The Orn 3 occurrence is located at an elevation of approximately 1050 metres on the northwestern slopes of Mount Hall, approximately 2.8 kilometres south-southwest of Holland Lake.

Regionally, the area is underlain by gabbro sills (informally called the Mount Hall Gabbro) that are coeval with the Upper Triassic Karmutsen Formation (Vancouver Group). A west-trending horizon of sediments, approximately 125 metres thick, occurs along the northern flanks of Mount Hall and Coronation Mountain and is encompassed by the gabbro. These sediments, belonging to the Mississippian to Pennsylvanian Fourth Lake Formation (Buttle Lake Group), comprise siltstone, cherty siltstone and minor sandstone.

Gabbro to the north of the sediment horizon is divisible into medium- and coarse-grained horizons. The coarse-grained variety is approximately 30 metres thick with hornblende crystals up to 1 centimetre in length. This rock contains up to 15 per cent medium-grained magnetite, 5 per cent disseminated and fracture-filled pyrite and traces of chalcopyrite. The medium-grained magnetite is equigranular, massive and contains up to 5 per cent magnetite.

The gabbro is cut by abundant east-northeast to east-southeast–trending, vertical to north-dipping shears and quartz veins, up to 20 centimetres wide. Many of these structures are mineralized with pyrite and rarely chalcopyrite and contain anomalous levels of palladium (up to 0.18 gram per tonne), gold (up to 0.13 grams per tonne), silver (up to 6 grams per tonne) and copper (up to 1.03 per cent; Assessment Report 17351, page 27).

In 1987, a rock sample (7109) from a quartz vein hosting chalcopyrite and minor pyrite as irregular masses assayed 1.16 per cent copper, 5.6 grams per tonne silver and 0.15 gram per tonne gold, whereas a nearby sample (7111) of altered gabbro(?) hosting disseminations and streaks of pyrite yielded 0.86 per cent copper, 5.2 grams per tonne silver and 0.34 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 16289).

In 1988, a rock sample (20304) from a 0.12- to 0.20-metre wide quartz vein pyrite and masses of chalcopyrite assayed 1.03 per cent copper, 6.0 grams per tonne silver 0.020 per cent tungsten and 0.120 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 17351).

In 1990, a sample (LL-34) from a 20-centimetre wide quartz-rich oxide zone assayed 0.240 gram per tonne gold and 0.120 per cent copper (Assessment Report 20387).

In 2001, sampling of quartz veins yielded values up to 0.373 gram per tonne gold, 0.016 gram per tonne palladium, 6.6 grams per tonne silver and 1.304 per cent copper, and samples of thin pyrrhotite veins and disseminated sulphides in a magnetite layer of the gabbro assayed up to 0.334 gram per tonne gold, 0.068 gram per tonne palladium, 10.5 grams per tonne silver, 0.263 per cent copper, 0.5 per cent titanium and 0.046 per cent vanadium (Assessment Report 26632).

Work History

In 1986 and 1987, E.W. Hayes completed a program of geological mapping and rock and silt sampling on the area as the Orn 1-4 claims. During 1987 through 1990, Avondale Resources completed programs of geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling, geological mapping, and ground magnetic and electromagnetic surveys on the Orn claims.

During 2000 through 2002, the area was prospected and sampled by M. Schau as the Pie 1-4 claims.