The Snowy Creek (Rich Vein) occurrence is located at an elevation of approximately 1120 metres on a south to south-southwest–facing slope, north of Snowy Creek and approximately 93 kilometres north of the community of Dease Lake.

Regionally, the area is underlain by basaltic volcanic rocks of the Pennsylvanian to Permian Slide Mountain Complex.

Locally, greenstones (altered basalt) are cut by two quartz-carbonate alteration zones, 50 and 40 metres wide, containing subparallel quartz veins. The upper zone contains six northeast-striking quartz veins, from 0.1 to 1.2 metres wide. Native gold is reported in oxidized pyritic material. The lower zone contains nine quartz veins 0.3 to 0.5 metre wide and several stringers striking approximately parallel to the upper zone veins.

An adit and drift, referred to as the Hoag tunnel, are reported near the boundary of the former Bozo and Rich Vein claims in the area of the previously reported quartz veins. The drift trends 045 degrees at the portal and curves to 350 degrees over its 170-metre strike length. The drift is within mainly unaltered to weakly carbonate-altered, massive to pillow metavolcanics. A white, coarse-grained, barren and moderately brecciated quartz vein, trending at 030 degrees and dipping 75 to 90 degrees to the northwest, is located approximately 60 metres from the face of the drift and is surrounded by a 2- to 3-metre-wide envelope of strongly carbonate-altered metavolcanics.

Another zone of mineralized quartz veins is reported on the Hanna 9 claim, located approximately 400 metres northwest of the previous quartz veined zone and related workings. On the Hanna 9 claim trenches have exposed two parallel quartz veins, 0.5 to 1 metre in width, with a strike of north 60 degrees east and a vertical to steeply south dip. Pyrite occurs within the veins and in the adjacent greenstones. The veins have been traced along a 60-metre strike length and to a depth of 36 metres.

In 1979, a sample (16774) from a 1.0-metre-wide vein striking north 54 degrees and dipping steeply south, which was traced for 30 metres along strike, assayed 8.23 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 7545).

In 1985, drilling on the northwest vein zone, on the Hanna 9 claim, yielded up to 2.7, 4.7 and 1.7 grams per tonne gold over 2.9, 0.6 and 2.4 metres in holes 85-4, 85-5 and 85-6, respectively, while previous surface samples are reported to have yielded up to 9.4 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 14127).

In 1987, drilling on the southwest strike extension of the 1985 drillholes yielded up to 1.5 and 0.8 grams per tonne gold over 0.30 and 0.60 metres, respectively, in hole 87-5, whereas drilling on the northeast strike extension yielded up to 2.2 grams per tonne gold over 1.5 metres in hole 87-6 (Assessment Report 16777).

In 1989, six rock samples (32310 through 32312 and 32315 through 32317) from the Snowy Creek occurrence area yielded from 0.55 to 1.23 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 19279).

In 2019, a select grab sample (19119) of quartz vein with pyrite and trace tetrahedrite, from the Hanna 9 zone, assayed 2.74 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 38989).

In 2020, two rock samples (667864 and 667865) of limonitic quartz veins with pyrite from the area of the historical adit assayed 6.14 and 4.86 grams per tonne gold, respectively (Assessment Report 39350).

Work History

The area was originally staked around 1935 with program(s) of trenching and surface sluicing likely occurring around this time. An adit, referred to as the Hoag tunnel, of unknown age is also reported in the occurrence area.

In 1975, prospecting and cleaning up old trenches (210 metres) was performed by claim owner D. Rattray on the Yup and Cha claims. Sluicing of approximately 364 kilograms of surface material yielded approximately 63 grams of gold, and crushed vuggy quartz from the trenches yielded another 32 grams of gold (Assessment Report 5783). In 1979, a minor program of geological mapping and sampling was carried out by M.J. Cooper on the area as the Hanna 9 claim.

In 1980, Cassiar Resources Ltd. prospected and sampled the area east of the occurrence as the Argold 1-2 claims. In 1984, Erickson Gold Mining completed a program of geological mapping, trenching and geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling on the Argold 1-2, Bozo, Mountain Dew, Ajax 2 and Lulu 2 claims.

In 1985 and 1986, Erickson Gold Mining completed programs of geological mapping, geochemical (rock and soil) sampling and four diamond drill holes, totalling 417.8 metres, on the area as the Hanna 9 claim. In 1987, Taurus Resources Ltd. completed three diamond drill holes on the Snowy Creek property.

In 1989, Erickson Gold conducted an exploration program on the Mountain Dew, Bozo, Rich Vein, Aurex 1-4, Ajax 2, Even, and Comet mineral claims (Snow 89 Group). This work consisted of geological mapping, prospecting and geochemical (rock and soil) sampling.

In 1995 and 1996, Cyprus Canada Inc. completed programs of prospecting, geological mapping, geochemical (rock and soil) sampling, two diamond drill holes, totalling 259.7 metres, a 0.2 line-kilometre ground magnetic survey and a 2.1 line-kilometre induced polarization survey on the area.

During 2008 through 2010, Hawthorne Gold Corp., later China Minerals Mining Corp., completed regional programs of geological mapping, geochemical (rock and soil) sampling and 11657 line-kilometres of airborne magnetic, radiometric and electromagnetic surveys on the area as the Cassiar Gold property.

In 2019, Margaux Resources completed a program of prospecting, geological mapping and rock sampling on the area immediately east as the Cassiar Gold property. In 2020, Cassiar Gold Corp. completed a program of regional photogeological interpretation, prospecting and rock sampling on the Cassiar Gold property.