The Gold Hill occurrence is located on Fortynine Creek, 16 kilometres southwest of Nelson. The area was initially explored in the 1890's. The old workings were re-opened in 1974.

The area is underlain by andesite, lapilli tuff (Unit Je8l), basalt flows, flow breccias and subvolcanic intrusions (Unit Je1) of the Lower Jurassic Elise Formation, Rossland Group intruded by lamprophyre dykes. The two units are separated by the Red Mountain normal fault. Foliation and shearing follow a general northwest trend. The sheared volcanic rocks are chloritic with lesser biotite and sericite.

Mineralization occurs in shears and quartz zones, associated with the margins of lamprophyre dykes, hosted in massive to schistose dark green augite porphyritic andesite. The veins generally parallel the strike and dip of the foliation in the schists. The three mineralized veins identified are strongly fault/shear controlled and contain erratic quartz-plagioclase pegmatitic lenses which host chalcopyrite, bornite, and arsenopyrite. Oxidized portions of the veins host malachite, azurite, and free gold. Historical sampling and mining activities indicate erratic gold values which are locally up to 65 grams per tonne, but appear to average about 10 grams. The gold is associated with about 60 grams per tonne silver and about 1.35 per cent copper.

The highest assay from exploration in 1984 was 207.4 grams per tonne gold, 168.315 grams per tonne silver and 4.24 per cent copper (Assessment Report 13878). A channel sample from trenching on the mineralized structure in 1988 assayed 25.1 grams per tonne gold (George Cross News Letter No.205, 1988).

In 1990, Formosa Resources Corp. completed an exploration program of reconnaissance geological prospecting, fill-in line cutting and magnetic and EM geophysical surveys.