The Valparaiso (spelled Vallparaso in the Crown-grant listings) occurrences are located on Lots 4907 and 4908, just north of the steep headwaters of Ginol Creek and approximately 1.8 kilometres northwest of its mouth on Kootenay Lake.

The area in underlain by a lobe of the middle Cretaceous Bayonne Batholith near its contact with sediments of the middle Proterozoic Dutch Creek Formation (Purcell Supergroup), the upper Proterozoic Toby Formation (Windermere Supergroup) and the upper Proterozoic Horsethief Creek Group to the north and west.

The principal deposit is a persistent, quartz-filled fissure in the intrusive. Nowhere has the vein been traced into the sediments. In this locality, the batholith consists of biotite granite and granodiorite, locally altered to chlorite and sericite along the vein walls. The vein varies in width between 0.3 and 7.6 metres, averaging approximately 1.25 metres. The upper portion of the vein is oxidized and leached with coatings of limonite and kaolinite to a depth of at least 60 metres downdip. Mineralization consists of pyrite, arsenopyrite, wolframite, galena, sphalerite and chalcopyrite, in approximate order of abundance. The first three of these minerals occur together; wolframite and arsenopyrite tend to be restricted to the margins of the veins and occur in the sheared and altered footwall, or as ribbons near the vein margins. Gold and silver values are proportional to the amount of sulphides present, which occur as bands, blebs and disseminations in the quartz. A biotite lamprophyre dike is found adjacent to the Valparaiso vein.

The Valparaiso vein occupies a fault that strikes 350 degrees and dips 40 degrees east, parallel to the Sarah 2nd or Imperial vein (MINFILE 082FSE055) located 330 metres east and 200 metres above the Government shaft. Additional quartz veins have been reported between these two veins. The Valparaiso vein has been explored by 183 metres of drifting, an 82.5-metre long inclined shaft and a 16-metre raise by the Government workings, along with 200 metres of drifting, a 60-metre crosscut adit, 148.5 metres of crosscuts, a 22.5-metre raise and a 30-metre winze by the Valparaiso workings, and by pits, trenches and outcrop for approximately 650 metres to the north of the Valparaiso workings, for a total strike exposure of approximately 1000 metres. The north end of the Government drift is located approximately 75 metres south and 18 metres below the south end of the Valparaiso drift.

In 1926, grab samples from the south end of the Government drift yielded up to 19.8 grams per tonne gold and 554.0 grams per tonne silver (Property File - Northern Pacific Mines Ltd. [1964-05-20]: Report - Destiny Bay Properties). The following year, 11 channel samples from the north end of the Valparaiso drift yielded an average of 3.4 grams per tonne gold and 37.6 grams per tonne silver over a length of 37.5 metres and a width of 1.74 metres (Property File - Northern Pacific Mines Ltd. [1964-05-20]: Report - Destiny Bay Properties).

In 1933, sampling of the middle portion of the Government shaft yielded 18.7 and 14.0 grams per tonne gold with 175.1 and 140.2 grams per tonne silver over widths of 72.5 and 45 centimetres, respectively (Property File - Northern Pacific Mines Ltd. [1964-05-20]: Report - Destiny Bay Properties).

In 1956, 20 channel samples of the north end of the vein on the Government drift yielded a weighted average of 10.3 grams per tonne gold and 46.5 grams per tonne silver over a length of 30 metres and a width of 1.95 metres, whereas seven samples from the south end of the vein on the Government drift yielded a weighted average of 10.0 grams per tonne gold and 130.3 grams per tonne silver over a length of 33 metres and a width of 1.25 metres (Property File - D.R. Morgan [1984-07-10]: Mining Property Information - Valparaiso, Government). Another section, from approximately the middle of the Government drift, is reported to average approximately 10.3 grams per tonne gold and 68.4 grams per tonne silver over a length of 54 metres and width of 1.5 metres (Property File - D.R. Morgan [1984-07-10]: Mining Property Information - Valparaiso, Government).

In 1964, chip samples (A-9 and A-10) across 1.05 metres of quartz vein from the south end of the Government drift assayed 1.4 grams per tonne gold and 10.3 grams per tonne silver, whereas a 0.75-metre section of granite yielded 0.3 gram per tonne gold with tungsten values (Property File - Northern Pacific Mines Ltd. [1964-05-20]: Report - Destiny Bay Properties). Another chip sample (A-6) of massive quartz vein material, taken southeast of the Valparaiso portal, assayed 3.4 grams per tonne gold and 51.3 grams per tonne silver over 1.6 metres, whereas grab samples from the Valparaiso and Government dumps yielded 1.4 and 19.2 grams per tonne gold with 950.8 and 1262.0 grams per tonne silver, respectively (Property File - Northern Pacific Mines Ltd. [1964-05-20]: Report - Destiny Bay Properties).

In 1981, and indicated resource of 37 700 tonnes grading 104.2 grams per tonne silver and 8.75 grams per tonne gold was reported (Assessment Report 10811).

Shipments from this property were made in 1900 and 1901 by Valparaiso Gold Mining Co. Ltd. In 1933, a trial shipment of 293 tonnes assayed 11.7 grams per tonne gold and 120 grams per tonne silver (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1933, pages 239-240). In 1955, 483.5 tonnes was milled, yielding 5091 kilograms of concentrate averaging 5.57 per cent tungsten (Property File - D.R. Morgan [1984-07-10]: Mining Property Information - Valparaiso, Government).

The occurrence was originally discovered in the late 1890s, in conjunction with the Imperial (MINFILE 082FSE055) occurrence. In 1900, Valparaiso Gold Mining Co. acquired the claims and drove the Valparaiso crosscut adit for 60 metres. In 1919, Imperial Mines drove a 39-metre crosscut to the Imperial vein. In 1926, Associated Mining and Milling Co. acquired the property and cleaned out the workings over the next year. In 1928, Sanca Mines acquired the property. In 1932, a pole track tramway was constructed from the Valparaiso portal and a small, portable, gasoline-powered mill was installed. The following year, the Government shaft was sunk to a depth of 82.5 metres and approximately 180 metres of drifting and crosscuts was completed on the Government and Valparaiso workings.

In 1953, the claims were leased by Mr. Wilson and a 454.5-kilogram bulk sample was shipped. In 1954 and 1955, Akokli Tungsten Mine Limited completed programs of underground development, approximately 450 metres of exploratory percussion drilling and milled 483.5 tonnes of tungsten ore. In 1956, Palouse Co. Ltd. examined and sampled the area. In 1964, Northern Pacific Mines Ltd. examined the area as the Destiny Bay property.

During the early 1980s, the area was explored by Custom Mining Inc. Programs included geological mapping, geochemical sampling and diamond drilling. In the late 1980’s and early 1990s, Dobrana Resources completed programs of geochemical sampling and ground geophysical surveys.