The DL (DECEPTION LEDGE) Art-DL property is located approximately 75 kilometres northeast of 100 Mile House and 25 kilometres southeast of Boss Mountain molybdenum mine, in the south-central Cariboo region of BC, Canada. The property hosts two known occurrences of gold mineralization. The DL prospect is centred on an adit, which dates back to the 1880s. The Art showing is located approximately 2.8 kilometres to the west.

The key geological aspect of the Art and DL occurrences is that they cover a portion of the Eureka Thrust, a continental-scale fault between the Quesnel terrane, an Upper Triassic–Lower Jurassic volcanic island arc to the west, and the older continental shelf sediments composed of the Paleozoic Snowshoe Formation to the east. The Thunder Ridge prospect, located 1.5 kilometres to the south, is within the same geology; drilling has discovered multiple zones containing positive to significant gold. The geological setting of the DL prospect is also similar to the Spanish Mountain and Frasergold deposits, located 40 to 100 kilometres to the north.

The DL adit zone includes an historic 12 metre adit and several narrow trenches located on the north side of an east-flowing tributary of Deception Creek. The zone hosts a gently plunging saddle reef-style quartz vein in black graphitic, porphyroblastic or 'knotted’ phyllite. Numerous quartz veins occur that are structurally controlled and refolded, and a minimum of two generations of quartz and quartz-carbonate veins have been noted. Northwest of the adit, fine-grained dikes of possible latite to aplite composition contain pyrite, trace arsenopyrite and stibnite (arsenic and antimony sulphides, respectively).

Highlights of rock sampling of sulphide mineralized (pyrite, galena, tetrahedrite and chalcopyrite) quartz vein material around the old workings in 1987 included (Assessment Report 17646):

-REC 3: 1.22 grams per tonne gold and 620 grams per tonne silver

-REC 4: 3.23 grams per tonne gold and 31.2 grams per tonne silver

-REC 5: 2.58 grams per tonne gold and 3.3 grams per tonne silver

Sampling of the quartz-pyrite vein material from a trench above the adit (Sample DL92-DR1) in 1992 produced encouraging results including a 1.0 metre chip sample averaging 42.9 grams per tonne gold and 34.7 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 22460).

In 2008, the re-sampling of the 2001 drill holes in the DL showing area returned an intercept of 1.5 metres assaying 1.09 grams per tonne gold, encountered at the top of hole 01-AD-04, southwest of the DL adit. The three holes that were re-logged and sampled, 01-AD-04, -05 and -06, encountered ‘knotty’ phyllitic argillite, siltstone and sandstone cut by narrow quartz+/-pyrite veins and stockworks (Assessment Report 31184).

In 2010, drill hole GL-10-03 located south of the DL adit, returned 72.5 metres of 4 grams per tonne silver, including 20 metres of 8.5 grams per tonne silver and up to 0.28 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 32033).

WORK HISTORY

The first recorded work in the area was for E. Scholtes on his REC property in 1987. This included sampling around the old DL adit. Since then, the area has seen intermittent and generally localized exploration through prospecting and geochemical, geological and geophysical surveys. Mandalay Resources Corporation conducted a geological, geophysical and geochemical exploration program on the property in 1998. In 2001, Mandalay drilled 270.61 metres in three holes in the DL showing area.

Between 2005 and 2010, Happy Creek conducted systematic prospecting, rock, stream sediment and soil geochemical surveys, geological mapping and re-logging of 2001 drill core. Soil geochemical surveys and rock sampling have outlined multiple areas containing positive anomalies of silver +/- gold over a 2-kilometre distance. Five drill holes were completed by Happy Creek in 2010 that tested several geochemical anomalies, including ones beneath the DL adit. The drilling did not intersect significant gold values and the orientation and extent of the large gold-bearing quartz vein in the adit remains unknown. Several positive anomalies of up to 1.8 grams per tonne gold in soil also occur that require further investigation, and much of the property remains unexplored.

In 2010, Happy Creek Minerals conducted soil and rock sampling over the DL area, as well as 800.0 metres of NQ2 drilling in 5 holes (Assessment Report 32033).

In 2011, Happy Creek Minerals performed prospecting and rock, stream sediment and systematic soil geochemical surveys that expanded previous surveys covering portions of the Hen and Art-DL properties. In total, 708 soil, 20 stream sediment (silt) and 21 rock samples were collected. Rock samples contained from less than 0.01 to 1.04 grams per tonne gold, less than 0.01 to 17.7 grams per tonne silver and 0.00028 to 0.13 per cent copper. Soil samples returned values from trace to 0.1 gram per tonne gold, 2.1 grams per tonne silver, 0.048 per cent copper, 0.00169 per cent molybdenum and 0.0627 per cent zinc. Silt samples returned from trace to 0.03 gram per tonne gold, 0.6 gram per tonne silver, 0.0193 per cent copper, 0.00116 per cent molybdenum and 0.018 per cent zinc (V STOCKWATCH, February 13, 2012).

The 2018, 2019 and 2021 exploration programs over the Hen-Art DL properties by Happy Creek Minerals consisted of prospecting, silt sampling, rock sampling and geological mapping. A new zone (Crane) was identified in 2018, 2.5 kilometres north-northeast of the Art showing and 3.5 kilometres south of McNeil Lake. In 2022, Happy Creek Minerals ran a program of prospecting, rock sampling and stream sediment sampling over their Fox, Hen and Silverboss claims (Assessment Report 40847) and in 2023, a similar program was conducted over the Fox, Hen and Art-DL properties (Assessment Report 41811).