Work History

Mineralized float was discovered in glacial till by Pelly River Exploration Ltd (Pioneer Gold Mines Ltd, Ventures Ltd, American Standard Mines Ltd and New York-Alaska Gold Dredging Corporation), which staked 32 various Olie, Ogo, Oryx and Kudu cl (67124) in Oct/53 and carried out magnetometer surveying and a mapping program in 1954. These claims were fringe staked as 96 various Nod, etc cl (67835) in Nov/53 by American Standard Mines Ltd & Northwest Ventures Ltd.
Restaked as Swim cl 1-48 (85511) in Oct/63 by Kerr Addison Mines Ltd following an airborne magnetic survey. Kerr Addison carried out magnetometer, EM, SP and gravity surveying and drilled 1 hole (91 m) in 1964; 30 holes (4,420 m) in 1965-66; 2 holes (248 m) in 1970; 4 holes (763 m) in 1971; and more gravity surveying in 1976. In 1974, Dowa Mining Company Ltd drilled 4 holes (294 m) in the deposit for metallurgical purposes.
In Aug/73, 63 claims surrounding the 11 claims which contain the deposit were optioned to AEX 73 Syndicate, which carried out Turam and magnetometer surveying and drilled 1 hole (97 m) that failed to reach bedrock. In 1974, the option was transferred to a new company, AEX Minerals Corporation Ltd, which carried out Turam and gravity surveying. In 1975, AEX merged with 79902 Resources Ltd to form Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, which drilled 4 holes (1,061 m) in 1975.
In 1978, Kerr Addison and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd sold all of their interests to Cyprus Anvil Mining Corporation. Cyprus Anvil drilled 4 holes (899 m) in the Blind Creek valley in 1979 and 1 hole (763 m) in 1980. Control of Cyprus Anvil was sold to Hudson's Bay Oil and Gas Ltd and subsequently to Dome Petroleum Ltd in 1981. In 1981 Cyprus Anvil drilled 2 holes (1,514 m).
Assets of Cyprus Anvil were sold to Curragh Resources Ltd in 1985 and in 1989, Curragh prepared orthophoto maps of the Swim basin. In Nov/94 Anvil Range Mining Corporation acquired all claims owned by Curragh following the bankruptcy of the latter.
Anvil Range undertook a compilation study, between Aug/97 and Feb/98, to gather together all known geological data, including standardizing geological map units and accurately locating drill holes located within and surrounding their claim holdings. Only two reports, one of which covers claims assigned to this occurrence, were completed before Anvil Range encountered financial difficulties and terminated the project.
In Jan/98 Anvil Range filed for court protection in order to restructure the company. In Jan/99 Anvil Range's stock was delisted and the company entered bankruptcy proceedings.

Capsule Geology

This is the easternmost of five synsedimentary, stratiform lead-zinc-silver deposits located in an arcuate belt along the south flank of the Anvil Batholith. The deposits are considered to be submarine exhalites formed from hot metalliferous brines discharging through sea-floor fumaroles along a synsedimentary fault related to Lower Cambrian extensional tectonism (Pigage, 1990). Cyprus Anvil mapping placed the Swim deposit in the upper part of the transition zone between non-calcareous phyllite of the Lower Cambrian Mount Mye formation and overlying calcareous phyllite of the Cambrian to Ordovician Vangorda formation.
The Swim deposit strikes northwest and dips about 25° southwest and is surrounded by an envelope of quartz-muscovite alteration. Drilling has outlined 4.3 million tonnes grading 4.7% Zn, 3.8% Pb and 42 g/t Ag (at a 6% Pb+Zn cutoff) with minor copper and gold values, within an 18 million tonne deposit of massive sulphides that is roughly 460 m long and 150 m wide. Average thickness is about 21 m with a maximum thickness of 85 m.
In order of abundance, the sulphides are pyrite, pyrrhotite, sphalerite, galena, minor chalcopyrite and trace amounts of tetrahedrite, bournonite and arsenopyrite. The ores have a granular texture and average around 50% sulphides. Quartz is the most abundant gangue mineral but measurable amounts of gypsum and barite are also present.