The South King showing is located on Lewis Creek, approximately 30 kilometres northeast of Kimberley and 1.8 kilometres northeast of the old Estella mine (082GNW008) which produced between 1951 and 1967.
The South King occurrence is mainly underlain by Helikian quartzite, dolomite, siltstone, and argillite of the lower Purcell Group (Aldridge Formation). Purcell Group sills and dykes intrude the sedimentary rocks locally. The sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the region trend northerly and dip to the west. They are part of the eastern limb of a large open and recumbent anticline.
Quartz veins locally intrude all rocks of the region. Some are emplaced along shear zones. They generally dip steeply and have random orientations. They are up to 1.5 metres wide and locally contain galena, pyrite, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite as disseminations or patches making up as much as 5 per cent of the rock volume. The veins are mainly short, discontinuous, and up to a few centimetres across.
The highest assay values were returned from randomly oriented quartz veins in quartzite up to 44 centimetres wide, exposed for a few metres along strike. Sample SK-97 returned 391 grams per tonne silver, 2.94 per cent lead, 0.227 per cent zinc, and slightly anomalous gold (Assessment Report 16337). Another vein, 30 centimetres wide, was located 750 metres south of this showing. A grab sample returned the only significant gold value of 1.2 grams per tonne (Assessment Report 16337).
WORK HISTORY
In 1987, Bakra Resources collected 104 rock samples and 895 soil samples for analysis on their South King project (Assessment Report 16337). Geophysical work included a 16.2-kilometre ground HLEM survey and a 50.8-kilometre ground magnetic survey. The soil samples were reported to contain anomalously high concentrations of gold, lead, zinc, arsenic, and silver. The soil anomalies were up to 450 metres wide and 1100 metres long, and trend northerly, reflecting the strike of the underlying sedimentary rock units. The soil grid covering the South King area stretched from the Estella mine area (082GNW008), some 1.9 kilometre north, almost to the Emily-Tiger Crown grants (082GNW045).
Later exploration in the vicinity of the Estella was focused on finding similar deposits, though some work was done looking for sedimentary exhalative deposits. In the early 1990s Cominco Ltd (Assessment Reports 20175, 20554, 21935) did extensive ground and airborne geophysics as well as soil and rock geochemistry and diamond drilling near the Estella deposit.
In 1990/91 Cominco conducted geochemistry work consisted of soil sampling on a grid over the Lewis Creek valley northeast of the Estella occurrence, and the ridge to the west (Assessment Report 21935). Estella and the crown-granted area was not covered, although the South King showing (082GNW038) was covered and the north part of the soil grid covered the Wanda B (082GNW046) and Emily-Tiger (082GNW045) crown-grants and mineral occurrences. In all 32-line kilometres of sampling was done and some 741 soils samples were collected. Also 22.8 kilometres of ground UTEM geophysics was completed, and 708 metres of diamond-drilling was done in 1 NQ drillhole (E91-4) was collared at 5517080N, 600920E a few hundred metres southeast of Wanda B (082GNW046). Drilling was initiated to evaluate a 3.5-kilometre-long EM conductor. Nothing of any economic interest was intersected. Soil geochemistry found no anomaly indicative of any significant lead-zinc or gold mineralization. Drillholes E90-3 was drill about 1.6 kilometres northwest of Estella and 1.5 kilometres west-southwest of South King (082GNW038) (Assessment Report 20841). Mineralization was not considered significant.
Placer Dome Ltd. worked on what are now part of the Rockies block claims in the upper Wild Horse drainage and in Tackle Creek (Assessment Reports 18159 and 20202). Their work consisted of geologic mapping, soil and rock geochemistry, ground geophysics and diamond drilling. INCO, Mercury Explorations Ltd., National Gold Ltd., and Chapleau Resources Ltd. have done small programs on the Jacleg portion of the Rockies block claims. Ruby Red Resources Inc. worked on parts of the Rockies block of claims since 2002; this work included surface geologic mapping, rock and soil geochemistry and ground geophysics (Assessment Reports 26905, 28643, 29808).
In 2002, National Gold Corp and Super Group Holdings Ltd conducted a rock geochemistry program on their Tac Property, extending from the Estella Crown-grants northwest, almost to the Emily-Tiger, Wanda B and Golden Fleece group of Crown-grant claims. The Tac claims covered the South King occurrence. Seventy-nine rock samples were collected; samples from the Estella Stock ran high in gold (Assessment Report 26983).
During 2005 through 2009, Ruby Red Resources Inc. completed programs of rock and soil sampling, geological mapping, trenching and a 4.5 line-kilometre ground electromagnetic (VLF) survey on the area (Assessment Reports 28235, 28268, 28643, 29808, 30695).
In 2008, Ruby Red Resources Inc. collected 890 soil samples and 22 rock samples over their Loose Leg property which covered the Golden Fleece, Emily-Tiger, and South King mineral occurrences (Assessment Report 30695). These soils were intended to help delineate an area of anomalous soils previously indicated by the work of Bakra Resources (Assessment Report 16337). A widespread multi-element anomaly was delineated by the 2008 soil geochemistry program. The grid covered a similar area as the 1990/91 soil grid but was bound on the east by Lewis Creek and not quite so far north as Golden Fleece (082GNW035), Emily-Tiger (082GNW045), and Wanda B (082GNW046). The south end of the soil grid was almost a kilometre north of the Estella occurrence.
In 2010 and 2011, the area was explored as a part of the Dewdney Trail Gold project of PJX Resources Inc (Assessment Report 33811).
In 2015 to 2019, PJX Resources Inc. conducted geological mapping and rock geochemistry sampling on the Dewdney Trail Property (Assessment Reports 36112, 36649, 38859).
Refer to Emily-Tiger (082GNW045) and Estella (082GNW008) for more details.
