The Independence showing lies within the Barkerville Terrane of the Omineca Belt. The Barkerville Terrane is in thrust contact with Triassic Quesnel Terrane rocks to the west and Hadrynian to Lower Paleozoic Cariboo Terrane rocks to the east. The Barkerville Terrane in this region is underlain by the dominantly metasedimentary rocks of the Hadrynian to Lower Paleozoic Snowshoe Group. In this area the Snowshoe Group comprises limestone, phyllite and quartzite. These rocks have been regionally metamorphosed to greenschist facies.
The Independence workings are located 400 metres west of the Hard Cash adit (093H 052) on the north slope of Mount Proserpine, about 5.5 kilometres south of Barkerville.
The showing is underlain by grey micaceous quartzite and phyllite with lesser amounts of brown or green phyllite and minor limestone lenses. The earliest reports indicate the presence of two parallel, vertical, northwest striking quartz veins about 30 to 45 metres apart. The largest vein consists of banded quartz and schist over up to 9 metres in width. In 1918, a chip sample across 8.5 metres assayed 27.4 grams per tonne gold (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1918, page 133). Later reports indicate the presence of several smaller intersecting quartz veins. Mineralization consists of galena, arsenopyrite and pyrite.
In 1984, samples from holes drilled on the Bell structure assayed from 3.7 grams per tonne gold over 1.2 metres to 14.8 grams per tonne gold over 0.81 metre (Northern Miner - October 4, 1984).
The Independence claim (Lot 9563) was located by E.E. Armstrong in 1916 and since then has been extensively explored by drilling, trenching and 400 metres of underground drifting in two adits, the Bell and Newberry. Numerous small occurrences of A and B quartz veins have been reported over an area measuring 250 by 400 metres. In 1934, the Proserpine Syndicate incorporated as Proserpine Gold Mines Limited and did more surface and underground work, particularly in the Bell and Newberry adits. In 1955, the portals to the Bell and Newberry adits were caved and ice-filled. The Bell adit is reported to be 213 metres long in a southwesterly direction. The adit intersects two 2.4 metre veins which are both well mineralized; picked samples of pyrite from them reportedly assayed 113.4 grams per tonne gold (Bulletin 38). The portal of the Newberry adit is near the boundary of the Hard Cash claim (Lot 9564, 093H 052). The adit is 183 metres long and cuts two quartzose zones each about 9 metres wide locally well mineralized with pyrite.
During 2000 through 2008, Golden Cariboo Resources Ltd. completed programs of prospecting, geological mapping, geochemical (rock, soil, moss and stream sediment) sampling, ground magnetic and self potential surveys, trenching and 60 diamond drill holes, totalling 28,710.0 metres on the area as the Golden Cariboo property. A complete summary of exploration programs can be found at the Cariboo Hudson (MINFILE 093A 091) occurrence.
