The Joyce occurrence is located about 35 kilometres southeast of the community of Dease Lake.
The area is underlain by Upper Triassic Stuhini Group rocks, mainly basalt, and an assemblage of Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks. This assemblage consists of grey and maroon plagioclase porphyry, andesite, volcanic conglomerate, tuffaceous mudstone, breccia, rhyolite, minor siltstone and shale. These rocks are intruded to the north by the Middle to Late Jurassic Snowdrift Creek pluton consisting of biotite-hornblende granodiorite.
The Joyce showing is composed of at least three discrete intrusive bodies separated by basaltic-andesite. Each intrusive body is unique and textural and mineralogical variations within the bodies are common. Molybdenum mineralization is found in equigranular, sugary-textured aplite, and in biotite porphyritic medium-grained granite. The mineralization is associated with multiple types of alteration, and in particular, with a high density of randomly oriented quartz veins. Up to 12 per cent disseminated and globs of molybdenite occur within quartz veins, but typically in only trace amounts. Pyrite, molybdenite and chalcopyrite was historically reported occurring as disseminations and found along fractures in biotitized granodiorite.
Alteration, which occurs in association with molybdenite, is variable but the rock weathers to a medium yellow colour and the feldspar is often completely replaced by clay minerals causing the rock to loose competency and to weather into yellow sand or well rounded soft boulders. Patches of pervasive silicification aid in locally maintaining the competency of rock outcrop.
In 1967-68, exploration was completed on the showing by United States Smelting, Refining and Mining Company. The work consisted of various geophysical surveys including induced polarization, followed by about 1890 metres of bulldozer trenching in 17 trenches, and 823 metres of diamond drilling in 10 holes.
In 2008, an extensive field program was conducted and included mapping, checking Regional Geochemical Survey (RGS) anomalies, prospecting, and evaluating MINFILE occurrences. Sixty-four rock and silt samples were collected for analysis.