The Toy prospect is located 4 kilometres northeast of Mount Jarvis near the Coquihalla Highway and 16 kilometres northeast of the community of Hope.
The Coquihalla Serpentine Belt forms a narrow, elongate, north-northwest trending, steeply dipping unit separating supracrustal rocks of the Lower-Middle Jurassic Ladner Group to the east, from the Permian-Jurassic Hozameen Complex in the west. Dark, highly sheared to massive serpentinite, of probable peridotite parentage, characterizes the belt, but it also contains substantial amounts of highly altered gabbro-diabase rocks.
The eastern margin of the serpentine belt is sharply delineated by the Hozameen fault. The western boundary is also represented by a major fracture, which appears to dip steeply east. This is termed the "West" Hozameen fault and the serpentinites in this vicinity contain highly sheared talcose rocks.
The "East" Hozameen fault separates the serpentinite from Ladner Group metasediments. The Ladner Group is comprised of a thick section of complexly folded black slate, cherts and intercalated basalts.
The serpentinite, derived from dunite to peridotite, has a complex association with diorite intrusions which occur as dike-like bodies within the ultramafic rocks. The contacts are commonly a locus of shearing. Details of the unsheared contact indicate a gradational change in mineralogy over a few centimetres. Carbonate is a common constituent in such localities, and occurs as stringers or disseminations throughout the rock. Tabular to lenticular, unaltered diorite blocks also occur in the serpentinite.
There are several narrow fault zones developed parallel to the north-northwest regional trend. Most faults developed along the diorite-serpentinite contact or the contact of the Coquihalla Serpentine Belt and the country rocks. It is thought that the consistency of the faulting indicates the mafic-ultramafic complex was emplaced as a solid state fault slice. Complex folding in the Ladner Group is not reflected in the ultramafic rocks so it appears the folding was prior to the ultramafic emplacement, thus the ultramafics appear to be younger than the hostrocks.
Mineralization in the ultramafics consists mainly of fine nickel-bearing sulphides with coarse phenocrysts of pyrite.
Sulphides associated with the diorite and ultramafics include fine disseminations of pyrite, pyrrhotite and trace chalcopyrite. Samples from the serpentinite averaged 0.18 to 0.24 per cent nickel. Petrographic studies indicate the nickel mineralization consists of disseminated pentlandite with rare millerite and heazlewoodite.
Secondary magnetite associated with the serpentinization is abundant. Just east of Serpentine Lake, magnetite blebs from 1 to 3 millimetres in diameter, range up to approximately 20 per cent. The average magnetite content in the serpentinite is approximately 5 per cent. In areas where there is a high percentage of magnetite, nickel sulphides are less common.
The serpentinite hosts between 0.011 to 0.015 per cent cobalt in the form of wairauite, a rare, naturally occurring cobalt-iron alloy. Chromium spinels also occur in the serpentinite but due to the intimate association of chromium with other minerals, metallurgic studies indicated magnetic separation was not possible (Assessment Report 12340).
In 1971, an airborne magnetic survey was completed on the area. The same year, Mountain Pass Mines completed a program of rock sampling on the area. In 1975, a program of trenching and geological mapping was completed on the area as the Toy claims. In 1976, Caroline Mines completed 4.0 line-kilometres of ground magnetic surveys on the area as the Lake 1-5 claims. During 1979 through 1984, Aquarius Resources completed programs of soil and rock sampling on the area as the Jessi and Toy claims. In 1987, Border Resources completed a program of geological mapping and rock sampling on the area.
In 1992, Border Resources Ltd. investigating various recovery processes for nickel. Flotation has been achieved with 77 per cent nickel recovery. However, very fine grinding and high depressant consumption resulted in this method being uneconomic. Bioleaching was investigated with 65 to 87 per cent nickel recovery in tests. However, sulphuric acid consumption was excessive. Heap leaching has been proposed as an economic alternative.
In 2000, the area was prospected and mapped as the Wendy claim by Hope Quarries. In 2000 and 2001, Hillsbar Gold completed a program of prospecting and geological mapping on the area as the Plat 2 claim. During 2008 through 2013, Almo Capital completed programs of rock and soil sampling on the area as the Serp 1 claim. In 2012, New Caroline Gold completed 434.4 line-kilometres of combined electromagnetic, magnetic and radiometric airborne geophysical surveys on the area.
