Work History

Staked as Ivor cl 1-48 (Y14172) in Nov/67 by Atlas Exploration Ltd for the Hess Syndicate, a joint venture with Quebec Cartier Mining Company Ltd and Phillips Brothers (Canada) Ltd, following a reconnaissance stream sediment sampling program. Explored by geological mapping and grid soil sampling in 1968.
Viceroy Exploration (Canada) Inc staked Beethoven cl 1-96 (YB99893) 3 km to the southwest in Oct/97, after Hemlo Gold Mines Inc obtained favorable gold results from rock and soil sampling in 1996. Viceroy carried out geological mapping and geochemical (silt, soil and rock) sampling in 1998.
In Mar/99, NovaGold Resources Inc acquired 100% of Viceroy's interest in this and 21 other grassroots properties in the Yukon in exchange for 3.4 million common shares. Later in 1999, NovaGold carried out geological mapping and geochemical (silt, soil and rock) sampling across the central and eastern portions of the property.

Capsule Geology

The Ivor claims were staked in an area of high zinc stream sediment values. Host rocks are cherty shale and slate of the Devonian to Mississippian Earn Group Prevost Formation about 3 km east of a small mid-Cretaceous quartz-biotite monzonite stock of the Tombstone Intrusive suite. Three zinc soil anomalies were found, the largest of which had peak values of 4 600 ppm and covered an area 1 100 m long and 120 m to 300 m wide. Lead and copper values are erratic. Rusty weathering black chert with small quartz veinlets returned rock geochemical values in the 1 200 ppm zinc range and probably explain the soil response. No mineralization was found in spite of fairly abundant outcrop.
The Beethoven claims are underlain by Ordovician to Silurian Road River Group sediments consisting of shales, cherts and siltstones that have been intruded by the above mentioned stock. Moderate to strong argillic alteration is present, particularily along the southern margins of the stock. Propyllitic alteration and hornfelsing, with resultant limonitic stain, has occurred in the sediments near the stock. Sampling during 1998 and 1999 indicated that most auriferous mineralization occurs within argillically altered marginal portions of the stock and the adjacent country rock, with widespread, narrow gold bearing arsenopyrite veins and vein breccias occuring up to 300 m from the stock. Grab sampling returned peak values for altered intrusive up to 300 ppb Au, 6.6 g/t Ag, 0.14% Pb, 518 ppm Zn, 0.24% As and 79 ppm Sb; for mineralized country rock up to 570 ppb Au, 128.7 g/t Ag, 557 ppm Cu, 1.71% Pb, 524 ppm Zn, 4.03% As, 0.26% Sb and 82 ppm Bi; and for veins and vein breccias up to 6.8 g/t Au was returned.

References

ATLAS EXPLORATION LTD, Dec/67. Assessment Report #018947 by C.L Smith.

ATLAS EXPLORATION LTD, Oct/68. Assessment Report #018948 by T.J. Adamson.

NOVAGOLD RESOURCES INC, Mar/2000. Assessment Report #094099 by C.M. Schulze.

VICEROY EXPLORATION (CANADA) INC, Mar/99. Assessment Report #093969 by C.M. Schulze.

YUKON EXPLORATION AND GEOLOGY 1999, p. 11.