The Joseph occurrence is situated in the northeastern headwaters of Joseph Creek, approximately 3 kilometres southeast of Axel Lake and 100 kilometres northeast of Kamloops.
The area is underlain by the Devonian to Permian Fennell Formation. The Lower (eastern) division is a heterogeneous assemblage of bedded chert, basalt, quartz-feldspar porphyry, conglomerate, sandstone, argillite, phyllite and limestone. These units occupy a westerly overturned syncline, which plunges shallowly to the north-northwest. To the east, separated by an east-dipping thrust fault, are metavolcanics of the Eagle Bay Formation. The Middle Cretaceous Baldy Batholith lies to the south.
The mineralized zone lies within a 75-metre wide sedimentary panel of argillite, chert and minor chert-pebble conglomerate. The sediments trend north-northwest, dip steeply west and are contained within an extensive basalt sequence. Deformation is intense, shown by gouge and brecciation within broader zones of cleavage and fracturing.
Stratabound mineralization occurs as irregular veins of galena, pyrite and minor sphalerite. The sulphides are associated with quartz and some carbonate or occur as nearly massive aggregates. The mineralization is fairly widespread but the most significant concentrations occur in an 8-metre wide zone.
In 1979, despite poor recovery, drilling intercepted a 3.3 metre section averaging 3.06 per cent lead, 0.25 per cent zinc and 65.0 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 13054).
In 1984, a drillhole intersected 9.2 metres of 2.39 per cent lead, 1.05 per cent zinc, 1.27 per cent barium, 0.014 per cent copper, 30.9 grams per tonne silver and 0.07 gram per tonne gold, within which occurred 2.7 metres of 9.2 per cent lead, 1.56 per cent zinc, 2.45 per cent barium, 0.02 per cent copper, 93.94 grams per tonne silver and 0.17 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 13045). A drillhole 210 metres to the northwest intersected 1.8 metres of 2.9 per cent lead, 0.45 per cent zinc and 26.06 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 13054). In 1988, drillhole 88-8 intersected 1.0 metre of 81.7 grams per tonne silver, 2.4 per cent lead and 3.8 per cent zinc and drillhole 88-12 intersected 104.2 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 18320).
Between 1979 and 1981, Craigmont Mines, in conjunction with Barriere Reef Resources, completed programs of geological mapping, electromagnetic surveying, geochemical sampling and eight diamond drill holes. In 1983 and 1984, Esso Resources completed programs of soil sampling, combined ground electromagnetic and magnetic surveys and two diamond drill holes, totalling 173.7 metres.
Goldspring Resources Limited staked the Foghorn claims over the area in 1987. In 1988, they carried out 1675.9 metres of NQ drilling in 15 diamond drill holes in the immediate vicinity of the Joseph occurrence.
In 2008 and 2009, Vendetta Mining completed programs of rock and soil sampling on the area as the Honeymoon project. Between 2010 and 2012, Black Mountain Mining prospected and soil sampled the area. In 2011, 1537 samples were collected over two large soil geochemistry grids chosen to test two targets identified by the Craigmont Mines airborne survey. In 2015, the Honeymoon property was reduced from 486.2 hectares to 96.5 hectares and a follow-up program to previous work consisted of a literature review and analyzing 27 sample pulps from the 2010 soil sampling program. In 2016, Vendetta Mining completed an 80-sample infill soil sampling program immediately to the north of the 1984 and 1988 drill holes.
