Work History
Originally staked as Mascot cl (18053) and Charleston cl (18089) prior to Jul/07 by C. Weik and associates, who explored with adits and trenching. The claims were optioned from 1921-22 by Slate Creek Mining, which drove a 61 m adit; in 1927 by Mascot Mining Company; and from 1967-68 by Adanac Mining and Exploration Ltd. The claims were surveyed by E. Johnson and M. Watson as Lease 688 in 1954. A group of 12 claims (Selkirk, Cornwall, Cape York, etc) were staked approximately 3.2 km to the west prior to Jul/07 but no claim records have been preserved.
The Bud cl 1-8 (91527) were tied on to the south in Dec/64 by Yukon Antimony Corporation Ltd. The Nat Joint Venture (Armco Mineral Exploration Ltd and Chevron Canada Ltd) tied on the Nomen Dubium cl 1-24 (YA50928) 1.6 km to the northwest in Jul/80 and carried out geochemical sampling in 1980 and geochemical sampling and prospecting in 1981.
The Nomen Dubium claims were restaked as Earl cl 1-32 (YA77893) in Jul/83 by Agip Canada Ltd and optioned to Kerr Addison Mines Ltd in 1984. Kerr Addison carried out prospecting, geological mapping and geochemical sampling the following year in 1985.
Shakwak Exploration Company Ltd optioned the Charleston crown grant and staked Ho cl 1-8 (YA82047) to the south in Jun/84. Shakwak carried out preliminary prospecting and geochemical sampling and staked Ho cl 9-20 (YA82985) in Aug/ 84; carried out trenching, geological mapping and additional geochemical sampling in Nov/84; and entered a joint venture with Island Mining and Exploration Company Ltd in 1986, which carried out geological mapping, prospecting, machine trenching, geochemical rock and soil sampling and road building.
Geovista Gold Corporation tied on JJ cl 1-10 (YA82813) and Ash cl 1-10 (YA94075) to the south of the Ho claims in Aug/84 and Dec/85, respectively and carried out geological mapping, prospecting, geochemical rock and soil sampling in 1986 and 1987. In 1986, Kerr Addison carried out geological mapping, soil sampling and hand trenching on the Earl claims before dropping the option in spring/87. Shakwak and Island added Island cl 1-13 (YA94330) and carried out geological mapping, geochemical sampling and drilled 3 holes (403.6 m) in 1987 on Ho cl 2, one km southeast of the actual occurrence location.
Pacific Trans-Ocean Resources Ltd optioned the Earl group and carried out geological mapping, geochemical rock and soil sampling, VLF-EM and magnetometer surveying and trenching in 1987 and minor prospecting, blast trenching and geochemical sampling in 1988. Pacific Trans-Ocean transferred a 50% interest in the Earl claims to Agip in Mar/89 and blast trenching was carried out later that year by Northern Mineral Ltd.
Total Erickson Resources Ltd optioned the Ho claims and the Charleston crown grant in 1988 and carried out detailed geological mapping and trenching. During this period Total Erickson aquired and merged with Getty Resources Ltd and subsequently changed its name to Total Energold Corporation. Total Energold rehabilitated and mapped the Charleston adits in 1989 before dropping the option and returning the claims to Shakwak in Jan/90.
Omni Resources Ltd staked Mindy cl 1-4 (YC08027) 2 km to the southwest in Aug/97 and restaked the Twist zone as Duke cl 1-2 (YC08199) in Sep/97 before reportedly carrying out limited geochemical rock sampling later that year.
Trumpeter Yukon Gold Inc acquired a 50% interest in Omni Resources Ltd in Sep/1997. In 2000 when the Charleston crown grant lapsed Trumpeter restaked the adits and surrounding area as Char cl 1-43 (YC18781) in Jul/2000. In Nov/2000 Omni amalgamated with Trumpeter Yukon Gold Inc to form Tagish Lake Gold Corporation, which carried out prospecting, geochemical rock sampling and staked Char cl 44-52 (YC19347) contiguously to the south in Aug/2001.
Capsule Geology
The Charleston vein is a banded quartz-sulphide vein containing gold and silver which cuts the Mt. McNeil Pluton, a mid-Cretaceous granodiorite of the Whitehorse Plutonic Suite, on the southwest flank of Mt Skukum. Mineralization consists of pyrite, fine grained galena and occasional malachite. The vein varies from 0.15 to 6 m wide, averaging about 0.5 m, and is well exposed in two 1920's adits. It strikes northwest, dips east at 35¿ to 45¿ and has been traced over a length of 700 m. Surface and underground exposures of the vein are offset by a number of northeast-trending normal faults, and a sericite alteration envelope extends 1.5 m into the host granodiorite. Grab samples up to 433.7 g/t Au and 5 108.4 g/t Ag have been reported. A composite grab sample across 1.8 m of the Charleston vein assayed 3.77 g/t Au and 51.4 g/t Ag. Samples taken from 13 trenches along 610 m of strike length averaged 11.7 g/t Au and 288.0 g/t Ag across 0.6 m.
Two Shakwak trenches on a strike extension 100 m south intersected 14.4 g/t Au, 672 g/t Ag and 2.9% Pb across 1.9 m, and 17.8 g/t Au, 123.4 g/t Ag and 1.8% Pb across 0.6 m.
In 1986, Island and Shakwak traced the Charleston structure 700 m north onto the Earl claims, where the host rock consists of Upper Proterozoic and Paleozoic carbonaceous quartz-mica schists and minor marble of the Nasina Assemblage. Earlier in 1985, Kerr Addison had traced quartz vein float from this structure north for a strike length of 2 km and identified the Twist Zone, 1.2 km north of the occurrence location. Trenching on the Twist Zone by Northern Minerals Ltd in 1989 exposed concordant quartz veins in graphitic phyllite which contained fine grained pyrite, arsenopyrite, galena, tetrahedrite and minor malachite, azurite and chalcopyrite. Chip samples from veins on the Earl property include 11.7 g/t Au and 1 053.2 g/t Ag across 2 m and 2 558 ppb Au, 193.9 ppm Ag over 0.5 m.
Prospecting on the Ash claims, 2.3 km southwest of the Charleston adits, located a series of narrow quartz veins containing galena and pyrite that are 5 to 10 m long on the northeast side of the property, and a 5 m wide rusty quartz vein containing pods of galena, pyrite, minor chalcopyrite and traces of molybdenite along the southeast side of the property.
Total Energold trenched a 453 ppm soil anomaly 600 m west of the adits and exposed a narrow quartz vein with traces of galena, pyrite, tetrahedrite and arsenopyrite (the Star showing). Chip samples at 1 m intervals returned up to 960 ppb Au and 123.9 ppm Ag, and a narrow galena vein was reported to contain 92 779 ppb Au and 686.0 ppm Ag.
Prospecting and analysis of sampling carried in 2001 by Tagish Lake in the vicinity of the Charleston adits and other historical showings and zones in the area reconfirmed gold values reported by previous operators.
References
ASHLEY, C., Sep/86. Assessment Report #091848 by R.A. Doherty.
CANADIAN MINES HANDBOOK 1989-90, p. 445-446.
DICKSON, H.G., Dominion Land Surveyor, Jul/07. Claim compilation map of part of Conrad Mining District. Yukon Archives.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA Summary Report 1922, p. 5.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA Memoir 150; Memoir 312, p. 126-127.
GEOVISTA GOLD CORPORATION, Nov/87. Assessment Report #091970 by R. Hulstein.
GORDEY, S.P. and MAKEPEACE, A.J., 2003. Yukon Digital Geology, version 2.0, S.P Gordey and A.J. Makepeace (comp.); Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 1749 and Yukon Geological Survey, Open File 2003-9(D).
HART, C.J.R. and RADLOFF, J.K., 1990. Geology of Whitehorse, Alligator Lake, Fenwick Creek, Carcross and part of Robinson Map Areas (105D/11, 6, 3 and 7). Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Yukon Region, Open File 1990-4.
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KERR ADDISON MINES LTD, May/86. Assessment Report #091824 by J. Pautler.
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TAGISH LAKE GOLD CORPORATION, Feb/2002. Assessment Report #094261 by C.O. Naas.
WHITEHORSE MINING RECORDER, 1930. Annual Report.
YUKON EXPLORATION 1985-86, p. 155-156, 190, 199-200; 1987, p. 125-126, 133; 1988, p. 45.
YUKON EXPLORATION AND GEOLOGY 1981, p. 114; 2001, p. 18.
YUKON GEOLOGY AND EXPLORATION 1979-80, p. 165.
