The Charmer occurrence is located on a southwest-trending ridge of Iron Mountain, approximately 9 kilometres south-southeast of Merritt.

The area lies completely within the western belt of the Upper Triassic Nicola Group. This northeast-trending belt represents the youngest Nicola Group rocks (Norian) and consists of an east-facing sequence of calc-alkaline flows, partly subaerial, which grade upward into pyroclastic rocks, epiclastic sediments and limestone. Lithologies in the vicinity of the Charmer shaft are intercalated pink to brown dacitic to rhyolitic flows, breccias and tuffs, purple and green andesitic lapilli and ash tuffs and breccias, and dark grey-green porphyritic and amygdaloidal andesite. In thin section, tuffs and lapilli tuffs show secondary quartz, orthoclase and occasionally celsian (barium feldspar). Scattered Triassic diorite outcrops have also been identified. Regional fault systems defining the belts of the Nicola Group strike north to northeast. Several major shear zones on Iron Mountain trend northeast and northwest.

Near the Charmer shaft, lithologic contacts and primary flow structures indicate the volcanic rocks dip steeply eastward. Mineralization consists of fracture-controlled quartz veins with chalcopyrite, specularite, hematite and grey sulphides and are hosted in andesitic flows and basaltic andesite. Scattered stringers and blebs of chalcopyrite also occur in sheared lapilli tuffs, and to a lesser extent in overlying rhyolitic tuffs. Hematite occurs as veinlets in fractures and as blebs.

A number of trenches and three shafts expose quartz-specularite veins with malachite staining over a discontinuous strike length of 800 metres along a northwest trend. At the No. 1 and 2 shafts quartz-specularite veinlets with malachite are reported. At shaft No. 3, three quartz veins varying from 5 to 25 centimetres in width occur within a 2-metre-wide zone in basaltic andesite. The veins strike 160 degrees and dip 50 to 55 degrees west and are mineralized with chalcopyrite, malachite and grey sulphides. Specular hematite occurs in patches.

In 1976, a sample from a historical trench located on the Charmer occurrence area yielded 0.305 per cent copper, whereas samples from a historical shaft dump, located approximately 1 kilometres southeast of the No. 1 shaft yielded up to 0.185 per cent copper (Assessment Report 6248).

In 1981, a sample (SM-58) from a barite vein with malachite staining from the area of the Charmer occurrence assayed 0.105 per cent copper, 0.875 per cent zinc and greater than 1.00 per cent lead (Assessment Report 10114).

In 1984, sampling of trenches exposing quartz-hematite-chalcopyrite veins in a lithic lapilli tuff yielded values of up to 0.9 gram per tonne gold and 0.43 per cent copper (Assessment Report 12799). Also at this time, sampling of trench D, located northeast of the No. 1 shaft, yielded 64.5 grams per tonne silver over 6.0 metres, whereas a sample from trench A, located near shaft No. 2, yielded 0.253 per cent copper and 7.00 grams per tonne gold and sampling of trench M, located by the No. 3 shaft, yielded up to 0.250 per cent copper and 3.96 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 12860).

In 1986, a sample (STR-86-52R) from a 5-centimetre-wide mineralized quartz vein from the No. 3 shaft yielded 14.00 per cent copper, 25.0 grams per tonne silver and 4.1 grams per tonne gold, whereas a sample (STR-86-31R) taken approximately 1 kilometre southeast of the No. 1 shaft yielded 0.299 per cent copper (Assessment Report 16058).

In 1987, a sample (IM-8) from the No. 1 shaft assayed up to 0.64 grams per tonne gold, whereas a random dump sample (IM-1) from the No. 2 shaft assayed 2.35 grams per tonne gold and 1.8 per cent copper (Assessment Report 16817). A chip sample (IM-22) from the shaft No. 3 yielded 10.1 grams per tonne gold and 0.66 per cent copper over 1 metre, whereas a chip sample (IM-24) from a nearby pit yielded 9.8 grams per tonne gold and 1.39 per cent copper over 1 metre (Assessment Report 16817). Also at this time, trench E, located several hundred metres northeast of the No. 1 shaft, exposed a 10-centimetre-wide quartz vein mineralized with chalcopyrite and pyrite exhibiting malachite and azurite staining. A rock chip sample (IM-11) of vein material from the trench assayed 341.8 grams per tonne silver, 0.692 per cent copper, 0.131 per cent lead and 0.118 per cent zinc, whereas a 3-metre chip sample (IM-10) of silicified wallrock yielded 72.1 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 16817).

In 1988, a grab sample from the No. 3 (Victoria) shaft yielded 56.71 grams per tonne gold and 29.0 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 17721).

In 1989, a drillhole (IM-89-4) on the No. 3 shaft yielded 0.103 per cent copper over 19.5 metres, including 0.470 per cent copper, 23.2 grams per tonne silver and 0.76 gram per tonne gold over 1.5 metres (Assessment Report 18888).

In 2006, a chip sample (C504461) from the No. 2 shaft yielded 0.415 per cent copper (Assessment Report 28719).

In 2008, a chip sample from the area of the No. 3 (Victoria) shaft assayed 4 grams per tonne gold, 3 grams per tonne silver and 2.9 per cent copper over 1.2 metres (Sookochoff, L. (2019-08-14): Technical Report on the Comstock Property).

In 2015, a grab sample (no. 2) from the No. 3 (Victoria) shaft yielded 0.76 per cent copper, 19.5 grams per tonne silver and 7.48 grams per tonne gold, whereas a sample (no. 7) from the No. 2 (Island) shaft vein yielded 2.42 per cent copper and 0.141 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 35683).

In 2020, three samples (B829261, B829262 and B829266) from the Island adit area yielded from 1.90 to 3.10 per cent copper and 5.2 to 83 grams per tonne silver (Besserer, D. [2021-05-21]: NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Comstock Property, Nicola Valley, South-Central Interior of British Columbia).

Work History

In 1896, three shafts (No. 1 - Charmer, No. 2 - Islander and No. 3 - Victoria) were developed on the area. A fourth un-named shaft or adit is reported near a small lake, approximately 1 kilometre southeast of the No. 1 shaft.

The area has been explored in conjunction with the nearby Leadville (MINFILE 092ISE052) occurrence and a complete exploration history can be found there.