The Cayenne showing is located 5.5 kilometres northeast of the community of Hixon, near the confluence of Colgrove and Hixon creeks.
Regionally, the area contains elements of the Omineca Belt and the Quesnellia terrane. The two terrains are separated from each other by a fault that is probably the northern extension of the Eureka thrust. The area is largely covered by Pleistocene glacial and fluvioglacial deposits. The Quesnellia terrane consists of dark-grey, generally fine-grained argillaceous sedimentary rocks with interbedded basaltic volcanic rocks (generally altered). The Omineca Belt consists of quartz-bearing metasedimentary rocks that, in this area, probably form part of the Barkerville terrane.
The area is underlain by volcaniclastic rocks of the Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic Witch Lake Formation (Takla Group) and mudstone, siltstone, shale and fine clastic rocks of the Middle to Upper Triassic Takla Group. These are locally overlain by conglomerate and coarse clastic rocks of an un-named Oligocene to Pliocene formation. Basaltic volcanic rocks of the Triassic Nicola Group outcrop to the southeast.
Locally, a 0.6- to 1.2-metre-wide quartz vein and several smaller quartz stringers cut highly altered and weathered quartz sericite schist. Gold values have been reported from both the quartz veins and from the schist. The wallrock is quartz sericite schist and this would seem to indicate that this showing is underlain by the Barkerville terrane; however, due to the lack of detailed mapping in this area, it is not clear in which terrane the showing occurs.
In 1929, a grab sample assayed 8.22 grams per tonne gold and 13.71 grams per tonne silver (Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Annual Report 1929 p. 189).
In 1930, underground sampling yielded up to $82.80 dollars per tonne or 137 grams per tonne gold from the crosscut, whereas the average of 12 samples taken over an average length of 1.5 metres of the main tunnel yielded $14.56 or 24.1 grams per tonne gold (Property File - E.G. Davidson [1930-01-01]: Sketch Plan Map Showing Cayenne Group and Vancouver Gold Group of Mineral Claims - Hixon Creek). Also at this time, sampling of a quartz vein exposed in an opencut to the north, across Hixon Creek, yielded 3.6 grams per tonne gold (Property File - E.G. Davidson [1930-01-01]: Sketch Plan Map Showing Cayenne Group and Vancouver Gold Group of Mineral Claims - Hixon Creek).
In 1984, trenching on the Raven claim yielded up to 7.20 grams per tonne gold over a 5-metre interval (Northern Miner, June 7, 1984).
The area has been explored since the 1880s in conjunction with the nearby Quesnel Quartz (MINFILE 093G 015) past-producing mine. In 1918, the Belmont claim group consisted of the Mont Damon, Belmont, and Virginia claims, and was owned by Messrs. McLarty and Gillis. An adit was driven 41 metres. This same area was restaked as the Ceyanne group in 1926 by Messrs. Hahn and Strbac. In 1929, the Ceyanne group was optioned by Cariboo Lode Mines, Limited, and the existing adit was extended to 53 metres with an 8.1-metre crosscut. A number of shallow shafts are reported to north across Hixon Creek.
In the 1970s Bethlehem Copper carried out surface geochemical surveys and drilled four holes on the property. During 1980 through 1984, Taiga Consultants carried out geological, geochemical, geophysical surveys and trenching on behalf of Golden Rule Resources. In 1987 and 1988, Noranda Explorations examined the area and completed programs of diamond drilling and trenching.
In 2004, Cayenne Gold Mines Ltd. drilled three diamond drill holes, totalling of 273.4 metres. The holes were all drilled from the same site, located approximately 500 metre east of the Cayenne occurrence. All three diamond drill holes encountered a Tertiary chaotic conglomerate, a relatively little-known rock type in the area, for their entire length. Values in gold were not significant, with core/sludge samples containing up to 0.02 parts per million gold (Assessment Report 27776).
During 2012 through 2017, A. Justason and T. Hatton completed programs of prospecting, rock sampling and ground SP geophysical surveys on the area. Also, in 2017 and 2018, Standard Drilling and Engineering Ltd. completed an induced polarization survey and a LiDAR and ortho-imagery survey.
