The Wheelbarrow occurrence is located on the northern slopes of Mount Leonard, along Volcanic Creek, about 23 kilometres northeast of the community of Atlin.
The area is underlain by the Middle Jurassic Fourth of July Creek batholith (Three Sisters Plutonic Suite) which is a zoned, probably multiphase intrusion composed mainly of granodiorite, quartz monzonite and quartz diorite. The rocks display a relatively wide range of textural features, but medium and coarse crystalline textures prevail.
Predominant parts of the Wheelbarrow zone are concealed under a thick layer of overburden. The mineralization is hosted by a strongly fractured diorite which also displays distinct oxidation, localized silicification and limited development of quartz veins up to a stockwork pattern. The showing consists of several outcrops located on both sides of the upper part of Volcanic Creek. The mineralization is predominantly of a low-grade character and consists of disseminated pyrite, minor arsenopyrite, galena, sphalerite, and subordinate fracture-controlled chalcopyrite. Some milky quartz veins with abundant, semi-massive arsenopyrite and minor coarse crystalline wolframite occur nearby in float material; the location and strike of these veins are not known.
In late 2006, Saturn Minerals Inc. optioned the Wheelbarrow property and became the operator. During the early summer of 2007, Saturn Minerals conducted prospecting and rock sampling programs accompanied by lithological and structural observations. A total of 420 samples (including 98 chip samples taken from hand-trenched mineralized zones) were collected and analyzed. The rock sampling program was designed to test the character and grade of mineralization in several known showings and sites, as well as to prospect for extensions of the known zones and for completely new zones. The purpose of this extensive sampling program was also to select targets for subsequent mechanical trenching and, eventually, diamond drilling programs, both of which took place later on during the same field season. During mid- to late- summer 2007, Saturn conducted complementary soil, trenching and drilling programs. The soil sampling resulted in 74 soil samples taken in four distinct areas of the property. Excavator trenching resulted in 16 trenches and test pits totalling 315 metres in length. Approximately 150 rock samples from the trenches were sent for analysis. Nine diamond-drill holes were drilled to test the southern Big Canyon mineralized structure. The total length of the drillholes was 607.68 metres; 255 core samples were sent for analysis.
Global Drilling Solutions Inc. acquired the majority of the claims comprising the current Ruby Creek Project in the spring of 2016 from Adanac Moly Corporation. For the 2016 field season Global chose to target gold vein deposits structurally controlled by faulting within existing placer creeks with the main focus on Boulder Creek. In 2017, Global conducted geochemical sampling, drilling and ground geophysics on the Ruby Creek property. Rock sample 1532059 returned 1500 grams per tonne silver, 0.01 per cent copper, 4.54 per cent lead and 0.5 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 37171). In 2018, Global carried out further geochemical sampling and drilling on this property. It’s mentioned that the Ruby Creek property remains of high interest for not only gold/molybdenum but also for silver and copper based on the exploration work during 2017/2018 (Assessment Report 38256).
In 2020, Stuhini Exploration conducted mapping, prospection, ground geophysics and geochemical sampling on the Ruby Creek property. Several rock samples were collected in the vicinity of the Wheelbarrow occurrence, with the highest copper value returned being 0.35 per cent (Assessment Report 39374). In 2021, an airborne SkyTEM survey was conducted by Stuhini on the Ruby Creek property, which revealed a number of regional trends across the property.
