Work History
The earliest staking records show that G.F. Dickson staked Klaza cl 1-21 (56012) in October 1947. Dickson optioned the claims to Conwest Exploration Company Ltd. Dickson re-staked the target as West cl 1-32 (74789) in April 1960.
Re-staked as May cl 1-10 (Y21016), in September 1967 by J. Wheeler, who carried out preliminary soil sampling. In February 1968 Esansee Explorations Ltd. optioned the May claims and in March 1968 staked May cl 11-22 (Y23901).
Esansee Exploration staked fractional Galena cl 1-3 (Y24985) between the May claims and Sue cl #3 and Safety Factor cl 1-13 (Y24988) to the northwest. The company optioned the remaining Sue claims in May 1969 and in 1970, the option on the Sue claims was dropped. In March 1972, following a long legal dispute, the May and the fractional Galena claims were transferred to W. Hyde.
Re-staked as Tawa cl 1-24 (YA48051) in August 1979 by BRX Mining & Petroleum Ltd. The company added Tawa cl 33-48 (Y50952) in July 1980 and Tawa cl 25-32 (YA51370) and cl 49-72 (YA51378) in September 1980. The claim block stretched northwest and also encompassed the Rico occurrence (MINFILE occurrence 115 080).
Re-staked as Tawa cl 1-24 (YA75263) in October 1982 by T. Hanlon, who transferred the claims back to BRX Mining and Petroleum Ltd. In 1985, the company re-organized and changed its name to Consolidation BRX Mining and Petroleum Ltd.
Chevron Canada Resources Ltd. optioned the property in March 1986 on behalf of Freegold Venture and carried out geological mapping, grid soil sampling and an EM-16 geophysical survey in June 1986. Based on results from this program the company staked fractional Tawa cl 25-26 (YA95051) at the end of June 1986 and Tawa cl 27-63 (YA95151) and cl 64-71(YA95301) in July 1986.
In 1987, Chevron Canada constructed a four-wheel drive road from the Nansen Road to the centre of the property and excavator trenched numerous newly identified geochemical and geophysical targets, including the Klaza occurrence. In August 1987, the company staked Tawa cl 72-79 (YB06963) and cl 83-90 (YB06971) on the northwest end of their claim block.
In June 1988, Chevron Canada sub-optioned the Tawa claims to BYG Natural Resources Inc., which carried additional excavator trenching at the Klaza zone. The company also upgraded the access road into the claim block and performed follow-up trenching in 1989. In 1998, BYG drilled two holes (199.64 m) at the Klaza occurrence.
In March 1999, BYG Natural Resources and all their claims were placed into receivership. On January 3, 2005, Tawa cl 1-24 (YA75263) lapsed. The remaining claims lapsed over time with the final claims lapsing on January 3, 2010.
On January 11, 2005, ATAC Resources Ltd. re-staked Tawa cl 1-24 as Klaza cl 1-24 (YC37984). The Klaza claims covered the majority of mineralization discovered to date. In October 2005, ATAC Resources optioned a 75% interest in the claims to Bannockburn Resources Ltd.
In July and August 2006, Bannockburn Resources cut a grid over most of the Klaza claims and carried out an induced polarization ground survey. In July 2007, the company consolidated its shares on the basis of one new share for five old shares. On August 14, 2007 Bannockburn Resources changed its name to Lucara Diamond Corporation. In December 2007, Lucara Diamond sold its interest in the claims to Ishan Resources Ltd. for $25,000.00. In November 2008, Ishan Resources terminated its interest in the claims without performing any work and returned the claims to ATAC Resources who regained 100% interest in the claims.
On November 4, 2009, ATAC Resources optioned 100% interest in the Klaza claims to Rockhaven Resources Ltd. in return for a cash payment and shares in Rockhaven. Rockhaven immediately staked Klaza cl 25-64 (YD9205) to the north, west and south.
Beginning in early June 2010, Rockhaven Resources dug 5 excavator trenches at the Klaza zone and extensively chip sampled the west rib of each trench. Based on early assay results the company staked Klaza cl 65-66 (YC99541) in July 2010 and Klaza cl 68-129 (YD07149).
Beginning in late July 2010 and continuing to the end of August 2010 the company drilled 7 diamond drill holes (1,035.1 m). Rockhaven also flew a helicopter-borne magnetic and gamma-ray spectrometric geophysical program over Klaza claims 1-129 and carried out infill soil sampling over various areas. In September 2010, Rockhaven Resources staked Klaza cl 133-166 (YD072214) and in December 2010 staked Klaza cl 167-308 (YD119737) and cl 309 (YD110502).
During the 2011 field season, Rockhaven Resources drilled 39 diamond drill holes (11,211.85 m) at the Klaza occurrence. The company also carried out trenching, additional soil sampling and geological mapping. In July 2011, geophysical contractors flew a high sensitivity helicopter-borne magnetic and gamma ray spectrometric survey as well as orthophoto airphotography.
In 2012, Rockhaven Resources drilled 27 diamond drill holes (8,351.38 m) and dug trenches. The west rib of the trenches was extensively chip sampled. Metallurgical testing and petrographic studies were also carried out at Klaza. In December 2012, Rockhaven formalized the purchase of Etzel cl 1-50 from Ansell Capital Corp. The claims are located immediate east of the property and include the Cyprus occurrence (MINFILE occurrence 115I 066).
Exploration carried out in 2013 at Klaza consisted of excavator trenches, an IP ground geophysical survey and various metallurgical tests.
In 2014, Rockhaven Resources drilled 34 diamond drill holes (6,709.97 m) and carried out bedrock mapping and trenching at the Klaza occurrence. A ground magnetic and EM geophysical survey was also performed. The company continued conducting various metallurgical tests while preparing an initial resource estimate for the property. In January 2015, the company released an initial 43-101 compliant inferred resource estimate for the Klaza property that included the BRX (MINFILE occurrence 115I 151) and Klaza zones.
In June 2015, Rockhaven Resources released an updated NI 43-101 compliant technical report for the project which contained an expanded section on data verification. Metallurgical testing, trenching (2 trenches totaling 436 m) and drilling of 28 diamond drill holes (6,495.91 m) at Klaza were also completed in 2015. Water geochemistry of five groundwater monitoring wells was also performed.
Work in 2016 at Klaza by Rockhaven consisted of diamond drilling of 25 holes totaling 5,204.19 m, rock and soil geochemistry, IP ground geophysics, backhoe trenching, and a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) report. Further drilling of 49 diamond drill holes (7,404.31 m), backhoe trenching and metallurgical testing was conducted in 2017.
In June 2018, Rockhaven Resources released an updated NI 43-101 compliant technical report and mineral resource estimate for the Klaza and BRX (MINFILE occurrence 115I 151) zones. Further diamond drilling was completed in 2019 and a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) released in July 2020.
Regional & Property Geology
The occurrence is located in the Dawson Range within Yukon-Tanana Terrane (YTT). The rocks of the YTT in this region consist of Early Mississipian metamorphic rocks separated into meta-sedimentary and meta-igneous suites (Stroshein, 1998). The meta-sedimentary suite consists of micaceous quartz-feldspar gneiss, schist and quartzite of the Nasina Assemblage. The meta-igneous package is comprised of biotite-hornblende feldspar gneiss and coarse-grained granodiorite orthogneiss with lesser amphibolite. These basement rocks are cut by numerous plutonic and volcanic events from the Cretaceous and Tertiary.
The oldest exposed unit within the boundaries of the Klaza property is a pluton of the Early Jurassic Long Lake Suite (EJL), which outcrops in the northeast corner. The majority of the property is underlain by coarse-grained, non-foliated Mid-Cretaceous Whitehorse Suite granodiorite (mKW) comprised of 30% hornblende and biotite. A moderate size, quartz-rich granite to quartz monzonite Casino Suite stock (LKq) intrudes the granodiorite in the southeast corner of the property and is thought to be the main heat source for hydrothermal cells responsible for mineralization on the property. A series of northwesterly trending feldspar porphyry dykes (LKfp) emanating from the stock in the southeastern part of the property cut the Whitehorse suite granodiorite in the Klaza occurrence area. These dykes are up to 30 m wide and consist of buff aphanitic groundmass containing up to 15% orthoclase phenocrysts (1 to 2 mm) with minor biotite and rare quartz phenocrysts. The dykes commonly occupy the same structural zones as the mineralized veins and are often strongly fractured. Some veins cross-cut dykes (Turner & Dumala, 2017).
Sub-aerial volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks belonging to the Mount Nansen (mKN) and Carmacks (uKC) volcanics are found on the periphery of the property. These rocks are believed to be extrusive equivalents of the mid and Late Cretaceous intrusions, respectively (Turner & Dumala, 2017).
There are two main fault trends present on the property. The first set strikes northwesterly and dips 60 to 80° to the southwest and although they lack strong topographic expression, these faults are important because they host veins and breccia zones and appear to control distribution of the porphyry dykes. The second set of faults strike northeasterly, almost perpendicular to the primary set and dip sub-vertically. They form prominent topographic linears and offset the mineralized zones in a number of places, creating apparent left lateral displacements of up to 80 m in magnitude (Turner & Dumala, 2017).
Nine separate mineralized structural zones have been discovered on the Klaza property. These zones developed northwest of the nearby Cyprus porphyry system (MINFILE occurrence 115I 066) and collectively form a 4 km long by 2 km wide corridor that cuts northwesterly through Mid-Cretaceous granodiorite country rocks. The nine zones range in width from 1 to 100 m and are usually associated with porphyry dykes. Veins, sheeted veinlets and some tabular breccia bodies host disseminate to semi-massive pyrite, arsenopyrite, galena, sphalerite, stibnite and jamesonite in quartz, carbonate and barite gangue. The host granodiorite exhibits pervasive weak argillic alteration immediately adjacent to and up to 30 m peripherally to them. Sericitization and potassic alteration are developed directly adjacent to hydrothermal channel ways (Turner & Dumala, 2017).
Mineralization & Results
The Klaza occurrence is located 800 m northeast of the BRX zone (MINFILE occurrence 115I 150) and has been traced over a 2,400 m strike length. The occurrence is comprised of numerous individual veins ranging between 0.2 m to 4.5 m wide and been separated into three distinct mineralized zones reflecting the distance from the hydrothermal center (AR 096667). These mineralized zones are:
1. Western Klaza: The Western Klaza zone represents distal mineralization and is comprised of narrow, high grade Au-Ag veins hosting increased proportions of arsenopyrite and sulphosalts. Veins in this zone are not associated with a feldspar porphyry dyke or flanked by sheeted veining noted in the Central and Eastern Klaza zones (AR 097000).
2. Central Klaza: The Central Klaza zone is hosted within an extensive complex of steeply dipping veins, breccias and sheeted veinlets associated with a swarm of feldspar porphyry dykes. Mineralization generally consists of pyrite, arsenopyrite, galena and sphalerite with the strongest veining noted along dyke margins (Ross et al., 2020).
3. Eastern Klaza: The Eastern Klaza zone is comprised of large zones of quartz-pyrite stringers and veinlets that host disseminated galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite and lesser molybdenum. These mineralized zones are crosscut by barren feldspar porphyry dykes up to 70 m wide. The most significant vein zones are associated with broad zones of phyllic and weak potassic alteration hosting disseminated pyrite (AR 097000).
Trenching in 1987 by Chevron first located the Klaza zone veins with the best assay averaging 0.123 oz/ton Au and 1.38 oz/ton Ag across 8.0 m including a 1 m interval that graded 0.326 oz/ton Au and 6.30 oz/ton Ag over 1 m. A second vein located 72.5 m to the southwest returned 0.130 oz/ton Au and 12.80 oz/ton Ag across 1 m. A third vein at the northeast end of the trench was only partially exposed, suggesting that other parallel structures may exist (AR 092083). Follow-up drilling by BYG Resources in 1998 beneath the widest trench exposure returned 3.82 g/t Au and 84.70 g/t Ag over a 5.05 m interval of strongly brecciated and clay altered porphyry dyke containing quartz stringers (AR 094743).
Trenching in 2010 by Rockhaven returned significant assays that include: 2.33 g/t Au and 34.91 g/t Ag over 16.35 m in KL-10-09; 2.87 g/t Au and 42.3 g/t Ag over 20.10 m in KL-10-10; 2.04 g/t Au and 18.7 g/t Ag over 5.40 m in KL-10-11; 2.56 g/t Au and 30.4 g/t Ag over 17.70 m in KL-10-12; and 12.45 g/t Au and 305.0 g/t Ag over 1.45 m KL-10-19 (AR 095370). Highlights from 2010 drilling at the Klaza zone included 7.20 g/t Au and 260.0 g/t Ag over 15.30 m and 2.29 g/t Au and 36.1 g/t Ag across 19.75 m (AR 095370).
Diamond drilling in 2011 at Klaza by Rockhaven returned significant assays of up to 6.09 g/t Au and 101 g/t Ag over 6.78 m in hole KL-11-16 and 5.03 g/t Au and 14 g/t Ag over 12.51 m in hole KL-11-56. Trenching results were also significant with up to 7.17 g/t Au and 16 g/t Ag over 7.11 m in TR-11-26 (AR 096036).
Drilling results in 2012 by Rockhaven returned several significant intercepts including: 3.18 g/t Au and 516 g/t Ag over 3.21 m in KL-112-79 and 4.51 g/t Au and 332 g/t Ag over 7.12 m in KL-12-155 at Western Klaza; 11.9 g/t Au and 5.23 g/t Ag over 6.7 m at Central Klaza; and 1.43 g/t Au and 2.69 g/t Ag over 18.03 m in Kl-12-121 at Eastern Klaza (AR 096465).
Trenching highlights from 2013 at the Klaza zone include: 5.16 g/t Au and 300 g/t Ag over 18.79 m in TR-13-51 and 16.2 g/t Au and 158 g/t Ag over 6.84 m in TR-13-52 (AR 096667).
Diamond drilling in 2014 returned the best results from the Western Klaza zone with assays up to 15.38g/t Au and 741 g/t Ag over 1.46 m in KL-14-220 (AR 096748). Further drilling in 2015 returned significant intervals at the Western and Central Klaza zones, which returned 2.84 g/t Au and 357 g/t Ag over 2.14 m and 4.21 g/t Au and 61.4 g/t Ag over 1.69 m, respectively (Rockhaven News Release, 30 Sep/2015).
Diamond drilling in 2016 by Rockhaven Resources returned significant values from the Central and Eastern Klaza zones with up to 17.01 g/t Au and 121 g/t Ag over 4.32 m and 5.41 g/t Au and 129 g/t Ag over 1.78 m, respectively (Rockhaven News Release, 26 Sep/2016). Further drilling in 2017 returned significant assays at the Klaza occurrence of up to 10.94 g/t Au and 81.7 g/t Ag over 3.74 m; 8.54 g/t Au and 674 g/t Ag over 2.26 m; and 21.13 g/t Au and 116 g/t Ag over 1.36 m (Rockhaven News Release, 14 Nov/2017).
In June, 2018, Rockahaven produced a resource estimate for the Klaza Project. The estimate was calculated for the Western Klaza, Western BRX, Central Klaza, and Central BRX zones and classified as Pit Constrained and Underground. The combined Pit Constrained and Underground indicated resource is 3,457,000 tones grading 4.8 g/t gold, 98 g/t silver, 0.7% lead and 0.9% zinc. The combined Pit Constrained and Underground inferred resource is 5,714,000 tones grading 2.8 g/t gold, 76 g/t silver, 0.6% lead and 0.7% zinc.
