milligan 9 claim, approximately 3.5 kilometres southeast of Mount Milligan’s peak, approximately 70 kilometres west of MacKenzie and 95 kilometres north of Fort St. James.
The Mount Milligan Intrusive Complex consists of at least two separate Early Jurassic phases: a sphene-bearing monzonite with gabbro and hornblende granite end members, and porphyritic granite. Its wallrocks and numerous pendants include regionally metamorphosed amphibolites and granulites as well as contact hornfelses. The earlier of the two plutonic bodies on Mount Milligan is an equigranular, massive to foliated, quartz-deficient monzonite. The later plutonic body is a porphyritic, medium-grained granite with peripheral pegmatite and aplite stringers. The complex was later uplifted as a horst, accompanied by Late Cretaceous to Paleogene felsic intrusive activity.
The Milligan property is underlain by andesitic flows and fragments belonging to the Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic Takla Group. These rocks are intruded by multiple alkaline stocks and dikes, ranging from diorite to syenite porphyry and calc-alkaline quartz monzodiorite.
In 1984, a geological and geochemical exploration program was conducted. A total of 27 soil and 5 rock samples were collected along two anomalous creeks and along a contour traverse line across the property. The results show some weak soil anomalies, usually of copper, arsenic, or silver. It was recommended that the low arsenic-antimony-(gold) soil anomaly on the northwest corner of the property be further investigated (Assessment Report 13508).
In 1985, 192 soil samples were collected from the east-central and southwestern parts of the claim group. The samples were collected at 100-metre intervals along lines spaced 200 metres apart. Significant anomalous conditions were not identified, and no further work was recommended (Assessment Report 13891).
Continental Gold Corp. conducted a 1989 survey consisting of an airborne magnetic and very low frequency electromagnetic survey, geological mapping, and prospecting. A total of 22 east-west flight lines with 100-metre spacing were required for the survey. The airborne survey indicated some higher magnitude, semi-circular magnetic features on the claim, deeming them highly favourable as hosts of a porphyry copper-gold deposit similar to Mount Milligan (Assessment Report 19268).
In 1990, Continental Gold Corp conducted a phase one exploration program including grid layout, line cutting, geological mapping, soil sampling and magnetometer and very low frequency electromagnetic geophysics on the Nation River property. This program outlined four target areas. Target one, located near the southern boundary of Milligan 9, displayed the highest assayed results. Two mineralized outcrops consisted of disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite within an intrusive monzodiorite. Two samples (BB-17561 and BB-17562) from this area assayed 0.0933 and 0.2090 per cent copper with 0.088 and 0.116 gram per tonne gold, respectively (Assessment Report 20227, page 30).
