The Volcanic Creek Moly occurrence is located near the headwaters of Volcanic Creek just southwest of Mount Barham, about 25 kilometres northeast of the community of Atlin.
The showing is hosted within varitextured diorite to quartz diorite of the Jurassic Fourth of July Creek batholith (Three Sisters Plutonic Suite). In an area near the Husselbee (104N 001) showing, the batholith was dated at 171 +/- 5 million years (Fieldwork 1990). The intrusion often has a rusty appearance around mineralized zones. The occurrence is located very near the contact of the batholith with rocks of the Cache Creek Complex composed of variably metamorphosed cherts and siltstones (Mississippian to Triassic Kedahda Formation), and massive greenstone (upper Mississippian to Permian Nakina Formation). To the east of the main mineralized zones, there is a quartz monzonitic phase of the batholith.
There are numerous spotty patches of molybdenite mineralization spread over the entire property. It generally occurs as coarse rosettes of molybdenite occurring both in quartz/calcite veins and along parallel, sheeted fracture surfaces. Sulphide minerals include pyrite and pyrrhotite with lesser chalcopyrite and very minor sphalerite. The attitude of the veins and/or fractures vary but most are steep to vertical and strike northeast.
The Canyon zone comprises the main showing and consists of numerous parallel to subparallel zones of molybdenite mineralization. The zone is up to 300 metres long, strikes roughly north, may be fault controlled, and has an average grade of 0.045 per cent molybdenum; its width is roughly 70 metres(Assessment Report 2519).
In 1968-69, the prospect was originally held jointly by Canyon City Explorations Ltd. and Northern Empire Mines Ltd. Archer Cathro and Associates Ltd. conducted an initial soil geochemical and prospecting program in 1969.
In 1970, both property interests were optioned to Newmont Mining Corp. of Canada. Newmont attempted to assess the grade of mineralization exposed in the gully wall and ultimately concluded that the property did not warrant further action; the claims were allowed to lapse. In 1973, the showing was restaked as the G.S.L. claim group by J.R. Lerner. The claims were kept in good standing but no work appears to have been done on the property. The claims lapsed in July 1978 after the Vol claim had been staked. In 1979-80, the Barham, Peak and Volcanic 9 claims were staked over the same ground on behalf of Placer Development Limited. In 1981, Placer Development Limited personnel conducted a geological, geochemical and geophysical exploration program over the claim group and two diamond-drill holes were drilled on the Barham claim; total combined length of the holes was 338 metres. A compass and chain 19 kilometre grid was constructed over the headwaters of the Volcanic Creek drainage. The grids were covered by a soil survey, and magnetometer and radem VLF geophysical surveys.
