Work History
Staked as Jeff cl 1-4 (YA45703) in Aug/79 by Pete & Harry Versluce, who prospected and sampled in 1980. N. Hennel staked a single Hi Grade claim (YA45137) on the east side of the Jeff claims at about the same time. An unknown person tied on Jim cl 1-2, to the south in Sep/79.
The Seagull Joint Venture (Great Western Petroleum Corporation & Lornex Mining Corporation) tied on Lorne cl 1-55 (YA58134) to the north, in Apr/81 to cover a GSC geochemical anomaly. The joint venture group performed mapping and geochemical sampling later in the year.
In May/86, Yukon Minerals Corporation optioned the Hi Grade and Jeff claims and surrounded them with HV cl 1-348 (YA99558). The company performed hand trenching later in the year. In 1987 Yukon Minerals joint ventured with Perrex Resources Ltd and in Mar/87 they staked MPR cl 1-152 (YB00020) to the south. Later in the year the group carried out geological mapping and hand and bulldozer trenching.
In 1988 Yukon Minerals and Perrex continued geological mapping, prospecting and bulldozer and backhoe trenching programs on the MPR claims. On the Jeff claims Yukon Minerals drilled 6 diamond drill holes (204 m). The company also collected an 18.81 tonne bulk sample from the Hi Grade occurrence (this occurrence), which was shipped to the smelter in Trail, British Columbia. Yukon Minerals continued prospecting and mapping in 1989, and conducted further trenching in 1990.
Restaked as Pete cl 1-5 (YB59278) by Apr/95 by R. Berdahl. B. Kreft staked Rob cl 1 (YB60943) 3 km to the south in Aug/95 and explored the claim with hand trenching and rock sampling. In Sept/95 Kreft staked Rob cl 2 (YB61380) 1.5 km to the south and Rob cl 3 (YB61471) 2 km to the northwest. In Oct/95 T. Arsenault staked Fuss cl 1 (YB70838) on the east side and Fuss cl 2 (YB70839) on the west side of Rob claim 3.
In Jun/2000, A. Bordeleau restaked a portion of Berdahl's expired Pete claim block, with a single Pete claim (YB92702).
Claims overlying the occurrence were restaked in late 2007 by Strategic Metals Ltd. Rockhaven bought the property from Strategic in November 2008. Rockhaven performed prospecting and soil sampling over the property in 2009.
Capsule Geology
The occurrence is located southwest of the Tintina Fault Zone in the Cassiar Terrane (Platform). The Cassiar Terrane is a curvilinear shelf which formed, between mid-Cambrian to Silurian time, roughly parallel to the western edge of the North American craton, but separated from it by the Selwyn Basin. Shallow water deposition on the platform continued until Late Devonian time. Block faulting and local uplift during the Late Devonian and Mississippian resulted in deposition of carbonaceous shale, chert pebble conglomerate and local felsic igneous activity in the Selwyn Basin and across the Cassiar Terrane.
The Ketza-Seagull district is underlain by thick (400 m or greater) successions of predominantly calcareous sedimentary rocks, with lesser clastic sediments and volcanic rocks, ranging in age from lower Cambrian to Mississippian. Fault structures within the calcareous units are host to veins containing argentiferous galena and gold rich mantos. The latter occur below an unconformity within lower Cambrian limestone and the former occur throughout the calcareous members above the unconformity. Fonseca (1998) attributes the Ketza (Minfile Occurrence #105F 019) gold rich manto, magnetite-gold skarns and oxide gold occurrences and deposits to mineralizing fluids ascending D4 extensional event structures. A similar event, possibly associated with the Seagull Uplift, may be responsible for mineralized structures in the Seagull Creek area (this occurrence area). The source for the fluids is unknown. The only igneous rocks exposed in the immediate area are Mississippian age volcanic and intrusive rocks which have no spatial association with the ore bodies (Abbott, 1986). A small, mid- Cretaceous stock is exposed in the central portions of the Seagull Uplift and the area is cut by numerous mafic dykes. There is sufficient evidence to suggest mid-Cretaceous intrusions sit unexposed beneath the Ketza-Seagull Arch which may have provided the structural extension - uplift and heat source for driving the mineralizing fluids.
Most mineral occurrences found in the Seagull Lakes area consist of northerly trending Ag-Pb-Zn bearing veins and breccias hosted by Silurian-Devonian dolomite. Despite its name the Higrade occurrence is actually located on the former Jeff claims. Abbott (1986) on his map of the area labelled the Higrade occurrence the 'Lorne' (#100), while Yukon Minerals referred to it as the Jill occurrence. Abbott reported that galena is found in boulders of massive sulphide float up to 30 cm across, in narrow fracture fillings, and as blebs up to 3 cm across in dolomite. The occurrence consists of three north striking veins dipping 55 degrees east. The main showing has a vein width which varies but seldom exceeds 30 cm. A 3 m chip sample by Yukon Minerals in 1986 assayed 3 723.3 g/t Ag, while specimens assayed in 1987 returned up to 11 828.3 g/t Ag and 71.8% Pb. The best result from the 1988 diamond drilling was 512.6 g/t Ag, 9.78 % Pb, 9.55 % Zn, 341 ppb Au and 0.19% Cu (Fowler, 1988) from a limonite (70%)-dolomite core rubble.
Exploration work completed by Yukon Minerals on the Jeff claims as part of their HV property, outlined the PN and Lucky-MF zones, located approximately 450 m northeast of this occurrence. The PN zone is a series of narrow anastomosing galena veins where Yukon Minerals blocked out 3 157 tonnes of drill-indicated and probable reserves grading 471.08 g/t Ag, 9.90% Pb and 5.25% Zn. The zone averages less than 50 cm wide but has been traced on surface for over 35 m and has been drill tested to a depth of 22 m below surface. The veins consist of 70-90% galena, 5-20% freibergite, up to 3% chalcopyrite, up to 5% pyrite, 5-20% limonite and minor sphalerite. Moderate sericitization and silicification extends up to 1 metre into the wallrock. The Lucky-MF zone is a similar vein fault, located 150 m east of the PN zone with reserves calculated at 7 954 tonnes grading 186.86 g/t Ag, 3.40% Pb, 5.22% Zn and 0.14 g/t Au.
On the MPR claims nine mineralized zones were identified and explored. Three types of mineralization are described by Davidson (1988) and Nicholson (1989); stratiform type, hydrothermal Ag-Pb-Zn veins and replacements in carbonates and Au-Ag-As mineralization in the phyllites (JT zone). At the Geo zone, a Cambrian phyllite hosts banded galena, sphalerite and chalcopyrite in a siliceous barite horizon over a width of 3 m and a strike length of 400 m (Nicholson, 1989). Rock samples from the HO zone, on the MPR claims, averaged 839.9 g/t Ag, 21.1% Pb and 5.2% Zn. (Nicholson, 1989). A grab sample from the SP zone yielded 1 714 g/t Ag and 71.5% Pb (Davidson, 1988).
Exploration work in 1990 by Yukon Minerals on the HV property, outlined the Otter zone, located approximately 2 km to the southwest. The Otter zone is a galena-bearing dolomite breccia exposed in Trench 90-G (located at the junction of HV cl 18, and MPR cls 110 and 112). A 1.5 m chip sample across this zone returned 16.5% Pb, 0.99% Zn and 95 g/t Ag.
In 1988, a 52.56 tonne bulk sample from the PN zone was shipped to the smelter in Trail BC. It reportly returned grades of 4 106.7 g/t Ag, 0.07% Cu, 5.46% Pb and 3.45% Zn . Composite samples collected by Berdahl in 1995, from approximately 12 tons of previously bagged hand cobbled high-grade material stored at the Higrade occurrence (now staked within the Pete claims) returned an average grade of 3 755 g/t Ag, 1.25% Cu, 66.9% Pb, and 0.48% Zn (Berdahl, May/96).
Kreft (1995) explored the Rob 1 and Rob 2 claims and successfully located new NW trending galena-tetrahedrite veins carrying sub-economic grades of silver (Kreft, Mar/96a, Kreft Mar/96b).
Rockhaven identified a broad anomalous zone of gold and arsenic in soils on the property, which they named the Aztek zone. The anomalous zone is 2000 m by 1400 m and assays 25 to 327 ppb Au and 77 to 1940 ppm As over a dolomite unit. Grab samples of limonitic dolomite rubble within the zone assayed up to 1.81 g/t Au, 486 g/t Ag, 14.9% Pb and 0.75% Zn.
References
ALBERTA STOCK EXCHANGE, 1989. News Release.
BERDAHL, R.S., May/96. Assessment Report #093466 by R.S. Berdahl.
GEORGE CROSS NEWSLETTER, 26 Jul/90.
GREAT WESTERN PETROLEUM CORPORATION, Dec/81. Assessment Report #090979 by L.K. Eccles.
KREFT, B., 1996a. Assessment Report #093395 by B. Kreft.
KREFT, B., 1996b. Assessment Report #093396 by B. Kreft.
KREFT, B., Feb/96. Assessment Report *#093397 by B. Kreft.
ROCKHAVEN RESOURCES LTD., News Release, 30 Nov 2009.
YUKON MINERALS CORPORATION, Jun/87. Prospectus, p. 12.
YUKON MINERALS CORPORATION, Feb/88. Assessment Report #092124 by G.S. Davidson.
YUKON MINERALS CORPORATION, Nov/88. Assessment Report #092097 by G.S. Davidson.
YUKON MINERALS CORPORATION, 1988. Assessment Report #092539 by B. Fowler.
YUKON MINERALS CORPORATION, Jan/89. Assessment Report #092658 by G. Nicholson.
YUKON MINERALS CORPORATION, Jan/91. Assessment Report *#092907 by G.S. Davidson.
YUKON MINERALS CORPORATION and PERREX RESOURCES LTD, Dec/88. Assessment Report #093042 by B.P. Fowler.
YUKON EXPLORATION 1987, p. 156; 1989, p. 44.
YUKON EXPLORATION & GEOLOGY 1981, p. 130.
YUKON MINING & EXPLORATION OVERVIEW 1988, p. 23-24.
