Work History

Staked as Donald cl (61977) in Sep/51 by G. Dickson and explored under option with trenching in 1953 by Leitch Gold Mines Ltd, and with 39 hand trenches and extensive sampling and mapping in 1954 by Prospectors Airways Company Ltd on behalf of a syndicate which included Noranda Mines Ltd and Kerr Addison Gold Mines Ltd.
Restaked in Jul/59 as Dago cl 1-5 (?) (80349) by Dickson, who performed minor trenching until Mar/66 when the property was optioned to Atlas Explorations Ltd. Atlas added the Soda cl 1-30 (84822) and conducted an evaluation survey and regional geochemical survey later in the year. Dickson added the Bud cl 1-24 (Yl4382) and cl 33-48 (Y14421) in Mar/68 and formed a new company, Rackla River Mines Ltd in 1968 to develop the property. Rackla did surface mapping and sampling in 1968 and bulldozer trenching in the spring of 1969 before optioning the claims to Casino Silver Mines Ltd in Aug/69. Casino conducted an IP survey later that year and drilled 4 holes (580.3 m) in 1970.
Rackla River Mines Ltd conducted further grid soil sampling and limited packsack drilling in 1972, added the Con cl 1-80 (Y57437) in Apr/72, and optioned the property during 1974 to Anvil Mining Corporation Ltd, which drilled 2 holes (228.6 m). Rackla River Mines Ltd changed its name to North Atlantic Resources Ltd in 1976 and transferred the property back to Dickson, who optioned it to Pan Acheron Mines Ltd (later Acheron Resources Ltd) in 1977. Pan Acheron staked Pan cl 1-24 (YA17110) in Oct/77; drilled 22 holes (1 554.5 m) in 1978, tied on Scotty cl 1-28 (YA39993) and Fanale cl 1-52 (YA39941) in May/79 and performed geochem sampling in 1980 and mapping, geochem sampling and trenching in 1983.
Dickson hand trenched on the Bud & Dago cl in 1984.

Capsule Geology

The regional geology consists of siliciclastic rocks of the Early Proterozoic Wernecke Supergroup overlain by Lower to Middle Cambrian Iltyd formation limestones and dolomites, Lower to Middle Cambrian Slats Creek shales and siltstones and upper Cambrian to Lower Devonian Bouvette Group dolostone and limestones of the Ogilvie Platform. South of the occurrence, the south-dipping Dawson Thrust Fault is thought to be a reactivated basin-bounding normal fault. It places basinal facies units of the Selwyn basin over strata of the carbonate platform. 

The occurrence is defined by trenching (AR #060146). The occurrence is underlain by sedimentary rocks of the Lower Proterozoic Quartet and Gillespie Lake Groups, members of the larger Wernecke Supergroup. Several outliers comprising Lower Cambrian dolostone and limestone also outcrop in the area. The Lower Proterozoic rocks form the core of a southeast-trending syncline. Breccia zones within the rocks are related to crosscutting northeast structures and contain sphalerite and minor galena with low silver values. The sulphides have weathered to form extensive gossans at surface.

The occurrence consists of a fine-grained galena in limestone with abundant geothite, scorodite (?) and blue-black hematite (Roots 1990). Chalcopyrite is reported in coarse crystalline dolostone. Most trenches and drilling appear to occur at the unconformity between the deformed Lower Proterozoic dolostone and outliers of Lower Cambrian white limestone. Mineralization is reported to extend 1 100 m northeastward from the main occurrence.
The breccia zones assay from 1 to 10% zinc over widths of 5 to 35 m. Later veins crosscutting the breccia are mineralized with argentiferous galena assaying 1 to 3% lead, 34.3 to 205.7 g/t silver and 2 to 6% zinc over 2 to 7 m.
Extensive trenching and five of the 1970 drill holes tested an 800 m length of the breccia and showed that the mineralization is quite discontinuous. The best surface assays were 35.6% lead, 6.8% zinc and 706.3 g/t silver across 8 m. The best drill intersection was 2.1% zinc, 0.1% lead and 10.3 g/t silver across 47.5 m.
The 1978 drilling showed that the main zone is at least 1 000 m long with collapse breccias irregularly distributed along it. A second sub-parallel zone about 400 m to the south has been traced with trenches for a length of at least 500 m.

References

ACHERON RESOURCES LTD, Mar/84. Assessment Report *#091525 by G. Lohman.

ATLAS EXPLORATION LTD, May/67. Assessment Report *#017474 by J.S. Brock.

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA Memoir 364, p. 132.

GORDEY, S.P. AND MAKEPEACE, A.J. 2003: Yukon Digital Geology, version 2.0, S.P. Gordey and A.J. Makepeace (comp); Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 1749 and Yukon Geological Survey, Open File 2003-9 (D).

MINERAL INDUSTRY REPORT 1977, p. 43; 1978, p. 15.

PAN ACHERON RESOURCES LTD, Mar/78. Assessment Report *#090316 by G.A. Noel.

PAN ACHERON RESOURCES LTD, Mar/79. Assessment Report #091283 by G.A. Noel.

PAN ACHERON RESOURCES LTD, Jul/79. Assessment Report *#091306 by G.A. Noel.

PAN ACHERON RESOURCES LTD, Mar/80. Assessment Report #062009 by G.A. Noel.

PAN ACHERON RESOURCES LTD, Mar/81. Assessment Report *#090811 by R.H.D. Philip.

RACKLA RIVER MINES LTD, Jun/73. Assessment Report *#060146 by A. Allen.

ROOTS, C. 1990. Geology of 106D/8 and 106D/7 (east half) map area; Exploration and Geological Services Division, Yukon, Indian and Northern Affairs, Canada, Open File 1990-3.

YUKON EXPLORATION AND GEOLOGY 1981, p. 194; 1983, p. 233.