The Illy occurrence is located along the west bank of the Illiance River, about 16 kilometres northeast of Alice Arm. A small amount of high grade silver-lead-zinc ore was packed out by horse to Alice Arm in 1919 and 1923 from these showings.
The region is underlain by Lower Jurassic Hazelton Group volcanics and sediments situated on the east limb of the north-northwest trending Mount McGuire anticline. These rocks have been regionally metamorphosed to greenschist facies.
The occurrence comprises numerous showings contained in a shear structure that strikes north-northwest for 1300 metres along the bank of the Illiance River. The Falcon occurrence (103P 142) to the north and the Grey Goose occurrence (103P 140) to the south are likely situated on extensions of this zone. The shear structure is developed in a sequence of volcanically derived red conglomerates, sandstones and siltstones with local interbeds of red and green volcanic breccias. The sediments and breccias are composed of fragments of andesitic crystal tuff and porphyritic andesite. Thin beds of argillite are locally interbedded with these rocks. They are all cut by the andesitic and lamprophyric dikes commonly found in this vicinity. A north trending, vertical to steeply dipping schistosity is developed in the sediments and volcanics. The rocks are bleached and altered to a light grey rhyolitic schist as a result of intense quartz-carbonate-sericite-pyrite alteration.
Mineralization, consisting of pyrite, galena and sphalerite, is found in a number of veins and zones scattered along the length of the shear structure. The Illy occurrence primarily comprises three zones, the United Metals, Horsecut and Silver Bar showings. Various other showings occur along the shear structure.
The United Metals showing, located on the south end of the shear structure, consists of stringers and near massive bands of sphalerite and galena. The bands are up to 1.5 metres wide and occur along shear planes in the light grey rhyolitic schist. A 1.5 metre chip sample contained trace gold, 764 grams per tonne silver, 11.60 per cent lead, 7.00 per cent zinc and 0.32 per cent copper (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1968, page 68). Results from 880 metres of diamond drilling in 15 holes encountered only narrow erratic sulphide zones at depth. In 1989, drillholes 89-1 and 89-2 were drilled to test what was thought to be a well mineralized section of the United Metals zone. Galena and sphalerite occurred in a number of narrow veinlets and as disseminations over short sections, but never in significant concentrations (Assessment Report 19459). In 2011, Bravo Gold Corp. conducted rock sampling on the United Metals zone and a 0.5 metre sample assayed 383 grams per tonne silver, 7.76 per cent lead and 26.67 per cent zinc (BC Mining Clipper - December 18-24, 2011).
In 2011, Bravo Gold Corp. drilled hole KN11-002 to test the silver-bearing vein exposed in the main trench as well as silver-bearing sphalerite-galena veins exposed along the Illiance River. The drillhole intercepted variable pale grey sericite/pyrite/carbonate altered volcaniclastics containing 2-7 per cent disseminated pyrite from 6.50 to 75.55 metres depth. With the exception of a few rare centimetre-size veins, sphalerite and galena mineralization was localized within grey sericite-pyrite-carbonate-silica alteration from 23.35 to 73.70 metres depth. Sphalerite and galena occur either as semi-massive to massive veins or as blebs and disseminations within quartz-carbonate veins and the surrounding silica altered and sheared host rock. A 2.75 metre intercept within this alteration zone assayed 318 grams per tonne silver along with 2.22 per cent lead and 6.54 per cent zinc. This area of sphalerite-galena mineralization underlies the sphalerite-galena mineralized veins sampled on surface (Assessment Report 33561).
Drilling on the Silver Bar showing encountered only narrow quartz-carbonate stringers and veins mineralized with pyrite, galena, sphalerite, tetrahedrite and chalcopyrite. The highest assay was 625.9 grams per tonne silver, 1.3 per cent lead and 1.64 per cent zinc over 1.0 metre (Assessment Report 10115, page 11). In 2011, Bravo Gold Corp. conducted rock sampling on the Silver Bar showing and results include a one metre true width sample that assayed 5227 grams per tonne silver, 4.67 per cent lead and 8.44 per cent zinc (BC Mining Clipper - December 18-24, 2011).
The Horsecut zone is a northerly trending quartz-carbonate vein exposed along a 23 metre trench. The vein is 1.2 metres wide and contains stringers of galena and sphalerite. This zone is similar to and is possibly the extension of the Silver Bar showing. A sample from across 0.5 metre assayed 1172.4 grams per tonne silver, 4.27 per cent lead and 5.35 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 10115, page 12). Drilling in 1967-68 beneath the trench intersected vein widths of 0.6 to 1.2 metres within a 4.5 to 12 metre core length of bleached schist.
In 1989, Great Northwest Resources Corp. conducted a diamond drilling program on three areas containing silver-lead-zinc mineralization (Horsecut zone, United Metals zone, and Grey Goose zone (103P 140)). A total of 684 metres were drilled in seven holes, two of which were short X-ray holes.
In 2011, Bravo Gold Corp. carried out a wide ranging exploration program over their large Kinskuch property which included reconnaissance mapping and sampling, soil sampling, channel sampling, and diamond drilling four holes totalling 855.87 metres. One drillhole was completed on the Silver Bar North showing (103P 044), one hole on the United Metals showing, and two holes on the Grey Goose showing (103P 140).
