The Hillcrest occurrence is located north of Long Creek, approximately 2 kilometre east of the Robertson River.
The area is underlain by Lower Jurassic Bonanza Group volcanics consisting of lava, tuff and breccia of mainly basaltic to rhyolitic composition. It contains occasional interbeds and sequences of marine argillite and greywacke. A stock of the Early to Middle Jurassic Island Plutonic Suite (formerly called the Island Intrusions) lies to the southwest of the showings. The volcanics have been intruded by dykes and irregularly shaped bodies of granodiorite, granite porphyry and diorite porphyry. Limestone, reported to occur as lenses and roof pendants in both the volcanics and the intrusive, is probably related to the Quatsino Formation, Vancouver Group.
Mineralization consists of magnetite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite occurring irregularly along the contact of a basalt (andesite?) flow and a fine-grained granodiorite intrusive. The area has been extensively trenched and skarn outcrops at a number of locations over an area 150 metre longs and 30 metres wide. The zone appears to trend in a northeast direction and granite dykes appear to cut the mineralization at several locations.
In 1956, W.E. Fraser completed a program of trenching, samping and several X-ray diamond drill holes. One hole yielded values of 2.60 per cent over 7 metres (White, 1966).
In 1968, Albeta Mines completed a two hole diamond drilling program. Hole 68-1 intersected 1.8 metres grading 1.4 per cent copper and 2.4 metres grading 2.7 per cent copper; while Hole 68-2 intersected 2.7 metres grading 0.8 per cent copper (Assessment Report 8209).
In 1980, Sonar Energy completed a program of rock and soil geochemical sampling and geological mapping on the Maxi claim. Assays yielded up to 2.18 per cent copper with 5.49 grams per tonne silver over 1 metre (Assessment Report 8209, page 8).
In 1981, Strata Energy completed a program of soil geochemical sampling and geological mapping. In 1986 and 1989, programs of ground geophysical surveys were completed. In 2006, the area was staked as the Stag claim and a program of geochemical sampling and prospecting was completed.
