The Kettle River placer deposit is located on the Kettle River just north of the Vernon-Edgewood highway, about 1.2 kilometres below the bridge and about 70 kilometres southeast of Vernon.

In 1877, gold was discovered at the headwaters of the Kettle River. In 1886, Hollingsworth and McMillan recorded a discovery claim on the Kettle River about 25 kilometres from Monashee Mountain. In 1931, "attractive values" came from the riverbank about 1.2 kilometres below the bridge. In 1933, 2 leases were staked by C.H. Martin, Frank Layman and associates. They conducted small hydraulic operations along the benches.

Bedrock in the area consists of granitic rocks of the Jurassic Nelson Intrusions.

A cut 38 metres long by 7.6 metres high uncovered some well- layered slightly cemented gravel for about 60 centimetres above the granite bedrock. This section was predicted to average 45 cents a cubic yard and contained nuggets up to $1.50. The gravel on and above the bedrock had all the appearances of an old channel.

Other test pits outlined an area 1.6 kilometres long and 800 metres wide on the east side. Above the road "encouraging prospects" were reported. About 3.2 kilometres below, in and at the mouth of the canyon, coarse gold values were mined.

The origin of most of this gold has been traced to the quartz veins found in the argillites on Monashee Mountain (082LSE010,022).

There is no record of how much placer gold was removed from the Kettle River.