The Alpine Grid zone occurs at 1,250 to 1,450 metres elevation on Ernie Creek, a tributary of East Lehto Creek.
The area is underlain by Jurassic and older volcanics (rhyolite, andesite, dacite, basalt, breccia, tuff breccia) and sediments (greywacke, siltstone, conglomerate, marble/dolostone) cut by the Early Jurassic Lehto batholith (hornblende granodiorite, quartz monzonite, syenodiorite porphyry, syenite) and minor Quaternary-Miocene basalt and lamprophyre dikes. The volcanics and sediments are indurate and silicified with sericite-chlorite-clay secondary mineral assemblages. The older volcanics and sediment ‘roof pendant’ is engulfed by the Lehto batholith felsic to intermediate intrusive rock.
Locally, pyrite- chalcopyrite-arsenopyrite mineralization occurs, typically associated with ferrocarbonate–quartz–potassium feldspar alteration, and rare quartz–carbonate-white mica. Mineralization occurs as, 0.1 to 4.0 metre wide, well- mineralized quartz veins, and 0.5 to 15.0 metre wide weakly mineralized quartz breccia zones.
The BX-10 claim area was first examined in detail by Pamicon Developments Ltd. and Barytex Resources Corp. in 1987 and 1988. In 1990, Noranda Exploration Company Ltd. conducted geological, geochemical and geophysical surveys over the Ernie Creek area of the property and two diamond drill holes the following year.
In 1990, a soil sample grid, over an area of 250 by 100 metres, returned average values in soil greater than 300 parts per billion gold (Assessment Report 20845). In 1991, Noranda Exploration Company Ltd. drilled a hole, located in the Alpine Grid area at 1,450 metre elevation, and intersected a vertical dipping hematite-specularite quartz vein, which returned a value of 1.98 grams per tonne gold across 1.0 metre (Assessment Report 20845). Follow-up sampling by Goldrea Resoures Corp. returned up to 6.05 grams per tonne gold over 0.7 metre (Assessment Report 27241).
In 2006 and 2007, Hathor Exploration Ltd. completed a 7228.7 line-kilometre airborne geophysical survey on the area as the Jack and Snip claims of the Iskut project. In 2008, Max Minerals Ltd. examined the property.
