The Realgar occurrence is located at waterline on the east side of San Josef River, and is exposed only at low water.

Regionally, the area is underlain by a northwest-trending series of sedimentary and volcanic rocks comprising basaltic volcanic rocks of the Upper Triassic Karmutsen Formation (Vancouver Group), which is overlain by limestone of the Upper Triassic Quatsino Formation (Vancouver Group), limestone, mudstone and siltstone of the Upper Triassic Parson Bay Formation (Bonanza Group) and mixed volcanics and sediments of the Volcaniclastic-sedimentary and LeMare Lake volcanic units of the Bonanza Group that have been intruded by porphyry of the Lower to Middle Jurassic Island Plutonic Suite.

Locally, Upper Triassic Vancouver Group, Quatsino Formation limestone is cut by a feldspar porphyry dike of unknown (Tertiary?) age. Within about 4 metres of the dike the limestone is cut by irregular veins comprised of fine-grained chloritic skarn that range up to 10 centimetres in width. Cinnabar and realgar are abundant as thin veinlets and as fracture coatings in the limestone, and as accessory minerals in the skarned veins. Orpiment occurs as coatings on the oxidized mercury-arsenic minerals. Traces of amethyst occur in veinlets. Arsenopyrite and pyrite occur as disseminations in the limestone near the dyke and within thin, vuggy quartz-calcite veinlets cutting both the limestone and the dyke.

High mercury values with coincident arsenic and molybdenite values are reported in soils over a wide area centered on the showing.

Work History

The occurrence was first noted in the 1970’s when a piece of float of solid orpiment with realgar was discovered and later traced up stream. In 1988, Formosa Resources optioned the property from Lone Trail Exploration and carried out a program of geophysical and geochemical surveys and four diamond drill holes. In 2009 and 2011, the area was staked and prospected by R.J. Bilquist as the Orp 1 claim. In 2015, R.J. Bilquist completed a minor program of prospecting, geological mapping and geochemical (rock and stream sediment) sampling on the Orp 1 claim. In 2018, a further program of geological mapping was completed by R.J. Bilquist. Also, in 2018 and 2019, MK2 Ventures Ltd. and District Metals Corp. completed programs of prospecting, geological and structural mapping, geochemical (rock, soil and stream sediment) sampling and an 804 line-kilometre airborne geophysical (VTEM) survey on the area immediately north of the occurrence as the Bakar property.