The Cobalt showing is located on Cobalt Creek, 1.5 kilometres north of the Silbak Premier Mine (104B 054), 24 kilometres north of Stewart, British Columbia.

Located in the Intermontane Belt, the area, bounded on the west by the Coast Crystalline Complex and on the east by the Bowser Basin, is part of the Stikinia Terrane.

The showing is hosted by the Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic Hazelton Group, Unuk River Formation metavolcanics. The Hazelton Group is a northwest trending, steeply east dipping belt of folded andesitic lapilli tuffs, flows and breccia containing a thick sequence of argillite and siltstone infolded along a synclinal axis. The sequence is intruded by the Early Jurassic Texas Creek plutonic suite of dacitic porphyry dykes and the Eocene granitic Hyder intrusives.

Mineralization on the property consists of two types. A quartz vein, 5.0 to 23.0 centimetres wide, has been traced for 9.0 metres northward. The vein strikes 157 degrees and dips 85 degrees south- west and hosts pyrite, sphalerite and galena. A grab sample across this vein in 1936 assayed 12.3 grams per tonne gold, 274.2 grams per tonne silver, 5.5 per cent lead and 1.3 per cent zinc (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1936). At a lower elevation (495 metres) mineralization in a 67-centimetre-wide silicified shear zone consists of irregular patches and blebs of pyrite, sphalerite and galena. A grab sample across this zone assayed 3.42 grams per tonne gold, 54.8 grams per tonne silver, 0.4 per cent lead and 0.8 per cent zinc (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1936).

Work History

This property covers a number of showings in an area lying between the Cascade River and Cooper Creek, and extending from Long Lake south-southwesterly over Slate Mountain to the old Northern Light and Bush Mines Limited properties, which later became part of the Silbak Premier property. The Start and Bush claim groups cover the north end of Slate Mountain and the Long Lake valley south of Long Lake. Extending south (and southeast) from here are the Sunshine, Maple Leaf, Monitor, Extenuate, Exchange, and Cobalt groups. See Lakeshore (104A 092), Sunshine (104A 093), BUSH NO.1 (104A 097) and Extenuate (104A 158).

The Cobalt group was owned by J. Hovland, of Hyder, Alaska, and prior to 1919 was bonded to W.A. Meloche. In 1923 the Cobalt claim (Lot 4053) and Cobalt No. 2 claim (Lot 4054) were Crown-granted to J.B, Saunderland. At a later date the claims were owned by the Cobalt Syndicate.

The Start claim Nos. 1-4 were acquired from Dan Anderson by the Chief Metals Company, of Seattle, in 1924. During 1925-26 about 58 metres of underground work was done in one adit.

The Sunshine claim and Sunshine claim Nos. 1, 2, and 4, Lots 4499, 4500, 4504, 4505, respectively, were Crown- granted to A.E. Young and J.P. Hawkinson in 1926.

The Extenuate group, consisting of the Extenuate Nos. 1- 6, Three, and Extra claims, was held by the Portland Canal Gold fields Syndicate, Limited, which was formed in 1924. The Syndicate name was changed in 1926 to Extenuate Gold Mines Limited. Work by the company included about 87 metres of crosscut in one adit.

Bush Consolidated Gold Mines, Inc., a Delaware company registered in British Columbia in October 1927, consolidated the Start, Sunshine, Exchange, Extenuate, Monitor, and Maple Leaf groups, and acquired a 1/6 interest in the Cobalt group. A number of new claims, the Bush claim Mos. 1-4 (Lots 5196-5199) were located at the south end of Long Lake in 1927; this group was Crown-granted in 1930. The company put down three diamond drill holes on a siliceous zone on the Bush group. On the Sunshine group an adit was driven as a cross-cut for 470 feet, and from the face 30 metres of drift was run on the vein, at the end of which further crosscutting was done. No further work was reported by the company. The company also held a block of claims in Alaska, adjacent to the border, with a corner of the property extending across the border just east of Cascade Creek. This portion jutting into B.C. was known as the Border claim.

In January 1929 Bush-Cobalt Mines, Limited, was formed to acquire the Cobalt and Exchange groups from the Cobalt Syndicate and Bush Consolidated Gold Mines, Inc., respectively. This property included the Exchange claim Nos. 1- 5 (Lots 1843-1847), the Winner claim (Lot 4116), and the Cobalt claims. In 1935, the Cardinal lining and Developrnent Co., Ltd., optioned a 55% interest in the property. The only development work reported on the Cobalt-Exchange groups consisted of over 45 metres of underground workings in 3 adits between elevations of 470-500 metres.

The Lake Shore Crown-grant (Lot 4176) and the Monitor located claims, lying south of Monitor Lake (southern extension of Long Lake) on the divide separating Cooper Creek and Long Lake, were acquired by New Indian Mines Ltd in 1957. In 1963 the company carried out surface sampling and 396 meters of diamond drilling in 5 holes on the main vein on the Lake Shore claims. Results did not warrant further work.

From 2009 to 2020, Ascot Resources Ltd. conducted drilling and geophysical surveys in the Premier Gold project area. See Premier (104B 054) for details and additional work history.