The Saddle occurrence is located about 37 kilometres south-southeast of Stewart, about 2 kilometres west of the head of Hastings Arm. In 1929, after several years of development, a few tonnes of ore containing lead, copper and silver were shipped.
The occurrence is situated near the eastern margin of a 7 by 4 kilometre roof pendant in the Eocene Coast Plutonic Complex. This roof pendant consists of mostly massive to schistose aphanitic andesitic flows with some variably foliated welded tuffs and clastic volcanics containing metamorphic banding. The sequence has been subjected to regional greenschist metamorphism and belongs to the Jurassic Hazelton Group. Hornfelsed chloritic schists and minor ultramafics occur in the vicinity of the volcanic/intrusive contact. The composition of the surrounding intrusion varies from coarse-grained diorite to granodiorite.
The occurrence consists of two major quartz veins developed in massive aphanitic andesite which contains some inclusions of welded tuff. The main vein strikes northwest and dips about 60 degrees southwest. It has been traced for 60 metres and is up to 1.5 metres wide. A secondary branch vein, of similar orientation, has been traced along strike for 100 metres and is up to 1.3 metres wide. A few other, less significant, branch veins also occur.
Mineralization consists of discontinuous lenses, pockets and streaks of massive sulphides up to 0.6 metre thick within the veins. The massive sulphides consist primarily of pyrite, galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite and minor pyrrhotite.
Assays indicate erratic precious metal values occurring with base metals. A metre long channel sample taken across the width of a quartz vein assayed 0.617 gram per tonne gold, 152.5 grams per tonne silver, 0.35 per cent copper, 4.85 per cent lead and 6.38 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 11076, page 61). Other channel samples assayed up to 220 grams per tonne gold across 0.18 metre and up to 665 grams per tonne silver over 0.30 metre (Assessment Report 11527, page 2).
In 1926, the Saddle showing was discovered. The following year, Silver Crest Mines Ltd. undertook hand trenching and the sinking of three shallow shafts (14, 11.6 and 2.5 metres deep) from which 9 metres of drifting was completed. Work in 1929 included the construction of a 3 kilometre aerial tramway between the tide flats at the head of Hastings Arm and the principal workings at an elevation of 1250 metres. An adit was driven about 50 metres and 2.7 tonnes of ore with an average grade of 1058 grams per tonne silver, 1.62 per cent copper and 52.76 per cent lead were shipped. The adit was driven an additional 140 metres in 1930. Only limited work was undertaken in the area since the 1930s. In 1967, some investigative work was performed by Mayfair Moly Mines Ltd. In 1982-83, Nor Con Exploration Ltd. conducted a reconnaissance of the Saddle showings and completed detailed surface channel sampling of the two principal vein structures. The property was subsequently acquired by Winspear Resources Ltd. and a 1987 program included 145 line kilometres of airborne VLF-EM and magnetometer surveys, construction of 11 kilometres of flagged grid, a surface VLF-EM survey and the collection and analyses of 69 rocks and 342 soil samples. In 1994, the Sad mineral claim was located by L.B. Warren and investigative work by N.C. Carter comprised the determination of accurate locations of the surface trenches, shafts and adit portal using a GPS, an assessment of the property geological setting and the structure of the two main vein systems, a preliminary survey of the underground workings and the collection of 5 rock samples for subsequent analyses. In 1997, a sampling program was carried out on a vein system parallel to that sampled in 1994 and five samples of vein material were collected for analyses on behalf of owner L.B. Warren.
