The Maple Bay occurrence is located just east of Maple Bay on the east shore of Portland Canal, 55 kilometres south of Stewart and 12.5 kilometres west of Anyox.
The region is underlain by a roof pendant, consisting of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, within the Eocene Coast Plutonic Complex. These pendant rocks have been correlated with Middle-Upper Jurassic Hazelton Group rocks and overlying upper Middle to Upper Jurassic Bowser Lake Group sedimentary rocks (Geological Survey of Canada Open File 3453). The Hazelton rocks consist of variably chloritized pillow and massive andesite and basalt with minor mafic tuffs. The overlying Bowser Lake sediments consist of argillite, siltstone and sandstone with minor chert and limestone. There are two observable phases of folding in the area, an initial north-northeast trending phase followed by a later east-northeast trending phase.
The occurrence comprises five northeast trending quartz veins. The most important is the Princess vein, which strikes northeast and dips steeply to the southeast. The vein varies in width from less than 0.5 metre to over 2.4 metres and is hosted in a massive to slightly banded fine grained felsic tuff. The vein comprises fine grained milky white quartz and is mineralized with chalcopyrite, minor pyrrhotite and pyrite. Sulphides locally comprise up to 40 per cent of the vein (Pell, 1982). Locally, the vein becomes a quartz-chalcopyrite breccia. Assays of all samples from surface trenches average 2.06 per cent copper over an average width of 2.3 metres and a sample vein assayed 3.10 per cent copper over 2.4 metres in a drift (Assessment Report 5550, page 5).
Another quartz vein, varying from 1.2 to 3.7 metres in width, is located 400 metres to the northeast. This vein strikes northeast for 411 metres on the Princess Alice claim (Lot 498). It contains chalcopyrite mineralization and is likely an extension of the Princess vein.
The Gertie vein lies 207 metres along strike of the Princess vein to the southwest, and continues southwest for about 305 metres. This vein is also likely an extension of the Princess vein.
The Lizzie vein, which parallels the Gertie vein, occurs 340 metres to the southeast.
The Anaconda vein lies 120 metres northwest of, and is parallel to, the southern end of the Princess vein. It consists of quartz with chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and pyrite. Inferred reserves are estimated at 29,400 tonnes grading 2.04 per cent copper with traces of gold and silver over an average width of 2.4 metres (Property File - Sargent, 1942, page 4).
The Thistle vein occurs about 256 metres to the northwest of the Anaconda vein. It strikes 017 degrees for 180 metres, dips steeply to the west and is up to 7.6 metres wide. The vein is hosted in greenstone and consists of fine grained milky white quartz with minor disseminated chalcopyrite and a few chlorite stringers. The vein is estimated to average 3.3 per cent copper over a length of 183 metres and an average width of 4.0 metres (Assessment Report 5550).
The Princess vein has been sampled on surface by trenching and underground by drifting. A crosscut was driven in from the 571-metre level to the vein. The 571-metre crosscut proved that the vein persists over a vertical interval of 183 metres from the 731-metre level to the 548-metre level. The vein at the end of the crosscut was sampled in 1971 and showed an average grade of 3.10 per cent copper over 2.4 metres. A number of drillholes were put into this vein, intersecting it below the 731-metre level. The diamond drilling showed a very narrow width above the 731-metre level, but below that level three drillholes gave an average grade of 2.27 per cent copper over 1.5 metres of width (Assessment Report 5550). In 1996, propecting on the Maple Bay property was conducted on behalf of New Dolly Varden Mines Ltd.
In 2006, TA Minerals completed an airborne geophysical survey over the Maple Bay area. In 2010, a program of MMI soil sampling was completed on the area. In 2014, a program of geological mapping, geochemical (rock and soil) sampling and a 4.3 line-kilometre ground magnetometer survey were completed on the Coastal Copper claim. In 2018, Golden Opportunity Resources Corp. examined the area as the Maple Bay property. Samples from a spoil pile and outcrop near a snow-filled adit on the Princess vein system yielded values of up to 4.83 per cent copper and 18 grams per tonne silver, respectively (Wasteneys, H. (2018-09-28): NI 43-101 Technical Report - Maple Bay Property).