Work History
Staked as Rhosgobel cl (Y65051) in Jul/71 by a joint venture between Canada Tungsten Mining Corporation Ltd and Standard Oil Company of BC Ltd, which carried out grid geochemical sampling and geological mapping. The Nop cl 1-10 (Y57673) were tied on to the south in Mar/71 by United Keno Hill Mines Ltd which carried out geochemical sampling and geological mapping later in the year. Three groups of WR cl (Y65062) were staked in Aug/71 adjoining to the southeast and northwest by Silver Standard Mines Ltd.
Restaked as Rain cl 1-30 (YA31503) in Aug/78 by A. Thom and Bee cl 1-16 (YA31794) in Sep/78 by D. Hutton on the north side. The Wind cl 1-10 (YA31854) were staked 1.5 km to the west in Oct/78 by N. Harper. The Jub Jub cl 1-32 (YA31930) were staked in Mar/79 on the east side by the Cortin Project (CCH Resources Ltd, Inco Ltd and Billiton Exploration Canada Ltd), which carried out geochemical soil sampling in 1979 and geochemical soil sampling and geological mapping in 1980.
Canada Tungsten surrounded the target with a large block of 762 CC cl (YA53506) between Sep/80 and Aug/81, optioned the Rain and Bee (Minfile Occurrence #115P 013) groups and carried out property wide geological mapping and geochemical sampling in 1981 before dropping the option on the Rain and Bee groups.
The Rain group was transferred in Jul/84 to N. Harper who trenched in 1984-88. The five remaining Wind claims were surrounded by 125 Sleet cl (YB04262) staked by Blackstone Placer Mining Ltd and N. Harper in September and Oc/87. Secret Pass Minerals Corporation optioned the property and immediately carried out geochemical rock sampling, VLF-EM and IP surveying. The following year, after listing on the Vancouver Stock Exchange, Secret Pass carried out detailed IP surveying, minor VLF-EM surveying, geochemical soil sampling and geological mapping. In 1989 Secret Pass granted Cambridge Resources Ltd an option to earn half of its interest in the property and Cambridge carried out machine trenching and drilled 4 holes (275.8 m) in Jun/89.
In late 1992 Ivanhoe Goldfields Ltd optioned all of the claims in the Clear Creek area from their various owners. Ivanhoe performed a soil geochemical survey in two zones of the Rhosgobel intrusive stock in Aug/93 and staked Wet cl 1-28 (YB45604) to the south in Sep/93. In 1994, Ivanhoe constructed drill pads and access roads to the Saddle and Rhosgobel zones before it was acquired by First Dynasty Mines Ltd.
B. Lueck and R. Wondga staked the Far 1-64 cl (YB42003) and Far cl 65-70 (YB29811) to the south and east in May/93 and optioned them to Farallon Resources Ltd. In July and Aug/93 Farallon carried out reconnaissance sampling on the claims before dropping the option. B. Lueck staked the TP cl 2, 4-8 (YB48042) and JD cl 1-91 (YB48278) 5 km to the south in Mar/94 and carried out soil geochemical sampling of the Far cl 31-34 and TP claims for Thor Explorations Ltd, a company controlled by Lueck. L. Hart restaked JD cl 33-64 (YB48310) and 87-91 (YB48342) and Far cl 1-64 (YB42003) in Dec/94 and in Sep/95 he restaked JD cl 1-32 (YB48278) and JD cl A (YB48437), following which the claims were optioned/sold to Thor Explorations as part of an existing option agreement.
In Jun/95 Kennecott Canada Inc optioned the Clear Creek area claims (including the Rain, Sleet and Wind) and carried out reverse circulation drilling of 27 holes (1 970.5 m) on the Rhosgobel stock and soil sampling, geological mapping, trenching and road building throughout the claim block. In Nov/95 Kennecott dropped its option.
New Millennium, a wholly owned subsidiary of First Dynasty, took over as operator of the Clear Creek project in May/97 and carried out machine trenching on the CC claims (Minfile Occurrence #115P 055) and trenching and soil sampling of the Rye claims (Minfile Occurrence #115P 013) later in the year.
In 1998 Newmont Exploration Ltd acquired an option from New Millennium on the CC, Dum, Rain, Rum, Rye, Sleet, Wet and Wind claims, forming an contiguous block with the BZ cl 1-79 (YB94420), 7.5 km to the northwest, and Jo cl 1-70 (YB94499), 7.5 km to the northeast, which Newmont had staked in Aug/96. The company carried out geochemical rock and soil sampling and geological mapping across the northern third and the south-central part of the claim block in Jul/98. This was followed by airborne magnetic and radiometric geophysical surveying of the entire claim block and surrounding areas in Aug/98.
In 1999 Redstar Resources Corporation entered an option agreement with Newmont to acquire an interest in their Clear Creek claim holdings. During June and Jul/99 Redstar carried out geochemical rock and soil sampling of the south-central and eastern portions of the Clear Creek claim group and in Nov/99 the company drilled 2 holes (219.2 m) on Sleet cl 18 (YB04273) 3 km to the southwest (Minfile Occurrence #115P 023). Redstar carried out geochemical sampling in the western portion of the claim group in 2000 and drilled 9 more holes (1 211 m) on Sleet cl 18 and 20. Redstar terminated its option agreement on the Clear Creek property in 2002.
First Dynasty changed its name to Sterlite Gold Ltd in Jul/2002. In Sep/2003 Thor Explorations Ltd carried out soil sampling and prospecting on Far cl 31-34 and cl 51-54 and TP cl 2 and cl 4-8.
In Oct/2004, StrataGold Corporation entered into a binding agreement to acquire all of Sterlite's interest in the Clear Creek property. The agreement is subject to a satisfactory due diligence review by StrataGold and receipt of all required regulatory approvals. In 2005 Thor Explorations Ltd carried out a reconnaissance exploration program on the Far, JD and TP claim blocks.
In Jun/2009 StrataGold Corporation was acquired by Victoria Gold Corporation.
Capsule Geology
The Rhosgobel claims were staked on a weakly quartz veined porphyritic granite stock of mid-Cretaceous age, which intrudes metasedimentary rocks of the Yusezyu Formation of the Late Proterozoic to Early Cambrian Hyland Group. Scheelite occurs with gold and arsenopyrite in and occasionally disseminated between quartz veins in the granite, and in diopside skarns along the margins of the stock.
Skarn specimens assayed up to 1.3% tungsten oxide (WO3), but the overall grade of the stockwork zone was estimated to be less than 0.05%tungsten oxide ( WO3). Quartz vein specimens assayed up to 45 ppb gold and 46 ppb silver. Minor cassiterite occurs in greisen breccias above a granitic cupola.
The Jub Jub claims were staked on silver geochemical anomalies. The 1981 sampling outlined three anomalies, including a gold anomaly averaging 300 ppb that extends for over 800 m in the hornfels zone south of the Pukelman stock (Minfile Occurrence #115P 013) located to the north. Specimens of quartz with arsenopyrite from a stockwork in the hornfels zone assayed up to 45.0 g/t gold and 46 g/t silver.
The Wind claims were staked to cover two showings of apparently stratabound pyrite mineralization in quartz-rich schist and phyllite discovered at the bottom of placer working in Clear Creek. Channel sampling in 1987 returned values ranging from 0.2 g/t to 9.2 g/t gold over widths of 0.6 to 1.2 m across pyritic beds. Significant arsenic values (up to 2%) occur with the higher gold values and variably and locally anomalous values for silver (to 4.3 ppm), lead (to 591 ppm), zinc (to 2 413 ppm) and antimony (to 280 ppm).
In the central part of the grid, a strong northeast-trending tungsten-gold anomaly covers an area 1 000 x 400 m underlain by porphyritic quartz monzonite, and an east-trending tungsten anomaly (40 to 560 ppm tungsten) coincides with the south contact of the Rhosgobel stock. Soil sampling in 1988 returned several values up to 408 ppb gold, and a specimen of quartz vein float assayed 1 141 ppb gold.
Murphy et al. (1993) noted a strong correlation between gold, bismuth and tungsten on the Rhosgobel property. Four specimens of quartz vein material contained between 2 330 and 15 000 ppb gold, 26 to 318 ppm bismuth and 55 ppm to 0.2% tungsten. Kennecott's drilling on the Rhosgobel stock tested a 1.5 by 2.5 km area of anomalous gold geochemistry associated with sheeted quartz veins in the stock. The drilling program delineated a zone about 1 200 m by 200 m by 65 m deep (about 40 million tonnes) with a potential average gold grade greater than 300 ppb. This zone contains a higher grade core with a potential for about 2 million tonnes grading >1 gram per tonne gold. Kennecott also constructed access roads and collected two lines of soil samples south of the Rhosgobel stock. None of the samples returned anomalous values.
Farallon Resources Ltd collected 8 rock and 15 soil samples on their two visits to the Far property. The soil samples returned a high of 50 ppb gold while the rock samples returned a high of 341 ppb gold. Lueck's 1994 detailed soil sample survey was centered over a portion of the Rhosgobel Pluton believed to have potential for an intrusive hosted gold deposit. A widespread northwest trending gold in soil anomaly was outlined with several zones returning values in excess of 100 ppb gold.
Thor Explorations' 2003 program identified a 100 m long gold soil anomaly within Far cl 33 and 34 which cover the southeast corner of the Rhosgobel Stock. The anomaly ranged in value from 0.067 to 0.194 g/t gold and was associated with anomalous arsenic and tungsten values averaging 420 ppm and 125 ppm respectively. Soil sampling on the TP claims uncovered a single station anomaly of 0.033 g/t gold on TP cl 2 and second single station anomaly of 0.326 g/t gold on TP cl 8. Sampling was carried out on 100 m centers. The 2005 reconnaissance program returned numerous single site rock and soil anomalies but given the reconnaissance nature of the program no new areas of mineralization or potential mineralization were identified.
Newmont's sampling confirmed anomalous gold values reported by previous operators and outlined existing areas of anomalous gold and arsenic geochemistry. Magnetic data from the airborne survey defined dominant structural trends in the area and partially outlined some of the intrusive stocks in the area. Radiometric data suggests that Rhosgobel and Big Creek stocks are part of a single intrusive body.
References
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