The Jim May Creek placer gold occurrence is on Jim May Creek, a tributary of Tenakihi Creek, 55 kilometres northwest of the community of Germansen Landing.

Bedrock in the area consists of silicified quartz muscovite schists and quartz biotite schists of the Neoproterozoic Swannell Formation (Ingenika Group) cut by a number of small unmineralized quartz veins up to 0.5 metre in width and intruded by a small stock of granitic rock which is exposed in the creek for approximately 50 metres (Bulletin 1, page 30). The paystreak lies in gravels up to 3.6 metres above bedrock and appears to represent mainly re-sorted glacial debris.

Between 1881 and 1885, 871 grams of gold were recovered and between 1936 and 1940, 1866 grams were produced; total recorded production was 2737 grams (Bulletin 28). In 1939, a nugget weighing 58.3 grams was recovered from the workings (Bulletin 1, page 31).