The Sharp mercury showings are underlain by Upper Triassic Nicola Group volcanics and sediments. The volcanic assemblage consists of medium to dark green andesite flows, tuffs and breccias. The flows and tuffs are generally fine grained. The volcanics are generally chloritized with varying degrees of epidote alteration in the form of stringers and blebs. Nicola Group sediments comprise two distinct units: a grey, bedded limestone marked at bedding contacts by grey siltstone and shale beds; and a cherty siltstone with a variable calcareous component. Cretaceous or Tertiary felsic stocks intrude the Nicola rocks. The intrusions are medium to fine grained, pale pink to buff in colour, possibly granodioritic. Chlorite and clay alteration and pervasive weathering makes identification difficult. Hematite and limonite staining occurs in fractures in the intrusions.
Epigenetic pyrite occurs in quartz stringers throughout the Nicola volcanics. Dolomite-quartz-carbonate veins are prevalent in the volcanics. Limonite occurs within the veins and invades the country rock somewhat; hematite occurs on fracture surfaces. These veins may be genetically related to an intense quartz-carbonate alteration zone controlled by a Tertiary fault structure on the east side of the property. Within this zone an east-southeasterly trending shear zone contains anomalous arsenic and antimony concentrations.
Stibnite mineralization occurs in limonitic quartz-dolomite veins and stockwork hosted by a brecciated andesite flow. Stibnite heals brecciated wallrock and crosscuts dolomite veins. In general, the zone strikes northwesterly and can be traced for 120 metres in shallow old trenches. The dolomite hosts fine-grained pyrite and occasional pods of stibnite up to 15 centimetres long.
Pyrite and cinnabar mineralization occurs in silicified dolomite-calcite veins and breccias with hematite and limonite staining. Episodic silicification is evidenced by crosscutting features in the breccias. In 1929, V. Dolmage reported that small amounts of realgar, orpiment, azurite and malachite also occurs in the veins. In 1933, samples taken from new workings and sent to the Mines Branch in Ottawa contained small percentages of arsenic, sulphur, titanium, antimony, vanadium, and as high as 8.22 ounces per ton silver, but no mercury. Quicksilver or native mercury was reported from several workings and as high as 4.5 per cent mercury was found in places (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1933).
Apparently the first mineral claims in the area were staked as early as 1896 to cover cinnabar showings which were then worked up to the turn of the century. The area was restaked in 1929 by the Mercury Mining Syndicate of Vancouver which in the ensuing period up to 1935 carried out some exploration which included driving short adits, opencuts, a shallow shaft and sampling. Little work seems to have been done from the late 1930s until it was restaked in 1972 by Andex Mines Ltd. as the Split 1-40 claims. This company carried out an exploration program in that year consisting of geological mapping, geochemical soil sampling and drilling of one short hole; apparently the geochemical work yielded anomalous values in silver. In 1974 and 1975, the area was covered by the Horace and H claims which were staked specifically to cover the high silver geochemical anomaly outlined by the earlier Andex Mines work. In the early 1980s, renewed exploration was directed towards exploring the possibilities for epithermal precious metal deposits. In 1984, soil sampling and prospecting was carried out on the Jan claims by Placer Development Ltd. on behalf of Packard Resources Ltd. The Jan claims surround the original Cayuse claim where also in 1984, a magnetometer survey was completed over 5 kilometres, prospecting and rock and soil sampling performed by G.A. Medford on behalf of Packard Resources Ltd. In 1986, a soil sampling survey was completed on the Cayuse claim by G.A. Medford on behalf of Packard Resources Ltd. In 1987, geological mapping, rock, soil and heavy mineral sampling was carried out on behalf of Bu-Max Gold Corp. In 1989, work consisted of resampling isolated gold anomalies and geological observations by G.A. Medford on behalf of Bu-Max Gold Corp.
