The Big Bulk occurrence is situated on the southeast shore of Kinskuch Lake, 22 kilometres northeast of Alice Arm. The area has been explored extensively since 1938 for large tonnage, low grade copper deposits.

The Kinskuch Lake area is underlain by volcanics and sediments of the Upper Triassic Stuhini Group and the Lower Jurassic Hazelton Group. These units are situated on the eastern limb of the north to northwest trending Mount McGuire anticline and have been regionally metamorphosed up to greenschist facies.

The Big Bulk occurrence encompasses a number of pyritic zones in northwest striking, east dipping andesitic flows, lapilli tuffs and minor volcanic breccias of the Hazelton Group. The sequence is cut by lamprophyre and quartz-feldspar porphyritic dikes. The pyritic zones are contained in a roughly crescent shaped, 1.75 kilometre wide alteration halo centred on the southeast shore of Kinskuch Lake. The halo contains variable albite, chlorite-epidote (propylitic), carbonate and sericitic alteration.

Four chalcopyrite-bearing pyritic zones have been defined. These four zones are roughly elliptical and vary from 100 to 180 metres in length and 25 to 120 metres in width. Some of these zones are faulted at depth. Mineralization comprises disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite in quartz vein stockworks and in the volcanic country rock. Pyrite to chalcopyrite ratios vary from 1:2 to 10:1. Diamond drilling intersected copper values of up 1.22 per cent copper over 16 metres (Assessment Report 712, page 10). Surface chip samples have resulted in assays of up to 0.715 per cent copper, 1.75 grams per tonne gold and 0.34 gram per tonne silver over a length of 13 metres (Assessment Report 8785, page 11).

The best results from a 2009 drilling program were 0.31 per cent copper over 54 metres(from 67 to 121 metres) and 4.0 grams per tonne gold over 10 metres (from 427 to 437 metres) in drillhole AGA-01; and 0.14 per cent copper over 478 metres (from 181 to 659 metres) in drillhole AGA-02, which included 0.27 per cent copper over 42 metres (from 617 to 659 metres). Drillhole AGA-02 appears to have tested the Tracy zone and drillhole AGA-01 is located near the Marla zone. Drillholes AGA-03 and 04 of the same program are located near the Bonnie East zone (Assessment Reports 31436 and 30581).

The Big Bulk copper showings have been known since they were first prospected in the 1930s. During 1955 and 1956, 14 AX diamond-drill holes totalling 1920.3 metres and over 11 packsack-drill holes totalling 446.2 metres were completed by Northwestern Explorations Limited. In 1965, the ground was acquired by Forrest Kerr Mines Ltd. at which time geological mapping, magnetic and induced polarization (IP) surveys, and 380.1 metres of diamond drilling were completed. Cyprus Exploration Corporation Ltd. optioned the property in 1966 and conducted a geological mapping, geochemical sampling and diamond drilling program. In 1970, Kerr Addison Mines Ltd. optioned the property and conducted limited magnetic and IP surveys, and drilled two diamond-drill holes. In 1979, the claims lapsed. The property was subsequently restaked as the Big Bulk by K.W. Livingstone. Prism Resources then optioned the property, working on a zone to the north over which a detailed geological map was made and numerous chip samples were taken. In 1982, Procan Resources took up the option and drilled five diamond-drill holes totalling 883.7 metres on the zones identified by the 1980 work. The property was idle until 1990 when the Oliver-Aber-Tanqueray joint venture group acquired the option from Mr. Livingstone and began a detailed prospecting and geochemical sampling program. No grid was established, but numerous contour soil and rock chip lines were completed. A total of 167 rock samples, 57 soil samples and 20 silt samples were collected.

The Midnight Blue area was staked in July of 1990 by Keewatin crew members for the Joint Venture group. A total of 34 rock samples, 88 soil samples and 6 silt samples

were collected. In 2001, a program of reconnaissance geological mapping and geochemical sampling was carried out by Teck Cominco Ltd. to determine the geology and mineral potential; a total of 312 rock samples were collected for analysis. In 2002, a program of recconaissance geological mapping and geochemical sampling was carried out by Teck Cominco Ltd. Geological mapping was conducted over the Big Bulk portion of the property to determine the geology, alteration and mineral potential in better detail than the initial 2001 program. Also, channel sampling with rock saws was conducted on the Bonnie zone to follow up previous results along with initial detailed mapping at 1:1000 scale. After the initial work on the Bonnie zone, work consisted of examining a number of occurrences and conducting more detailed mapping and sampling at 1:5000 scale. A total of 150 rock samples of more representative mineralization were collected for analysis by ICP and gold geochemistry. In 2003, Canadian Empire Exploration Corp. acquired the Big Bulk under an agreement with Teck Cominco Limited and the company drilled 1664 metres in 11 diamond-drill holes. Both the pluton and country rocks are reported to be cut by a fracture stockwork of quartz-chalcopyrite veins with associated potassium feldspar flooding in the core, to peripheral chlorite-pyrite-chalcopyrite veins with associated epidote alteration. The best copper and gold grade occurs within a 1250 by 300 metre area of the chloritic zone. One drill interval over 21.3 metres yielded 0.79 per cent copper and 0.58 gram per tonne gold (Exploration and Mining in British Columbia 2003, page 10).

In 2005, Kitsault Resources Ltd. conducted a regional reconnaissance geochemical survey of the area which was extended in 2006, with follow-up soil sampling carried out at the confluence of the Tchichin River and Lahte Creek. In 2007, a second season of follow-up soil and rock sampling was conducted. In 2008, a 10.6 line-kilometre 3D induced polarization (IP) survey was commissioned in the most prospective core of the Big Bulk intrusive system. In parallel, a program of surface rock sampling was undertaken, focusing on the most sparsely sampled areas of the system. These surveys were followed by drilling of the most promising and accessible IP (chargeability and resistivity) and surface geochemical anomalies, as well as a single hole to test the lateral continuity of a 60 metre open drilling intersection which reported 0.4 per cent copper in 1982. The central IP survey employed longer-than-normal (1600 metre) arrays consisting of 32 dipoles at 50 metre spacing (line spacing of 200 metres) in order to achieve the greatest depth penetration possible (500 to 600 metres). In 2009, four drillholes totalling 2224.7 metres were drilled into different parts of a 500 metre deep chargeability anomaly identified the previous year. Work was completed on behalf of owners Rand Edgar Smyth Syndicate and Dolly Varden Resources Ltd.

In 2017,Dolly Varden Silver Corporation carried out an airborne ZTEM geophysical survey at the Big Bulk project.