The
Sovereign prospect in the lower Waitekauri Valley of the southern Hauraki Goldfield
occurs in daciterhyolite flows and volcanic breccias of the Waipupu Formation.
The lower Waitekauri Valley contains a series of NE to
NNE-trending normal faults, and the Sovereign prospect lies in a NW-striking
graben. The structure of the Sovereign prospect is complex. NE to NNE-trending
veins and normal faults dominate the area, however WWNW and N to S-trending
structures occur locally. Kinematic analysis of these structures indicates
predominantly dip-slip movement, with a local strike-slip component. At least
two sets of veins occur in the area:
1.
steeply dipping veins; and
2.
low angle veins,
which cross-cut and locally offset the steeper dipping

vein set.
Mineralization appears
to have formed during normal faulting in an extensional
regime.