ASSESSMENT REPORT ON THE OPALUS 1 MINERAL CLAIM LOCATED IN THE MARRON VALLEY AREA PENTICTON. B.C. -for- A. K. and R W. Yorke-Hardy Box 298, Vernon. B.C. -iocation- N.T.S. MAP 82E15E OSOYOOS MINING DIVISION Province of British Columbia -prepared by- Y. H. TECHNICAL SERVICES LTD. Written by Brian Callaghan, B. SC. (Geology) Box 288 Vernon, B.C. VIT 6M2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Summary - 1 Introduction -- 1 Location and Access - 2 Physiography and Vegetation - 2 Property Description - 2-3 History - 3 Regional Geology - 4 Property Geology - 4-5 Sample Descriptions -- 5-8 Conclusions - 9 Recommendations - 9-10 Bibliography - 11 Cost Statement - 12 Statement of Qualiicatiins - 13 APPENDICES Appendix 1: 1999 Work Programme on Opalus I - after page 13 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Map No. 1 - Property Location --- after page 2 Map No. 2 - Cpalus Mineral Claim Map _ after page 2 Map No. 2A - Revised Claim Location - afterpage 2 Map No. 3 - Regional Geology -- after page 4 - Geology Legend -- after page 4 Map No. 4 - Sample Locations --- after page 5 PRELIMINARY GEOLOGICAL EXAMINATION OF THE OPALUS 1 CLAIM Summary Little is known of the initial precious opal discovery that was found during the early 1960’s by N. Vernon of Penticton, B.C. The initial discovery area is situated west of the White Lake Basin within the Trout Lake Graben and is situated on the northeast side of Laidlaw Mountain. The site was staked by C. Lynes of Minconsult Mineral Exploration Ltd. in 1996. The exact location of the LCP and claim boundaries of the Opalus 1 have not been determined after initial visits to the claim area. The primary target at this time is precious opal. An inspection of representative samples collected from the Opalus Claim include basaltic andesites of the Marron formation and rhyolite breccias of the Marama formation that are favourable host rocks for the formation of epithermal type gold silver mineralization similar to that of the Vault property located to the east of the Opalus claim. In addition, samples of vesicular basaltic andesites that contain cavities lined with thin coatings of zeolites and filled with agate are similar to rocks that host precious opal on the Klinker/ Ewer claims to the north and west of Vernon. The formation of precious opal on the Opalus 1 claim maybe associated with high level epithermal mineralization within the Trout Lake Graben. A programme of detailed prospecting and geological mapping is required to determine the structural controls associated with both potential epithermal gold mineralization and precious opal mineralization after the exact location of the L.C.P. and claim boundaries of the Opalus 1 claim are located. VLF-EM and Magnetometer surveys over Marama formation rocks that are cut by intersecting northerly and easterly trending fault structures is recommended after detailed geological mapping. Trenching and overburden removal is recommended in those areas where significant concentrations of precious opal and other silica flooding occur. Introduction The purpose of this report has been to confirm the geological environment and attempt to locate the most favorable rocks that host precious opal and possibly epithermal gold silver mineralization. Precious opal was reported to have been found in a light brown thyolite breccia in an area that is now covered by the staking of the Opalus mineral claim by the owner C. Lynes. Several days were taken to determine the most direct access routes to the original discovery area in the vicinity of Laidlaw mountain and to collect representative rock samples that would help in identifying the most favourable precious opal host rocks as well as those that could host epithermal gold/silver mineralization. This report includes sample descriptions of those rocks collected by C. Lynes, 8. Callaghan and R.W. Yorke-Hardy from the Laidlaw mountain area; in the vicinity of the originally reported discovery area. 2 Location The Opalus mineral claim is located approximately 10 kilometres west of Okanagan Falls and is accessible by road approximately 23 kilometres from the airport in Penticton via Highway 97 travelling south to the turnoff to Vancouver west along Highway 3A. Access to the north portion of the claim can be made via the Marron Valley logging road that heads off 3A to the northwest, Access to the south of the claim can be made off Hwy 3A at a northerly trending turnoff at Twin Lakes that eventually connects to the Marron Ridge logging road access route located to the south and west of Laidlaw mountain. Physiography and Vegetation Portions of the claim at mid-elevations and south facing slopes are characterized by open ranch lands with bunch-grass, sagebrush and cactus grassland areas with open, mature forest stands of Ponderosa Pine and Douglas Fir and Aspen gullies that are representative of the lower Okanagan valley dry belt. Summits and north facing slopes are most densely forested and have in the past been selectively logged. The western portion of the claim lies within the boundaries of Wood Lot No. 1619 (see map No. 2A) north of Yellow Lake on Marron Ridge Forestry Road. A forest development plan has recently been submitted to the Ministry of Forests for review. This will potentially enhance access to this part of the claim and may provide new rock exposures. Laidlaw Mountain is approximately 1509 metres in elevation and is cut by several north- easterly trending gulleys that eventually drain into Matron Lake and Aeneas Lake situated in the Marron valley to the north and east of the claim. Laidlaw Mountain is bounded to the west by Yellow Lake Creek that drains into Yellow Lake. Property Description The Opalus 1 is comprised of a single 20 unit four post mineral claim. The L.C.P. and boundaries for the claim were not found during fieldwork on the ground so that the exact location of the claim is not known. Only a small portion of the property boundary was actually located at the time of staking due to steep topography. The claim is plotted at a scale of I:31680 on map No. 082E/05E (See map 2). The L.C.P. is plotted on the west flank of Laidlaw Mountain. The reported location of the original discovery has been visited by C. Lynes in the company of M. Bordass from the Penticton Rock Club. The location of the original discovery site and trenched areas have been plotted on a 1:20,000 topography map by C. Lynes on map 082E.032. Its location suggests that the northern boundary of the daim is considerably farther south than its plotted location on the claim map. (See map 2A). This indicates that the northern boundaty of the claim does not adjoin the east/west boundary of Indian Reserve land to the north so that the actual claim boundary may in fact be located to the south of the presently mapped location. Claim Name Units Record # Current Expiry Date Opalus 1 March 12,200l 3 The claim is owned by C. Lynes and it is presently under option to A. K. and R. W. Yorke-Hardy, of Vernon, B.C. The expiry date shown herein reflects the recent application of work supported by the filing of this report describing the preliminary geological fieldwork conducted during the 1999~2000 season. The claim is recorded in the Osoyoos Mining Division. History The discovery of precious opal was initially reported to have been located in a road cut on the northeast side of Laidlaw mountain during the early 196tl’s by N. Vernon of Penticton, B.C. A drawing was made by N. L Barlee of a 4 lb specimen of opal in matrix that was on loan to the Penticton Museum from April 1966 to August 1975. The rest of the sample, that originally weighed 7 Ibs and interpreted to be hosted in a light brown rhyolitic breccia, was apparently made into jewellery. The Opalus 1 was staked to cover the original discovery site on the northeast side of Laidlaw Mountain in 1996. Exploration on this claim has consisted of reconnaissance prospecting, hand trenching and sample collection which was completed in1997 by Minconsult Mineral Exploration Ltd. Several occurrences of chocolate brown to black and pink translucent opal that occur as breccia fillings and as seam opal were reportedly found at the site of the original discovery. One photograph depicts opal veins that appear to be structurally controlled along narrow sub - parallel fractures. No additional common or precious opal has been recorded in the area of the original discovery in the vicinity of Laidlaw mountain as a result of the work reported herein. Early references to some of the gemstone locations in tertiary rocks of the southern interior of B.C., in particular, occurrences of opal, jasper and agate in the Marron Valley area; have been recorded by N. L.Barlee. The White Lake area has also been noted for its wal deposits, zeolites, periite, potash, gold and silver. Areas in close proximity that may have included parts of the ground covered by the Opalus claim were blanket staked when interest in tertiary uraniferous conglomerates peaked before the uranium moratorium during the early 1970’s. Other more recent mineral exploration activities in this region have included gold and silver mineralization east of Skaha Lake at the Dusty Mac Mine at Okanagan Falls which was optioned by Esso Minerals Canada in 1985. Other major companies at that time included Lacana Mining Corporation, Riocanex Inc. who optioned Energex Minerals property to the southeast of the Dusty Mac and Seven Mile High Group Inc who optioned the Vault property near Okanagan Falls to lnw Gold in1989. Interest then was on the gold silver bearing tertiary rocks similar to those in the Wenatchee gold area in Washington State.