Work History

Staked as Bix cl (YA38290) in Sep/78 by Cominco. The adjoining large block of A cl (YA30393) was staked in May/78 by G. Dickson and optioned to Cominco which added SP cl (YA39308) to the northeast in Mar/79 and explored by mapping, geochem sampling and 5 diamond drillholes (670 m) on the A 25 and Bix 4-6 claims. The claims were transferred to Pacific Ridge Res Corp, which performed mapping and geochem sampling in 1981.

Restaked as Sun 5-56 cl (YB19958) in Nov/91 by Placer Dome Inc., which performed a soil geochemical survey and geological mapping in 1992.

Restaked as SP claims by Goldspike Exploration Inc and explored in 2011 with mapping, soil, silt and rock sampling and an aeromagnetic geophysical survey. In 2012, rock and soil samples were collected. In 2020, the area was restaked as Bix 1-48; Strategic Metals performed rock and soil sampling.

In 2021, Strategic Metals expanded on the soil sample grid, prospected and collected a few rock samples.

Capsule Geology

The occurrence area is underlain by Lower Proterozoic to Upper Cambrian Hyland Group metasedimentary rocks intruded by the Late Cretaceous Sunshine Creek stock (McQuesten Suite). The stock and associated plugs consist of muscovite-biotite granite and porphyritic quartz monzonite, and are cut by several late-stage aplite and quartz-feldspar porphyritic dykes.The metasedimentary rocks consist of quartz±muscovite±biotite schist, quartzite and limestone. 

The occurrence is within a quartz-limonite breccia zone containing tourmaline and pyrite. The breccia zone is 1-10 m wide and 200 m long, and consists of quartzite fragments up to 5 cm across in a quartz-orthoclase-tourmaline-cassiterite matrix with up to 15% open space. Cominco's drilling in 1979 tested the zone. The best drill intersections for tin were 0.15% Sn over 5.0 m and 0.10% Sn over 5.0 m at the end of DDH SC 79-5 (141 m depth). DDH SC 79-3 intersected lower grade zinc toward the end of the hole: 12 m of 0.23% Zn. Emond and Lynch (1992) obtained anomalous values of Sb, As, Au, Bi, W and Ag from tourmalinite and breccia in this zone.

In 1992, Placer Dome evaluated the property for Fort Knox-type gold mineralization. Results were disappointing and the claims were allowed to lapse.

In 2011, Goldspike Exploration Inc. conducted widespread soil, silt and rock geochemical surveys. The company was exploring for intrusion-related gold mineralization, so no analyses were done for tin. Widespread ridge and spur soil lines (962 samples) returned subdued results for gold: 8 samples were higher than 25 ppb Au; the highest result was 61.2 ppb Au, 1 km southwest of this occurrence.

In 2020, Strategic Metals explored the property for its tin and porphyry copper-gold potential. A rock sample 1.7 km to the south of the occurrence returned 14.9% Sn; a rock sample 900 m to the east returned 2340 ppm Sn. Interestingly, the soil response in these areas with anomalous rock geochemistry tends to be muted.