The Clay property is located approximately 40 kilometres northeast of 100 Mile House, on a hill that rises to the west of the village of Eagle Creek, on the north shore of Canim Lake.
The property is underlain by greenstone, andesitic tuffs, breccias and limestones of the Upper Triassic Nicola Group. These rocks generally strike northerly with near vertical dips. The volcanic pile is intruded by dikes and stocks of varying composition, including granodiorite to diorite, monzonite, syenite and hornblendite. Noranda's mappers concluded that the gold-copper mineralization is mainly located proximal to the main diorite-monzonite stock and the limestone lenses, and that the mineralization appears to die out in the eastern portion of the property. Just west of the property the volcanic rocks are intruded by granodiorite of the Triassic to Jurassic Takomkane batholith.
The mineralization on the property consists of bornite, chalcocite, minor chalcopyrite and malachite, and occurs as blebs and fracture coatings commonly associated with pink calcite veining, hosted predominantly in hornblende-augite basalt breccia. This unit is proximal to a monzonite stock and is in contact with skarnified limestone and quartz-feldspar chlorite schist.
Study of thin and polished sections identified the minerals bornite, chalcocite, digenite, covellite replacing bornite, chalcopyrite, malachite and gold. Most of the gold was observed on grain boundaries between silicate-carbonate gangue minerals. Only 2.2 per cent of the gold is in contact with a copper mineral (digenite). Trace amounts of silver and mercury tellurides (hessite and coloradoite) are locally associated with bornite. Intimately associated with the sulphide mineralization is a zone of propylitic alteration related to the monzonite stock. Gangue minerals in the banded dark to light green rocks are abundant pyroxene, epidote and amphibole.
In 1978, prospectors Alfred and Clay Robinson discovered bornite-chalcopyrite bearing, epidote-altered volcanic breccia that locally assayed up to 102.9 grams per tonne gold and 25 per cent copper at the Knob showing, and staked the Clay property (Assessment Report 8410). Following trenching and prospecting by the original owners, Alclare Resources Incorporated was formed to manage and explore the area.
In 1982, following rock sampling and limited geophysical work, Alclare completed 11 diamond drill holes totalling 424 metres. Results included: 4.57 metres containing 0.13 per cent copper and 0.43 gram per tonne gold in hole 82-3, 3.0 metres grading 0.79 per cent copper, 1.73 grams per tonne gold and 9.43 grams per tonne silver in hole 82-4, 1.83
metres containing 0.93 per cent copper, 3.1 grams per tonne gold and 12.34 grams per tonne silver, including 0.64 metre grading 2.19 per cent copper, 6.14 grams per tonne gold and 28.11 grams per tonne silver in hole 82-5 (Assessment Report 11055).
In 1984, Noranda optioned the Clay property, renamed it the Hawkins Lake property, and conducted soil geochemistry, geological mapping, geophysical surveys, machine trenching and drilled four diamond- drill holes totalling 397 metres on and around the Knob showing. Drilling of an induced polarization anomaly yielded 0.122 per cent copper, 0.22 gram per tonne gold and 1.87 grams per tonne silver over 19.66 metres of epidote-altered hornblende-augite basalt and breccia (Lane, B. (2009-05-29): Summary Report on the Hawk Porphyry Copper-Gold Project).
In 1988, Sheba Copper Mines Ltd optioned the property. In 1990, the property was optioned by Princeton Mining, who extended the Noranda soil grid. Rock sampling of one surface exposure returned 34,924 parts per million copper, 7297 parts per billion gold and 46.5 parts per million silver over 1.0 metre (Assessment Report 20469).
By 1993, the Clay property had been reduced to eight units centred on the Knob showing. Soil geochemistry was done on the property in 1994 by D.W. Ridley, but no new mineralization was discovered.
In 2004, Happy Creek Minerals Ltd. staked the Hawk property and completed a program of prospecting, rock sampling and mapping.
In 2007, Happy Creek Minerals Ltd. optioned the adjacent Grey property and completed programs of soil sampling, magnetic geophysical surveys and three short reconnaissance drillholes on the combined properties. Drilling yielded up to 0.093 per cent copper and 0.134 gram per tonne gold over 9.15 metres and 0.118 per cent copper over 3.05 metres in hole 07H-2, while rock samples yielded up to 2.1 per cent copper and 2.380 grams per tonne gold (Lane, B. (2009-05-29): Summary Report on the Hawk Porphyry Copper-Gold Project).
In 2010, two diamond drillholes, totaling 995.16 metres, were completed on a previously identified IP chargeability and geochemical anomaly by Happy Creek Minerals Ltd. Drilling encountered moderate to strong pyrite mineralization, up to 5 or 10 per cent locally, with trace disseminated chalcopyrite and bornite in both holes. One sample assayed 0.09 per cent copper, with other samples assaying less than 0.05 per cent copper (Assessment Report 32422).
In 2011, Happy Creek Minerals Ltd. completed rock sampling, producing sample HK11DR-3, which assayed 1.64 per cent copper, 4.08 grams per tonne silver, 1.18 grams per tonne gold, 0.024 grams per tonne palladium and 0.189 grams per tonne platinum (Press Release, Happy Creek Minerals Ltd., March 1, 2012).
In 2012, Happy Creek Minerals Ltd. conducted mechanical trenching to test the areas of previous surface sampling. Highlights include trench HK12-T5, which assayed 0.76 per cent copper, 2.09 grams per tonne gold and 8.64 grams per tonne silver over 5 metres (Press Release, Happy Creek Minerals Ltd., October 11, 2012).
