The Central Zone (Ernie Creek Canyon) is located on Ernie Creek, a tributary of East Lehto Creek, approximately 5.2 kilometres southeast of the confluence of East Letho Creek and Iskut River.

The area is underlain by Jurassic and older volcanics (rhyolite, andesite, dacite, basalt, breccia, tuff breccia) and sediments (greywacke, siltstone, conglomerate, marble/dolostone) cut by the Early Jurassic Lehto batholith (hornblende granodiorite, quartz monzonite, syenodiorite porphyry, syenite) and minor Quaternary–Miocene basalt and lamprophyre dikes. The volcanics and sediments are indurate and silicified with sericite-chlorite-clay secondary mineral assemblages. The older volcanics and sediment roof pendant is engulfed by the Lehto batholith felsic to intermediate intrusive.

Locally, pyrite-chalcopyrite-arsenopyrite mineralization occurs, typically associated with ferrocarbonate-quartz-potassium feldspar alteration, and rare quartz-carbonate-white mica. Mineralization occurs as, 0.1 to 4.0 metre wide, well mineralized quartz veins, and 0.5 to 15.0 metre wide weakly mineralized quartz breccia zones.

The BX-10 claim area was first examined in detail by Pamicon Developments Ltd. and Barytex Resources Corp. in 1987 and 1988. In 1990, Noranda Exploration Company Ltd. conducted geological, geochemical and geophysical surveys over the Ernie Creek area of the property and two diamond drill holes the following year.

In 1991, three out of twelve rock samples, taken by Noranda, returned assays of 50.7, 60.4 and 84.0 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 20845). Follow-up sampling by Goldrea Resoures Corp. returned up to 26.5 grams per tonne gold over 0.3 metre and 12.3 grams per tonne gold over 0.7 metre (Assessment Report 27241).

In 2006 and 2007, Hathor Exploration Ltd. completed a 7228.7 line-kilometre airborne geophysical survey on the area as the Jack and Snip claims of the Iskut project. In 2008, Max Minerals Ltd. examined the property.

A 2016 prospecting, rock and soil XRF sampling survey for DeCoors Mining Corp. on the Palm Springs property sampled the Ernie Creek Canyon area. Samples were obtained from quartz-sulphide veins that returned 20.8 grams per tonne of gold and over 3 per cent copper. The zone is a quartz sulphide zone that is oxidized to gossan on the surface (Assessment Report 36311).