The Prince John prospect is situated 1 kilometre west of the Bear River, 6 kilometres north-northeast of Stewart. This zone of low grade copper mineralization was explored between 1914 and 1923.
The mineralization is developed in Lower Jurassic Unuk River Formation (Hazelton Group) schistose greenstone and argillite (slate). These rocks, including the overlying sandstone and siltstone to the southwest, strike northwest and dip approximately 60 degrees southwest.
The mineralized zone, 12 metres wide, is adjacent to and parallels the footwall of a granodiorite dike probably related to the Eocene Hyder pluton (Coast Plutonic Complex). The dike is 14 metres wide, strikes northwest and dips steeply west. Mineralization consists of pyrite and chalcopyrite disseminations and lenticular stringers. These stringers parallel schistosity, which strikes north and dips steeply west.
Chip sampling across this zone in the upper adit averaged 2 per cent copper and 1.66 grams per tonne gold equivalent for combined gold and silver (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1918, page 76). The second adit, 45 metres below the upper adit, intersected a 1.2 metre wide vein. Samples from this vein assayed 13 grams per tonne gold equivalent for combined gold, silver and copper (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1922, page 76).
A thin bedded pyroclastic bed, lying 50 metres south of the upper adit, is mineralized with chalcopyrite. The bed is cut by a northeast striking fault which displays dextral strike-slip movement. A grab sample taken from this area assayed 0.45 gram per tonne gold, 5.14 grams per tonne silver and 2.18 per cent copper (Assessment Report 11175, page 12).
At lower elevations to the east, a 1.8 metre wide quartz vein is mineralized with pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite. The vein strikes northwest and is hosted in argillite (slate). A sample of heavily mineralized quartz assayed 9.54 grams per tonne gold (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1919, page 65).
In 1994, sampling of the upper adit area rockcut across 0.3 metre yielded 5.1 grams per tonne gold, 7.6 grams per tonne silver and 1.2 per cent copper (Assessment Report 23903).
The initial Prince John group of claims was located in 1911 and Crown granted in 1926. Initial work on Prince John No.2 (Lot 4388) included an upper adit and opencuts at about 730 metres elevation. Sampling suggested the mineralization comprised good copper values as well as gold and silver values over a width of 7.6 metres in the tunnel and over a length of 18.3 metres in the upper opencut. By 1918, the adit had been extended by Granby Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. Ltd. to 27.4 metres to disclose a 18.3 metre wide copper zone and two core holes were drilled but abandoned because of ground conditions. In 1918, sampling across the 13.7 metre mineral zone in the adit indicated an average 2 per cent copper plus $1.00 in gold plus silver. Native gold-bearing veins were also reported to have been discovered to the south of the adit. By 1920, the adit was driven to a total reported length of 56.4 metres. In 1923, a second adit was started below the first adit and driven a length of about 61 metres by year end. A 1.2 metre ‘ledge’ was intersected in this adit which reportedly assayed $8.00 in gold, silver, plus copper. In 1924, a trail was built from Bear River to the adits.
No further work was reported on the property until 1970. Echo Bay Mining Ltd. reportedly explored the surface trenches and mapped the adits in 1970. None of this work was recorded and it has been destroyed.
In 1986, several geochemical soil traverses were made over the property for Hi-Peg Resources Ltd.
In 1994, G.E.M. Resources Limited conducted work on the property which included several geochemical soil lines, some geological surface mapping, and the rehabilitation of the two adit portals. The caved upper adit was reopened, mapped and sampled, as was the upper adit trench. The lower adit portal was relocated and reopened. Geochemical and geological work was limited because of the late spring and extensive snow cover. A total of 61 soil and 3 silt samples were taken. The lower adit was left to drain because of deep water and prepared for future study. One large quartz breccia vein located west of the adit area was also mapped and sampled. A total of 29 rock samples were taken from the trench, adit, and quartz breccia vein.
No other significant work was conducted until 2006, when Teuton Resources conducted a helicopter-borne geophysical survey over the property, which detected several strong electromagnetic responses on the eastern edge of the claims, thought to be related to overburden effects along the Bear River Valley. The survey also detected some minor responses along a linear in the south-central portion of the property (Assessment Report 28409).
In 2010, 75 rock grab samples were taken along two traverses of the upper northwest and southwest slopes of the Bay Silver property. The 2010 grab sampling program over two parts of the Bay Silver property successfully defined local sporadic gold-arsenic anomalous rock, with peaks to 1245 parts per billion gold and 1.849 per cent arsenic. Results suggest that higher grade gold mineralization lies to the south (Assessment Report 32185).
In 2011, Decade Resources Ltd. completed a drilling program totalling eight drillholes to intersect below, northeast and southwest of exposed outcrops. The first hole was lost at 90.85 metres in strong copper mineralization. Highlights included 16.4 metres of 0.93 per cent copper and 1.09 grams per tonne gold in DDH-PJ-2011-2 (Press Release - April 27, 2012).
