The Ketchum occurrence is located about 1 kilometre east of American Creek and about 3.5 kilometres north of the confluence of American Creek with the Bear River, 22 kilometres north of Stewart.
The area is underlain by north trending, east dipping Lower Jurassic Unuk River Formation (Hazelton Group) sedimentary and volcanic rocks (Bulletin 58; 63).
A concordant, 0.6 to 1.2 metre wide vein strikes 310 degrees and dips 45 degrees east. Veins and stringers of quartz and calcite, mineralized with galena, sphalerite, tetrahedrite and minor pyrite, are hosted in sheared and brecciated argillite. The vein has been exposed over a length of 12.8 metres in a drift at the bottom of an inclined 16.5 metre long shaft, and over a length of 16.5 metres in a sublevel about 6 metres below the shaft collar. The sheared argillite is reported to be graphitic underground. A sample across the face in the southeastern drift assayed 0.7 gram per tonne gold, 1378 grams per tonne silver, 8.0 per cent zinc, 5.0 per cent lead and 0.2 per cent copper across 1.2 metres (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1936). Two other adits have also been reported at about 100 metres southeast and at 200 metres northwest of the workings.
The Ketchum (Lot 1075), Sunshine and Stop and Rest (Lot 1076) claims were recorded in 1905. During 1905-10, when the claims were referred to as the Kansas Group, stripping, opencutting and tunnelling were carried out. In 1914, about 9 tonnes of silver-lead ore were mined by a leasee. In 1915, three shipments comprising 17 tonnes of ore were made; a total of 31 grams of gold, 107,399 grams of silver and 7291 kilograms of lead were recovered. The claims lapsed and were redeemed several times during the ensuing years. In 1936, S. Deschamps leased the Ketchum and Stop and Rest claims. During 1936-37, several small shipments of ore totalling 32 tonnes produced 208,453 grams of silver, 93 grams of gold and 10,832 kilograms of lead. A composite(?) chip sample from one 4-tonne shipment assayed 1.0 gram per tonne gold, 11,040 grams per tonne silver, 26 per cent lead, 11 per cent zinc and 2.5 per cent copper (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1936). In 1990, a heli-borne VLF-EM and magnetometer survey over the Elk 1-2, Bunt 1-4 and Basin 1-4 claims was conducted on behalf of D. Cremonese (Amphora Resources). The survey included the area of the showing.
