The Little Pat showing is about 500 metres north of Bitter Creek, approximately 2.9 kilometres east-southeast of the confluence of Bitter Creek with the Bear River, 12 kilometres northeast of Stewart.
The area is underlain by the Tertiary(?) Bitter Creek pluton, a quartz monzonite intrusion that is a satellite to the Coast Plutonic Complex (Bulletin 58; 63).
Several narrow quartz veins occur in the pluton. They typically contain pyrite, chalcopyrite and scheelite; molybdenite, sphalerite, galena, tetrahedrite and cosalite occur locally. The veins trend from 290 to 330 degrees and dip vertically to steeply northeast.
At the main showing (Hogback) the vein is about 15 centimetres wide but decreases to less than 2 centimetres wide in a distance of 30 metres. A sample across 7.5 centimetres assayed 0.11 per cent WO3 (Bulletin 10, page 52). At least three other similar vein showings occur in the area to the north of the main showing.
About 300 metres to the north, a 7.5 to 15 centimetre wide quartz vein is mineralized with pyrite, sphalerite, scheelite and some galena and tetrahedrite. Samples of this vein are reported to have assayed 8.6 grams per tonne gold and 377.1 grams per tonne silver; a composite sample of the vein assayed 0.01 per cent W03 (Bulletin 10, page 53).
The property has been intermittently explored since 1908, when a number of narrow fissure veins containing quartz, pyrite, chalcopyrite and scheelite were located on the north side of Bitter Creek. During the 1940s, the showings comprising the Little Pat, Badland and Hogback claims were known as the Little Pat. Opencutting was done during this time. Beaver Gold Resources Inc. conducted prospecting and rock sampling near the showing in 1979. The showing was then covered by the Art group of claims. The showings are presently located on the Goldbar claim held by Tenajon Resources. In 1994, a program of geochemical and geophysical surveying on the Empire group of claims for Prime Equities International was conducted. A total of 397 soil samples were collected and 3.5 kilometres of VLF-EM and 6.7 kilometres of magnetometer survey completed. In 1999, the Red 1-6 claims were staked by D.E. Molloy as part of a regional geochemical and geological evaluation and in 2000 an exploration program was carried out under the BC Prospectors Assistance Program. The exploration activities included compass and chain surveying of access roads, the installation of various flagged grid and control lines, and detailed and reconnaissance geological and geochemical surveys including the collection of 113 stream sediment, rock, soil and check samples. During 2005 through 2010, Auramex completed programs of prospecting, geological mapping, geochemical sampling and airborne geophysical surveys on the area as the Bear River-Surprise Creek property.
