The Golden Sovereign occurrence is located approximately 900 metres east of the south end of Tule Lake and 4.5 kilometres northeast of Aspen Grove.

Regionally, the area is underlain by the Upper Triassic Nicola Group, which regionally consists of alkalic and calc-alkalic volcanics and intrusions of island arc origin, and which is the principal component of the Quesnel terrane in southern British Columbia (Geological Survey of Canada Maps 41-1989, 1713A). The area lies in the Central Belt or facies of the Nicola Group (after Preto, Bulletin 69). This belt of rocks mainly consists of subaerial and submarine, red or purple to green augite plagioclase porphyritic andesitic and basaltic flows, volcanic breccia and tuff, and minor argillites and limestone. The volcanics are intruded by bodies of comagmatic Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic diorite to monzonite. The area is characterized by long-lived, primarily north-striking faults and related fracturing, which originally controlled intrusion emplacement. East-striking faults are subordinate, and commonly offset intrusive contacts.

A gentle ridge, trending north-northwest and lying between Tule Lake and Quilchena Creek, is underlain by a sequence of green and red volcanic and laharic breccias, with minor thinly-bedded green tuff, of the Upper Triassic Nicola Group (Central Belt, Bulletin 69). The units strike northwest and dip 40 to 85 degrees southwest.

Copper mineralization is confined largely to one horizon of red breccia exposed near the crest of the ridge. The bed strikes 150 degrees, dips 60 degrees southwest, and is approximately 50 metres wide on surface. Mineralization consists primarily of disseminated flakes of chalcocite and minor chalcopyrite, occurring in a zone up to 40 metres wide, near the contact with underlying green breccia. The zone is exposed periodically over a strike length of up to 400 metres. Some chalcopyrite is present in the green breccia, where the red and green breccias are faulted against each other. Pyrite, bornite, azurite and wiry native copper are also reported.

In 1901, a chip sample is reported to have assayed 0.9 per cent copper, 0.7 gram per tonne gold and 10 grams per tonne silver over 4.6 metres (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1901, page 1180).

In 1913, a chip sample is reported to have assayed 0.25 per cent copper over 3.0 metres (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1913, page 222).

In 1990, three chip samples (27684 through 27686) taken from three separate shafts (No. 21, 20 and 22), separated over a strike length of approximately 70 metres, yielded from 0.485 to 0.855 per cent copper and 1.4 to 3.0 grams per tonne silver over 1.0 to 1.2 metre widths, whereas chip samples (27689 and 27688) from an adit (No. 19) and a nearby pit yielded 0.503 and 0.328 per cent copper over 2 and 4 metres, respectively (Property File - 861119).

A second, possibly parallel zone of mineralization, 50 metres wide, is exposed approximately 100 metres west of the north end of the previous zone. A bed of impure limestone, 50 metres wide, separates the two zones. Here, the breccia exhibits some greenish yellow epidote, and yellowish white serpentine. The mineralized zone contains veinlets of chalcocite and blebs and nuggets of native copper up to 22 kilograms in size . Abundant chalcocite and native copper are concentrated along one prominent shear zone, 0.15 to 1.0 metres wide, striking 050 degrees and dipping 75 to 90 degrees southeast. Malachite and minor azurite are developed along two intersecting sets of fractures in the vicinity of the shear.

Another zone of undescribed mineralization is reported approximately 750 metres northwest of the main occurrence.

Work History

The occurrence was periodically explored between 1900 and 1913 with the development of a vertical shaft and an inclined adit, which was driven towards the shaft from the west. Nine tonnes of ore grading 5.0 per cent copper were mined in 1916, likely from the high-grade shear zone on the Golden Sovereign claim (Lot 1528).

In 1979, Cominco Ltd. completed a 26.0 line-kilometre ground magnetic and induced polarization survey on the area as the Snowflake and Tule claim groups of the Grove property. Snowflake Mining Company Ltd. examined the occurrence in 1981. Several historical trenches were reported to have been developed on the occurrence by this time.

In 1984, Laramide Resources Ltd. completed a program of geological mapping, rock sampling and ground magnetic and induced polarization surveys on the area. In 1986, Lornex Mining Corp. Ltd. completed an induced polarization survey and six diamond drillholes, totalling 576.7 metres, on the Snowflake property.

In 1991, Northair Mines Ltd. completed a program of rock and soil sampling on the area as the Shear property. The following year, Placer Dome Inc. completed a program of geological mapping, trenching and soil sampling on the property. In 1993, Northair Mines Ltd. completed a further program of rock sampling on the property. In 1997, Christopher James Gold Corp. completed a program of geological mapping, geochemical (rock and soil) sampling and a 13.8 line-kilometre induced polarization survey on the area as the Big Kidd property.

In 2007, Etna Resources Inc. completed a 366 line-kilometre airborne geophysical survey on the area immediately north of the occurrence as the Aspen Grove property. In 2008, Christopher James Gold Corp. completed a 1113.5 line-kilometre airborne magnetic-radiometric survey on the Big Kidd property. In 2009, a further program of geological mapping, soil sampling and 48.8 line-kilometres of ground magnetic and induced polarization surveys were completed on the Aspen Grove property.

In 2011 and 2012, Xstrata Copper Canada Corp., on the behalf of Jiulian Resources Ltd., completed programs of prospecting, geochemical (rock and soil) sampling and a 56.8 line-kilometre induced polarization survey on the Big Kidd property.

In 2013, New Chris Minerals Ltd. completed a program of rock and soil sampling on the Aspen Grove property on behalf of Richard Billingsley. In 2017, Cazador Explorations Ltd. completed a 145.0 line-kilometre airborne magnetic survey on the property. Also at this time, Enduro Metals Corp. completed a program of photogeological structural (lineament) analysis and a 2.5 line-kilometre ground magnetic survey on the area immediately northeast of the occurrence.