The Spider 1 occurrence is located on the Spider No. 1 claim (Lot 4172) about 350 metres east of the northeastern end of Long Lake, 22 kilometres north of Stewart.

The area is underlain by northwest trending, massive augite porphyry flows of the Lower Jurassic Unuk River Formation (Hazelton Group). These form the crumpled core of the northwest trending, southeast plunging Spider anticline (Open File 1987-22). Previous workers mapped these rocks as a small stock of Tertiary (or older) augite diorite porphyry that is part of the Glacier Creek intrusions of the Coast Plutonic Complex (Bulletin 58; 63). The occurrence is near the contact with overlying slates of the Middle-Upper Jurassic Salmon River Formation (Hazelton Group). Mafic and felsic dikes of the Portland Canal dike swarm are conspicuous in the area.

The showing consists of a narrow quartz vein that occurs intermittently along a southeast trending fissure which is up to 3 metres wide. The fissure, dipping 55 degrees southwest, can be traced for about 135 metres in the augite porphyry flows but dies out in slates. The 5 to 60 centimetre wide quartz vein is weakly mineralized with galena and chalcopyrite.

In 1956, a chip(?) sample assayed 10.3 grams per tonne gold, 418.3 grams per tonne silver, 1.90 per cent lead and 0.12 per cent copper across a width of 0.46 metre; zinc was negligible (Property File - Plumb, 1956).

In 2019, samples from the Spider No. 1 occurrence yielded values of up to 5.39 grams per tonne gold, 2490 grams per tonne silver, 0.79 per cent copper, 3.83 per cent lead and 10.25 per cent zinc (Bravewolf Consulting [2020-07-17]: 2020 Technical (NI 43-101) Report on the Independence and Slippery Ian Properties).

Work History

The Spider Nos. 1-3 claims (Lots 4172-4174) were staked in 1918 by Hamilton and Larsen and optioned briefly the following year to Trites and Wood who carried out minor development work. In 1919, the Algunican Development Company optioned the property and commenced exploration work, mainly on the Spider No. 3 claim. The option was dropped in 1920. In 1925, B.C. Bonanza Mines Ltd. acquired the property; further work was conducted on the Spider No. 3 claim (104A 010). The property subsequently lapsed and was purchased by Collart in 1934. Leasees carried out high-grading operations on the Spider No. 3 claim during 1933-35. In 1956, Plumb examined and described the showing on the Spider No. 1 claim while investigating the adjacent M.J. claims. The Spider claims were held by Campbell in 1963. No further work has been reported on the property. In 2017, Richard Billingsley completed an airborne magnetic survey was survey on the area. In 2019, AUX Resources Corp. completed a program of prospecting, geological mapping and rock sampling on the area as the Independence and Slippery Ian properties.