The May & Jennie occurrence is situated at approximately 1371 metres elevation on the east side of Fortynine (Forty Nine) Creek, approximately 8.5 kilometres southwest of Nelson.
The property is underlain by Lower Jurassic Elise Formation (Rossland Group) augite basalt flows, flow breccias and pyroclastics previously mapped as the Beaver Mountain Formation. Locally, the volcanics have been intruded by dominantly fault-controlled, late-stage, biotite-rich lamprophyre dikes that are probably related to the nearby large granitic stocks and plugs of the Middle to Late Jurassic Nelson Intrusions.
The May & Jennie vein is located on the southwest slope of Forty Nine Creek valley. Development was carried out on this property between 1900 and 1905, consisting of 610 metres of underground workings. The workings are caved or flooded and the vein is now only exposed in adit No. 2.
The occurrence consists of quartz-pyrite vein mineralization, which is controlled by a major normal fault (the Red Mountain fault) striking 150 to 160 degrees and dipping 80 degrees east. The fault closely follows the trend of the local stratigraphy and schistosity and has numerous associated minor shears. The vein averages approximately 0.6 to 0.8 metre in width and has been traced for approximately 345 metres (although it might have a strike length of more than 700 metres) along strike on surface. The gangue consists of quartz with minor calcite mineralized by fine to medium-grained disseminated pyrite. Wider sections of the fault host massive pyrite with possibly some pyrrhotite and little or no quartz gangue. Locally, a quartz-pyrite–rich envelope extends into the footwall stratigraphy. Assays vary from 1 to approximately 36 grams gold. Free gold occurs in near-surface oxidized zones.
In 1900, the May & Jennie group—the May & Jennie, Red Top, Tip Top Fraction, Cold Bell and Golden Giant claims—was owned by A.H. Kelly. The May & Jennie (Lot 3943) claim was Crown granted to A.H. Kelly in 1900; the Golden Giant (Lot 4655), Gold Bell (Lot 4657) and Tip Top Fraction (Lot 4656) claims were Crown granted to Mr. Kelly in 1901.
The United Gold Fields of British Columbia Limited of London, England, optioned the property in 1900 and began a program of underground development. The No. 1 adit was driven 24 metres to the vein, and 175 metres of drifting was carried out. The No. 2 adit was driven 114 metres to the vein, and 198 metres of drifting was done. A 34-metre raise connected the two levels and a 30-metre raise was driven to the surface. In 1903, reserves were estimated at approximately 54 431 tonnes (60 000 short tons) above the No. 2 level. Extensive surface work was done on the Red Top claim in 1903, though the option was apparently abandoned that same year.
Construction of a 45.4-tonne mill was begun in 1904 by Reliance Gold Mining and Milling Company Limited, which was incorporated in March of that year. Underground workings reached a maximum depth of 71.63 metres, though very little development work was completed that year. Ore reserves were estimated at 72 574.8 tonnes. Once completed, the cyaniding plant proved to be inadequate and the mill operated for only a short period in 1906. The company charter was surrendered in 1914 and the mill was dismantled circa 1918.
Two adjacent claims—the Gold Note (Lot 616) and Giant Fraction (Lot 6449)—were Crown granted to A.H. Kelly in 1903 and 1907, respectively. The Gold Note and adjacent claims were owned during the period from 1919 to 1921 by Alex Long and Jeff Steele of Nelson; in 1921, the claim was part of the High Ore group. In the High Ore group, the veins were traced along strike for several hundred metres by a series of short adits and open cuts.
The May & Jennie claim was under lease for a short time in 1940 to C.H. Erickson and A. Olsen of Nelson; some work was reported in reopening the old adits.
Highland Star Mines Limited in August 1973 optioned the May & Jennie claim, the mineral leases covering the Golden Giant, Tip Top, Cold Bell, Giant Fr. and Cold Note claims, and the "49" Nos. 1 to 15 located claims from R.A. Sostad of Vancouver. Reserves were estimated at 72 574.8 tonnes (80 000 short tons), averaging 8.57 grams per tonne gold (indicated; Northern Miner, Feb. 28, 1974, p. 21).
The May & Jennie Crown grant and four reverted Crown grants, owned by Anne Kramer of West Vancouver, were acquired by Shackelton Petroleum Corporation circa 1980; the company name was changed to Europa Petroleum Limited in May 1983. No work was reported.
Between 1982 and 1986, McMahon Resources Limited conducted geochemical surveys over the 49 Creek claim group to the northeast in an attempt to locate the source of high-grade gold samples collected from the lower drainage of Fortynine Creek in 1970.
In May 1983, Player Petroleum Incorporated acquired the six claims comprising the property through separate transactions with Europa Petroleum and L. Leighton of Nelson. Austin Resources Incorporated reportedly carried out geochemical and geophysical surveys under a joint venture agreement early in 1984. The company name (Player) was changed in June 1984 to Player Resources Incorporated. Work at this time included magnetometer and electromagnetic surveys over 18.4 kilometres, geochemical surveys consisting of 709 soil and 64 rock samples, and trenching. An option to earn a 49 per cent interest was given to Yucana Resources Incorporated in 1985; drilling work was reported. In 1986, the option was given up and the property reverted to Europa Petroleum Limited. Aurora Gold Limited optioned the property in 1987.
In the 1980s, limited exploration was conducted on the Ron Gold claim group to the northwest of the May & Jennie workings. In 1985, property owners Eric and Jack Denny leased the Ron Gold claim group to Ryan Exploration Company Limited. Exploration that year consisted of geochemical rock and soil sampling. The following year, Ryan Exploration conducted a very low-frequency geophysical survey over the claim group.
By 1989, Pacific Sentinel Gold Corporation had acquired the area to the immediate east and north of the May & Jennie occurrence as part of their Great Western Star property. In the summer of 1989, Lloyd Geophysics Limited carried out geophysical surveys over the Ron and Toughnut grids to the north and east, respectively. In 1990, Pacific Sentinel Gold conducted a follow-up program of soil and rock sampling, trenching, geological mapping and geophysical surveying. Later that year, 26 NQ and NQ2 diamond drill holes totalling 5880 metres were completed. Drilling focused on the area to the north of the May & Jennie occurrence around the Star, Alma N. (MINFILE 082FSW083), Eureka (MINFILE 082FSW084) and Toughnut (MINFILE 082FSW294) occurrences.
In 2004, on behalf of owner Jack Denny, Klondike Gold Corporation conducted a geochemical sampling program over the Ron property to the northwest, later optioning it in 2008. An exploration program of limited geological mapping and prospecting and soil geochemical surveying was carried out on the eastern portion of the claim group. The Ron property was then acquired by Anglo Swiss Resources and amalgamated with the Kenville (MINFILE 082FSW086) property.
In 2009, on behalf of Anglo Swiss Resources, Equity Exploration Consultants Limited undertook an exploration program consisting of 680 line kilometres of airborne electromagnetic geophysical surveying, surface diamond drilling, and underground rehabilitation and drilling. Ten diamond drill holes were completed on the south side of Eagle Creek, approximately 700 metres south of the Kenville mine.
By 2010, the Kenville property had been expanded to include separate claim groups to the north and south. In 2010, on behalf of Anglo Swiss Resources, St. Pierre Geoconsulting Incorporated conducted airborne magnetic and electromagnetic geophysical surveys over the entire Nelson Mining Camp area. Soil sampling was conducted over the central Kenville claim block, though the majority of the sampling was conducted in the area of the Silver Lynx occurrence (MINFILE 082FSW378) to the south.
Chip sampling across intervals of the exposed vein assayed 0.96 gram per tonne gold across 0.41 metre to 33.1 grams per tonne gold across 0.66 metre (Assessment Report 14417).
