The Pathfinder occurrence is situated 1.5 kilometres east of the Granby River, approximately 22 kilometres northeast of Greenwood.
The Pathfinder property is situated within a belt of Devonian to Permian rocks immediately west of the fault contact with a Proterozoic gneiss complex (Grand Forks Gneiss). The northerly trending Granby River Fault is inferred to be the eastern margin of the Republic Graben, a fault-bounded package of rocks that extends north from Washington State. The Paleozoic rocks consist primarily of greenstone, chert and argillite and limestone of the Knob Hill Group. Undivided sedimentary rocks of the Triassic Brooklyn Formation underlie the area just south of the prospect. Intruding the stratigraphy are granitic plutons of the Jurassic Nelson Batholith and dikes, sills and intrusions of the Eocene Coryell Plutonic Suite, which are syenitic to monzonitic in composition.
The Pathfinder deposit consists of four parallel veins cutting the sedimentary rocks of the Knob Hill Group, which are here intruded by dikes. The veins, from 2.4 to 6.4 metres in width, are mineralized with pyrrhotite, pyrite and chalcopyrite in a highly siliceous gangue. The mineralization is considered to occur partially as a replacement of the enclosing sedimentary rocks. Some reports indicate that crude banding was observed in the Pathfinder zone sulphides. Evidence indicates the Pathfinder showing is spatially related to the contact zones of the Coryell Intrusions and likely formed as hydrothermal replacements and fracture fillings in the sheared hostrocks.
From 1899 to 1916, 239 tonnes of ore were shipped from the Pathfinder claim. From this ore, 746 grams of gold, 4043 grams of silver and 2330 kilograms of copper were recovered.
The Pathfinder claim (Lot 782) was located by Messrs. Parkinson and Pfeifer in 1895 and Crown granted to the Pathfinder Mining, Reduction and Investment Company Ltd. in 1897. Early development work to 1916 consisted of three shafts totalling 103 metres, interconnected by some 244 metres of crosscuts and drifts.
In 1917, a new company, Pathfinder Consolidated Mining Company, was formed to work the Pathfinder and Little Bertha (MINFILE 082ESE074) claims; the Iron Bell and Derby claims were subsequently added to the company holdings. Intermittent work by the company was confined to the Little Bertha claim, where a crosscut adit was begun in 1919; by 1932, the adit had been extended to 1000 feet. Leasers worked the Little Bertha claim from 1937 to 1939.
Exploration in the 1960s by Hecla Mining Co. and Alwin Mining Co. consisted of trenching, reopening adits and completing at least 12 diamond drill holes (Alwin). Only passing reference to this work is reported.
In 1980, Aries Resources Inc. optioned the property and conducted exploration around the main workings at Pathfinder, Diamond Hitch and Little Bertha. Three short holes were drilled on the Little Bertha vein zone with limited success. In 1980, Dolmage, Campbell and Associate conducted geological mapping between Pathfinder and Hornet creeks.
Nu-Lady Gold Mines Ltd. optioned the property in 1983. Exploration between 1983 and 1985 focused on the sulphide-rich mineralized zones at Diamond Hitch (1983 to 1984) and Pathfinder (1985) and consisted mainly of shallow diamond drilling. Five of the seven holes drilled on the Diamond Hitch were closely spaced over a 50-metre strike length.
From 1987 to 1988, an exploration program by Ber Resources Ltd. was followed up with magnetic, very low-frequency electromagnetic, soil and geological surveys and further trenching. This work was mainly in the eastern property area on the Pathfinder trend.
Two programs were completed on the property by Niagara Developments in 1992 and 1994. The earlier work consisted of a very low-frequency electromagnetic survey in the Little Bertha area. The latter featured a fairly detailed ground magnetic survey over the eastern Pathfinder trend.
Cassidy Gold Corp. held an option on the Pathfinder property between 1996 and 1999. Much of Cassidy’s exploration effort focused on the area between the Little Bertha and Pathfinder workings. The primary target was high-grade gold (silver)-bearing mesothermal quartz veins similar to the Little Bertha. Massive sulphide and skarn zones were secondary targets. Exploration in 1996 consisted of grid preparation, soil and rock sampling, geological mapping and grid geophysical surveys (magnetic, very low-frequency electromagnetic, induced polarization). Cassidy dropped the option in 1999.
In 2000, Conlon Resources Corp. explored the property through grid preparation, soil geochemical surveying, geological mapping, prospecting and sampling, mainly in the new Pathfinder grid area.
In 2008, Kingsman Resources Inc. sampled from 11 trenches in the Pathfinder zone. Significant results include 5.3 grams per tonne gold and 2881 parts per million over 11.7 metres in trench TRPF08-5, within which narrow higher grade intervals include 14.9 grams per tonne gold and 1.18 per cent copper over 1 metre. Trenching generally indicates a close correlation between gold and copper (Assessment Report 30500).
In October 2008, Kingsman Resources Inc. drilled 11 diamond drill holes totalling 871.12 metres, exploring mineralization exposed in trenches. Drilling encountered lower gold grades than what was found in trenches but did find broad zones of gold mineralization. Such zones are structurally controlled as opposed to stratabound and are spatially related to granodiorite and feldspar porphyry. The best results include 1.02 grams per tonne gold, 8.8 parts per million silver and 3162 parts per million copper over 17.04 metres in drillhole PF08-1, including a massive sulphide lens grading 3.89 grams per tonne gold, 35 parts per million silver and12 560 parts per million copper over 2.9 metres. Gold and copper are strongly correlated (Assessment Report 31006).
In 2009, the property was examined by Drs. Gerry Ray and Bob Thompson, who suggested a high potential for Rossland-style gold-silver-copper mineralization based on several geological similarities (Press Release, Kingsman Resources Inc., February 17, 2010).
