The Sweepstake vein is exposed by open cuts at intervals of 15 metres, from 925 to 1050 metres elevation on the east side of Taku Arm, north of the Engineer workings and south of Hope Creek.

The vein, up to 7.6 metres wide, strikes 160 degrees and dips west. The vein cuts Lower Jurassic Laberge Group slates. At 1050 metres elevation an adit is driven on a cross-vein, 0.3 metre wide, which strikes 055 degrees. Free gold is reported from both veins.

Work History

Seven claims and fractions, the Sweepstake 1-6 and Golden Hope, were owned in 1918 by John Dunham and B.J. Nichol. Work to that date had been done in open cuts and a 10.7 metre adit. The Sweepstake 1-3 claims (Lots 3283-3285) were Crown granted to the above owners in 1919. Sweepstakes Mining Corporation, of Delaware, held the property in 1927; the Sweepstake 4-6 claims (Lots 4672-4674) were Crown-granted to the company during the year.

In 2006, a total of 101 rock chip samples and 154 soil samples were collected between the Gold Hill (Happy Sullivan (104M 0013)) prospect and the re-discovered Sweepstake prospect by Guardsmen Resources. A geochemical survey was conducted to locate and sample the historical Sweepstake workings, soil sample and prospect the B Shear and further sample the Happy Sullivan workings. The survey was successful in both demonstrating the Sweepstake and Happy Sullivan are epithermal features, are both located on the same shear structure and, in addition to the shear, contain anomalous to low grade gold and silver surrounded by highly anomalous arsenic. The bulk of the soil samples were mostly concentrated along the B-Shear trend.

In 2006, Guardsmen rediscovered two old hand dug trenches at the Sweepstake beneath a thick canopy of Tag Alder growth within 75 metres easterly of an old cabin. The two hand dug trenches expose a quartz-argillite breccia within pyrite altered argillite. In the southern most trench, there is a 1 metre wide quartz vein within a 10 metre wide altered argillite zone. Chip samples collected showed only anomalous gold and silver accompanied by highly anomalous arsenic and antimony (Assessment Report 29921). A sample yielded highly anomalous arsenic (0.17 per cent), antimony (81 parts per million) and 1.03 grams per tonne gold over 1 metre (Assessment Report 29921).

In 2010 BCGOLD CORP acquired the Happy Sullivan (Gold Hill) and Sweepstake prospects. They had already acquired the Engineer crown grants in 2007. No work was reported on the Happy Sullivan and Sweepstake through to and including 2013, though the Engineer mine area was being explored and rehabilitated at the time by BC GOLD.

Refer to Happy Sullivan (104M 013) for related details of a common work history from 2001. Also refer to Engineer (104M 014) for related are details.