Work History
Staked as White cl 1-8 (64214), Wolverine cl 1-8 (64222) and Caribou cl 1-8 (64432) and cl 9-16 (64230) in Mar/53 by P. Eikland, W. Theriault and F. Hickey and optioned to Prospectors Airways Company Ltd, on behalf of a syndicate including Noranda Mines Ltd and Kerr Addison Gold Mines Ltd, which drilled 14 holes (1 652.3 m) before dropping the option in Mar/54. Optioned in May/54 to Canalask Nickel Mines Ltd, a new company formed by Ontario Nickel Mines Ltd and Frobisher Ltd to develop the property. Frobisher's interest was later transferred to Quebec Metallurgical Industries Ltd.
During 1953-54, the property was extensively fringe staked by Versluce and associates who staked Blue Ribbon cl 1-8 (64383), by D. Taylor who staked Polaris cl 1-6 (64238) and by General Enterprises Ltd who staked Blair cl 1-6 (64200) etc. The Fox cl 1-8 (73245) were staked in Oct/57 by A. Nolan on the north side and transferred to Triple Five Prospectors Company Ltd.
Between 1954-58, Canalask drilled 1 025 m from surface, completed 518.2 m of drifting on 2 levels through an adit and a 106.7 m winze, and drilled 466.7 m underground. The name was changed to Northwest Canalask Nickel Mines Ltd in 1963, just before the claims were allowed to lapse.
Restaked as Micro cl 1-9 (86108) in Mar/64 by P. Versluce, H. Versluce and C. Gibbons, who trenched in 1965 and 1966, before optioning the claims in Jun/67 to Discovery Mines Ltd, Rayrock Mines Ltd and Consolidated Canadian Faraday Ltd. The group carried out magnetic, EM and IP surveys, bulldozer trenched and drilled 2 diamond drill holes (399.6 m) later in the year. In 1968, Faraday's interest was transferred to Pacific Petroleum Ltd, and the underground workings were re-opened to permit 370.9 m of underground drilling. In addition, about 1 005.9 m of drilling was conducted from surface.
After the option was dropped, the owners performed more trenching in 1970 before optioning the property in Feb/72 to the Nickel Syndicate (Canadian Superior Exploration Ltd, Aquitaine Company of Canada, Home Oil Ltd, and Getty Mines Ltd), which explored with geological mapping, magnetic and EM surveys later in 1972 and drilled 5 diamond drill holes (640.0 m) and staked Mag cl 1-39 (Y75496) in May-Jun/73 before dropping the option in 1974. The owners rehabilitated the portal in 1978. The property was examined briefly in 1984 by Mammoth Resources Ltd.
The property was optioned in Dec/86 by Kluane Joint Venture (All-North Resources Ltd and Chevron Minerals Ltd) which added Weng cl 1-2 (YA96585) in Dec/86, Weng cl 3-10 (YA96732 in Jan/97 and Cana cl 1-6 (YA97083) in Mar/87. The Joint Venture joined with Rockridge Mining Corp, and together explored with geological mapping, mag & VLF-EM surveys, minor geochemical sampling, core relogging, and 5 diamond drill holes (603.2 m) in 1987. In Nov/92, the property was sold to a joint venture consisting of A.R. Archer Holdings Ltd, ECEE Money Ltd, Carvest Holdings Ltd and Norvista Developments Ltd.
Fringe claims include V cl 1-36 (YA95733) to the southeast in Aug/86 by Polestar Exploration Inc, which conducted mapping and sampling in 1987, CT cl 1-17 (YA97527) to the north and the WR cl 17-26 (YA97560) to the southwest in Jun/87 by Harjay Exploration Co. Ltd and KM cl 1-12 (YB8673) to the west in Oct/87 by B. Lueck. Magnetometer and VLF-EM surveys were carried out on the CT claims in 1988 by Lodestar Exploration Ltd. G. Harris staked Lobo cl 1-10 (YB26505) 1 km to the southwest in Apr/89. Harjay trenched on the WR claims in 1990.
In early 1993 Expatriate Resources Ltd purchased a 100% interest in the Micro, Weng, and Cana claim groups. The company also optioned the neighboring Onion claim group (Minfile Occurrence #115K 077). In Aug/93 the company staked White cl 1-18 and 20 (YB38234) and River cl 1-8 (YB38253), (Minfile Occurrence #115F 047) on the west side of the White River. Expatriate consolidated all of the claims into the Canalask property. In Sep/93 Expatriate carried out trenching, linecutting, magnetometer and VLF-EM surveys, geological mapping, and geochemical sampling on the east side of the White River (this occurrence).
In 1994 Cachet Enterprises Corporation was granted an option to earn a 50% interest in the Micro cl 1-4 (86108) by spending $1 000 000 over three years. Between September and Nov/94, Cachet drilled 6 HQ diameter drill holes (940 m). In 1995 the company drilled 5 additional HQ diameter drill holes (532 m) and carried out total magnetic field, VLF-EM and horizontal loop electromagnetic geophysical surveys on the Micro claims. Cachet terminated their option in Sept/96.
Between Oct/96 and Mar/97 Expatriate expanded their claim holdings by surrounding the Micro claims with several non-sequentially staked blocks of WR claims (84-95...etc, YB96944). In 1997 Expatriate flew an airborne geophysical survey over the entire property, the results of which led the company to drill 10 diamond drill holes (1 277.7 m) on coincident mag/EM anomalies located on the east side of the White River but outside of areas of known mineralization previously identified on the Weng claims. The company also completed ground magnetometer and HLEM geophysical surveys over various claims located on the east side of the White River.
In Oct/99 the property was optioned by Uravan Minerals Inc and in 2001 the company carried out ground magnetometer, HLEM and IP geophysical surveys, geological mapping, hand trenching, sampling and prospecting on the Onion and White claims (Minfile Occurreces #115K 077 and 115F 047) located 5 km to the west. In 2002 Uravan drilled two diamond drill holes (410.5 m) on the White and Onion claims. The company dropped its option at the end of 2002 and returned the property to Expatriate Resources. Expatriate transferred the property to StrataGold Corporation in May/2003.
Capsule Geology
The occurrence is located on the west side of the Alaska Highway and on the east side of the White River. The area lies along the northwest margin of the Wrangellia Terrane within a steeply dipping package of Late Paleozoic and Early Mesozoic volcanic and sedimentary rocks. These rocks have been subdivided into two groups, the Skolai Group and the Nikolai Group. The mafic-ultramafic White River Intrusive complex intrudes at or near the contact between the Station Creek and Hansen Creek formations (Skolai Group). The Shakwak-Denali Fault system bounds the area to the northeast and the Duke River Fault to the southwest.
Due to the scarcity of natural exposures on the property, the thickness of the various stratigraphic units is uncertain. Regionally the Skolai Group is comprised of the Pennsylvanian to Permian Station Creek Formation and the Lower Permian Hansen Creek Formation. The Station Creek Formation, represents the oldest rocks in the area, and forms the lower part of the Skolai Group. The lower 600 m of the formation consists of pale green pyroclastic andesites and interbedded phyllites. The upper 400 m of the formation consists of interbedded black phyllite, siltstone, argillaceous limestone and cherty argillites with minor tuff horizons. Together the formation regionally exceeds 1 000 m in thickness.
The Lower Permian Hansen Creek Formation forms the upper part of the Skolai Group and consists of various sedimentary rocks including black phyllite, chert siltstone, limestone and conglomerate. The basal contact with the Skolai Creek Formation is described as gradational and arbitrarily placed at the uppermost volcanic unit. The Hansen Creek Formation regionally attains a maximum thickness of 800 m.
The Nikolai Group consists of a kilometer or more thick sequence of Middle to Late Triassic basaltic flows and interbedded limestone with local volcanic breccia and conglomerate, chert and argillite that overlies the Skolai Group rocks along an angular unconformity. Flows are thin (2 to 10 m), vesicular to amygdaloidal and are locally hematite stained indicating shallow water to sub aerial deposition.
The volcanic and sedimentary sequence is intruded by the Lower to Middle Triassic White River Intrusive Complex, part of the larger Kluane Mafic-Ultramafic Belt which occurs within the Kluane Ranges of the Yukon. In the vicinity of this occurrence, the White River Intrusive Complex consists of a sill-like body of ultramafic and mafic rocks that have an average thickness of 430 m but may reach thicknesses of as much as 600 m. The complex intrudes at the contact between the Station Creek Formation volcanic breccia and tuff and the overlying Hansen Creek Formation limestone and clastic sedimentary strata. Geophysical and geological data suggests that the complex has an average dip of 45 degrees to the southwest and has not been significantly affected by faulting or folding.
The northern margin of the complex represents the original intrusive basal contact zone, whereas the southern margin delineates the upper intrusive contact. Unlike other areas within the White River Intrusive Complex, the complex in the vicinity of this occurrence lacks a marginal quartz-carbonate alteration zone and locally exhibits a thin (>2.0 m) contact metamorphic (thermal) aureole in the footwall of the Station Creek Formation tuff.
The occurrence marks the location of the Main zone described as a proximal massive sulphide deposit located in the footwall of the mafic-ultramafic complex in an area of extensive metasomatic alteration. The deposit occurs in the form of a steeply dipping, southwest plunging nickel sulphide zone that measures approximately 130 m long and 23 m wide and is cut off at the west end near the White River, by a fault. Mineralization consists of pyrrhotite and lesser amounts of pentlandite, sphalerite, pyrite, marcasite and chalcopyrite in fine-grained patchy disseminations and less commonly in small massive lenses in volcanic rocks of the Station Creek Formation. These rocks are dense and siliceous and probably of tuffaceous origin. The zone lies 122 m from the footwall contact of a peridotite sill that is 793 m long and over 76 m wide. Within the sill are zones of olivine gabbro, serpentinized dunite and picrite. Two other zones are also present but are of lower grade. Reserves calculated in 1968 by Discovery Mines stand at 390 235 tonnes grading 1.35% nickel.
Beginning in the mid 1970¿s, exploration was re-directed towards the property¿s platinum potential with exploration work concentrated on the footwall contact of the sill. Hole 1973-7, situated 850 m east of White River, intersected 0.45 g/t platinum, 1.4 g/t palladium, 0.94% nickel and 0.33% copper across 3 m from a gabbroic phase. Mineralization consisted of coarse, net-textured pyrrhotite with finely disseminated chalcopyrite. The Kluane Joint Venture¿s 1987 drill program tested a 458 m length of the footwall contact located east of the White River. All of the holes intersected interbedded quartzite and argillite in the footwall rather than the interbedded tuff and limestone cored in the 1973 drilling. Bulldozer trenching across the footwall contact returned a best assay of 0.41 g/t platinum, 11.7 g/t palladium, 0.4% nickel and 0.1% copper across 3.0 metres.
The 1994 drilling was directed at confirming historical drill intersections in the Main zone as well as evaluating a strong geophysical anomaly in an area north of the Main zone known as the Footwall zone. Two holes were drilled through the central part of the Main zone. Hole C94-60 intersected 15.2 m of mineralization which assayed 1.02% nickel, 0.12% copper and 0.018 % cobalt. Hole C94-61 intersected 11.0 m of mineralization which assayed 1.37% nickel, 0.02% copper and 0.008% cobalt. The other four holes were drilled in the Footwall zone which lies 40 m north of, and stratigraphically below the Main zone. The best intersection was returned from hole C94-64 which intersected 3.0 m of mineralization that assayed 1.34% nickel, 0.10 copper and 0.055% cobalt. All drill intersections from the program that returned greater than 0.20% nickel and/or 0.20% copper were composited and re-assayed for gold, platinum and palladium. The samples returned trace to low background levels.
The 1995 drill program tested the Main and Footwall zones. The best result was returned from hole C95-70 which targeted an EM geophysical anomaly located 100 m east of the Footwall zone. The hole intersected 6.4 m of pale green silicified gabbro that returned 1.08% copper and 0.10% cobalt. Expatriate named this newly discovered zone the River zone. A second drill hole attempted to intersect the same zone but was abandoned in deep overburden. The remaining holes intersected mineralized portions of the Footwall and Main zones. The best result of these holes was hole C95-66 which returned 10.9 m of 0.77% copper and 0.052% cobalt from the Footwall zone.
The geophysical surveys revealed 3 elongate VLF-EM anomalies with coincident magnetic response within the footwall sequence of sedimentary rocks. The anomalies have an aggregate strike length of over 1 km and occur in a geological setting similar to the Main, Footwall and River zones.
The 1997 drilling tested coincident EM and magnetic anomalies about 1 km southeast of the main zone that were outlined by a 1996 airborne geophysical survey and redefined by ground geophysics carried out immediately in advance of the drilling. Drilling intersected fault zones within ultramafic rocks which contained sheet-like bands of pyrrhotite with lesser magnetite and minor native copper. Disseminated pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite in feldspathic peridotite and gabbro were also intersected but all were sub-economic.
The 2001 program was centered over the northwest portion of Miles Ridge ( located at the northwest end of the property) which hosts the White River Ultramafic Complex. The area hosts six known mineralized showings and high background concentrations of nickel, cobalt, platinum and palladium. Geophysical surveys delineated two strong HLEM conductors with coincident IP chargeability-resistivity anomalies that are conformable and parallel to the footwall contact of the complex. Prospecting and geological mapping outlined two embayments the Discovery and Sax-Cessna, coincident to the anomalies which Uravan theorized outlined areas along the ultramafic complex where the footwall contact thickens appreciably and possibly hosts concentrations of sulphide and platinum group elements.
The 2002 drill holes tested the Discovery (Minfile Occurrence #115K 077) and Sax-Cessna embayments (Minfile Occurrence #115F 047). Both holes intersected broad intersections of low grade nickel plus platinum group mineralization in ultramafic rocks (clinopyroxenite). Mineralization occurred in zones of net-textured and disseminated magnetite plus ferro-chromite and sulphide minerals. Intersections ranged in grade from about 1 100 ppm to 3 100 ppm nickel and 90 ppb to 634 ppb platinum plus palladium over intervals greater than 20 m in both holes.
References
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