Work History

The earliest staking in this vicinity was in 1954 by K.G. Sanders and R. Zielinski for Pelly River Exploration Ltd (Pioneer Gold Mines Ltd, American Standard Mines Ltd, New York-Alaska Gold Dredging Corp and Northwest Ventures Ltd).
In 1966 Northlake Mines Ltd (Augusta Exploration Ltd Copper Ridge Mines Ltd, Silver Standard Mines Ltd, Transcontinental Resources Ltd, North Pacific Mines Ltd) staked 500 claims in the area. The company conducted regional airborne magnetic and electromagnetic geophysical surveys and extensive soil sampling in 1966 and 1967 (Area 4 and 16). The closest claims to the occurrence were Pg cl 1-16 (Y13352).
The actual occurrence was first staked as Marmot cl 1-24 (YA26131) in Aug/77 by Chevron Canada Ltd. Between 1978 and 1980 the company carried out geological mapping, geochemical sampling and a magnetic geophysical survey and drilled 2 diamond drill holes (333.2 m).
In Feb/96 Expatriate Resources Ltd staked Boards cl 1-20 (YB77049) 1 km to the east. Archer, Cathro and Associates (1981) Ltd under contract to Expatriate Resources Ltd carried out reconnaissance soil geochemistry, geological mapping and prospecting programs later in the year.
Restaked as Boot cl 13-24 (YC23126) in Dec/2002 by Strategic Metals Ltd which had previously staked Boot cl 2 (YB93245), cl 4 (YB93246) and cl 6-11 (YB93247) 3 km to the north in Jun/2001 (these claims cover Minfile Occurrence #105G 019). In the summer of 2003 the company carried out limited prospecting, soil sampling and hand trenching on the claim block.

Capsule Geology

The area is located northeast of the Tintina Fault on the southwest side of the Finlayson Lake massive sulphide district. It has been re-mapped by the Finlayson Lake Targeted Geoscience Initiative (Murphy et al., 2001), a program conducted jointly by the Geological Survey of Canada and the Yukon Geological Survey. It is underlain by the Yukon-Tanana Terrane; a Terrane comprised of several fault- and unconformity-bound meta-sedimentary and meta-volcanic successions and affiliated meta-plutonic suites.
The occurrence is underlain by Upper Devonian and Older (?) interbedded biotite-muscovite-feldspar quartz psammitic schist and quartz-biotite-muscovite metapelitic schist assigned to Murphy's unit Dq. Thin intervals of marble and calc-schist occur locally. This sequence is intruded to the northwest by voluminous granite meta-plutonic rocks (unit Mgag) of the "Grass Lakes Suite". In the occurrence area the suite is comprised of foliated potassium feldspar megacrystic granite containing both coarse-grained igneous muscovite and biotite phases, indicating a peraluminous composition. To the northeast, the sequence is intruded by a large mid- Cretaceous biotite-muscovite fine to medium-grained equigranular granitic intrusion (unit Kg), known informally as the North Plug (Murphy, 2001).
The 1954 and 1966 staking was directed toward small lenses of galena, sphalerite and chalcopyrite originally found in schist near a granite/gneiss contact located north of Minfile Occurrence #105G 019. Northlake also discovered pyrrhotite float in the creek located below this contact but assaying failed to return anomalous results.
The Marmot claims were staked to cover scheelite-bearing skarn float found in Marmot Creek at the base of a talus slope. The float is derived from a thick section of flat lying calc-silicate altered schist exposed in a cliff located southwest of Marmot Creek, near the western margin of the mid-Cretaceous North Plug. Selected specimens assayed between 1.5 and 3.6% tungsten oxide (WO3). Prospecting and drilling showed that the float is derived from small skarn lenses developed at the margins of dykes and fracture zones.
Geological mapping by Archer Cathro and Associates (1981) Ltd on the Board claims determined that the bulk of the claim block is underlain by muscovite-biotite granite assigned to the mid-Cretaceous North Plug. In the southwest corner of the claims, the company mapped an isolated sequence of layered green-grey siliceous greenstone, quartzite and a light color unit of undetermined composition. This sequence likely represents Murphy's Upper Devonian and Older (?) units, i.e. Dq, Dqm etc. or alternatively an isolated occurrence of slightly younger metamorphic rocks associated with the Grass Lakes succession.
Reconnaissance geochemical sampling carried out by Archer Cathro in 1973 over the area they later staked as the Boards claims, returned peak values of 315 ppm copper, 500 ppm lead, 440 ppm zinc and 3 ppm molybdenum. Follow-up sampling carried out in 1996, by Archer, Cathro Ltd for Expatriate Resources Ltd did not reproduce the 1973 anomaly, however it did outline a strong lead anomaly (412 ppm) on a northwest-trending ridge cutting through the centre of the claim block. In addition, a combined silver-arsenic spot anomaly (4.8 ppm silver, 240 ppm arsenic) was returned from a sample collected about 600 m southwest, directly downslope from the lead anomaly.
Strategic Metals¿ 2003 exploration program was focused on evaluating the emerald potential of the entire Boot claim group. The company felt that the geology of the area was similar to that which hosts emerald mineralization at the Tsa da Gliza (Regal Ridge, Minfile Occurrence #105G 147), emerald prospect where mineralized veins cut chloritic schist of the Fire Lake mafic volcanic unit (Murphy's unit DF). On the northern half of the claim group (Minfile Occurrence #105G 019), the company dug a single trench dug across part of the upper 'B' zone which exposed an outcrop containing scheelite. No assays were reported but abundant tourmaline was noted in and around the trench.
On the southern half of the claim block (this occurrence), Strategic collected a single line of soil samples along the main ridge of the claim block. These samples returned moderately to strongly anomalous beryllium (4.71 to 10.5 ppm) and chromium (30 to 228 ppm) values.

References

ARCHER , CATHRO AND ASSOCIATES, 1979. Assessment Report #090558 by U. Schmidt and A.R. Archer.

EXPATRIATE RESOURCES LTD, Jan/97. Assessment Report #093664 by A. Burgert.

CHEVRON CANADA LTD, 1978. Assessment Report #090426 by R.J. Cathro.

CHEVRON CANADA LTD, 1978. Assessment Report #090439 by U. Schmidt and R.J. Cathro.

CHEVRON CANADA LRD, 1980. Assessment Report #090728 by U. Schmidt and R.J. Cathro.

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA Paper 67-40, p. 59

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).

MURPHY, D.C. ET AL., 2001. Preliminary bedrock geological map of northern Finlayson Lake area (NTS 105 G), Yukon Territory (1:100 000 scale). Exploration and Geological Services Division, Yukon Region, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Open File 2001-33.

MURPHY, D.C. ET AL., 2002. Finlayson Lake Targeted Geoscience initiative (southeastern Yukon), Part 1: Bedrock geology. In: Yukon Exploration and Geology 2001, D.S. Emond, L.H. Weston and L.L. Lewis (eds.), Exploration and Geological Services Division, Yukon Region, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, p. 189-207.

STRATEGIC METALS LTD, Sep/2004. Assessment Report #094467 by W.A. Wengzynowski.

STRATEGIC METALS LTD, News Release, 26 Jun/2001.

STRATEGIC METALS LTD, Feb/2005. Web Site: www.strategicmetalsltd.com

YUKON GEOLOGY AND EXPLORATION 1979-80, p. 181.

61.376670

-131.101390

Assessment Reports that overlap occurrence

Report Number	Year	Title	Worktypes	Holes Drilled	Meters Drilled
094467	2003	Assessment Report Describing Prospecting, Soil Sampling and Hand Trenching at the Boot Property	Soil - Geochemistry, Prospecting - Other, Hand - Trenching
090728	1980	Report on Geological Mapping and Diamond Drilling on the Boot 1-284 & Marmot 1-24 Claims	Diamond - Drilling, Soil - Geochemistry, Detailed Bedrock Mapping - Geology	10	1232
090426	1978	Assessment Report on Orthophoto Mapping Boot 1-35, 38-9 Claims	Photogrammatic - Studies
090439	1978	Report on Geological Mapping, Geochemical and Radiometric Surveys, BOOT 1-284 and MARMOT 1-24 Claim Group	Silt - Geochemistry, Soil - Geochemistry, Detailed Bedrock Mapping - Geology, Regional Bedrock Mapping - Geology, Line Cutting - Other, Hand - Trenching