Work History

Staked as ID cl 1-26, 61-64, 66-67 and 69-72 (Y99957) in August, 1975 by the Blackstone Project (Union Miniere Explorations and Mining Corporation Ltd. and Shell Canada Resources Ltd.), which carried out geological mapping and geochemical sampling in 1975, 1976 and 1977. The claims were briefly optioned to Rinsey Mines Ltd. in 1990.

In May, 1990 Archer, Cathro and Associates (1981) Ltd. staked the CO cl 1-4 (YB30611) 1.5 km west of the occurrence location. These claims were later surrounded by the Monster claim block.

Re-staked as Monster cl 41-72 (YB42107) in June, 1993 by Pamicon Developments Ltd. and Equity Engineering Ltd., which had earlier in the same month re-staked the Dash showing (MINFILE occurrence 116B 103) located 7.5 km to the southwest as Monster cl 1-40 (YB42067). The claims were subsequently optioned by the privately funded Monster Joint Venture, which immediately carried out geological mapping, prospecting and geochemical soil sampling of the two claim groups, herein called the Monster East (cl 41-72) and Monster West (cl 1-40) areas. The Monster Joint Venture subsequently became Pendisle Resources Ltd.

Pendisle staked Monster cl 73-112 (YB48361) in May, 1994 between the two previously staked claim groups, forming a contiguous block of claims. They also staked Monster cl 113-265 (YB48591) on the southwest side of the claim block. Geological mapping, prospecting, geochemical soil sampling and ground radiometric surveying was carried out across the claim block in July and August 1994. Pendisle staked Cookie cl 1-20 (YB52507) 2.5 km to the east-southeast in August, 1994 and carried out geological mapping, prospecting and geochemical rock, silt and soil sampling of the Cookie claims at this time.

In June 1996, Blackstone Resources Limited (formerly Pendisle Resources) carried out helicopter-borne magnetic and radiometric surveying over the Ogilvie Mountain breccia belts, which included detailed coverage of the Monster and Cookie claims (Monster property). In June, 1998 Blackstone staked Cookie cl 21-58 (YC07474) to the south and west of the original Cookie claims forming a contiguous claim block that included the Monster claims. The company then carried out a geological mapping, prospecting and geochemical rock and soil sampling that targeted magnetic and structural features outlined by the 1996 geophysical survey. Blackstone Resources changed its name to Blackstone Ventures Inc. in April, 2001.

In June, 2001, Blackstone announced a purchase agreement with Monster Copper Resources Inc., a private exploration company, whereby Monster Copper Resources would acquire Blackstone’s interest in this and other nearby properties in exchange for shares and work commitments. Monster Copper carried out geological reconnaissance (consisting of mapping and prospecting), geochemical rock sampling and collected widespread gravity readings across the central and eastern regions of the Monster property in 2001. A similar work program, focused in the central region of the property, was carried out in 2002 and included ongoing geological reconnaissance and geochemical sampling, infill and expansion of the gravity survey and density measurements of representative lithologies. In 2003, the company completed detailed gravity surveying in the central region of the property, 2 to 2.5 km southwest of the occurrence location, and drilled one hole (194.5 m) to test the area.

Monster Copper Resources was subsequently acquired by Monster Copper Corporation (formerly Coventary Charter Corporation) in May, 2003 as the company’s “qualifying transaction” prior to the recommencement of trading of it shares on the TSX Venture Exchange.

Regional & Property

The area is situated in the southern Ogilvie Mountains and is cored by the Coal Creek Inlier, an oval shaped and east-trending window of Proterozoic clastic rocks that have been penetrated by mineralized breccias and cut by mafic sills and dikes. The Lower Proterozoic stratigraphy of the Coal Creek Inlier has been correlated by Thorkelson (2000) to that of the Wernecke Supergroup, defined by Delaney (1985), in the Wernecke Mountains located some 250 km to the east. The geological setting of the southern Ogilvie Mountains is considered highly favourable for hosting Olympic Dam type Cu-U-Au-Ag deposits.

The area is underlain by Lower Proterozoic Quartet Group shale, quartzite, wacke, conglomerate; Lower Proterozoic Gillespie Lake Group dolomite (commonly containing stromatolites), shaley dolomite, siltstone, shale; these rocks are intruded by breccias of the Northern Wernecke Breccia Belt (Lane and Godwin, 1992) which are in turn cut by minor diorite intrusions. The Wernecke breccias comprise: (1) heterolithic breccia with carbonate, hematite, or chlorite matrix; and (2) monolithic breccias with Fairchild, Quartet, or Gillespie Lake Group fragments. The breccias form a circular body in planabout 3 km across known as “the Donut” (Lane and Godwin, 1992). Alteration occurs as: hematization, carbonate, chlorite, and pink K-spar often associated with the breccia matrix as well as local magnetite in dolomite (Jasper Zone). Significant structures hosting mineralization are generally centered on the intersection of northeast and northwest trending faults. This and several other similar occurrences (MINFILE occurrences 116B 068, 084, 099, 113) are located along the Monster Fault, a steep east-west normal structure of Proterozoic age which is downthrown to the north.

Mineralization & Results

Early grid soil sampling by the Blackstone Project in the seventies focused on carbonate-hosted lead-zinc and copper mineralization over the original Wizard occurrence, located on the northeast side of “the Donut”. The company identified four soil anomalies, the largest of which covers 60 m by 600 m. The best assays returned up to 640 ppm Zn, up 2,800 ppm Cu, and anomalous Co.

The Monster Joint Venture reported in 1993 that chalcopyrite, bornite and cobaltite mineralization occurs within quartz-carbonate veins, quartz veinlets and stockworks along a fault zone and as disseminations in Lower Proterozoic shale and quartzite located near the margins of breccia bodies and/or diorite sills and dykes. Mineralization also occurs in specular hematite heterolithic breccia. Soil sampling in 1993 detected copper and zinc anomalies extending over 2 km and accompanied by high cobalt values. Rock samples returned values between 1.1% and 27% combined Cu-Zn.

The 1994 program indicated widespread Cu mineralization throughout the Monster claim block, with the areas of strongest mineralization often associated with large diorite bodies. Rock and soil samples collected from around this occurrence, confirmed the extent and grade of the mineralization previously reported in 1993.

Work on the Cookie claims uncovered copper mineralization in the form of stockwork veining and disseminations within breccia float. The best result obtained was a grab sample collected from the main breccia body which assayed 5.05% Cu. Several soil and silt sampling anomalies were found which generally coincide with areas of known mineralization, but some new areas of potential mineralization were also identified. Although the program was preliminary in nature, the favourable results led the company to recommend further work. These claims also displayed a strong magnetic response coupled with intersecting EW, NE, and NS trending structures identified in the airborne geophysical survey flown in 1996.

Further geological work by Blackstone in 1998, utilizing information acquired from the 1996 regional airborne survey improved the geological understanding of the area. Several mineralized zones with chalcopyrite, bornite ± cobaltite, malachite, azurite, erythrite in veinlets and fractures were mapped and sampled. These zones, from nearest to furthest from the original Wizard occurrence, include: the Goblin Showing, Mark’s High Grade Showing, Panther Showing, Champagne Zone, Champagne North Zone, Jasper Zone and the O’Hara Showing. The best results of the program include a rock sample from Mark’s High Grade showing (MINFILE occurrence 116B 176) which assayed 44.8% Cu, 9 820 ppm Co, 510 ppb Au, 24.2 g/t Ag and a 35 m contiguous rock sample from the Goblin showing (MINFILE occurrence 115B 175) which returned 0.57% Cu. Replacement type mineralization found in Gillespie Lake Group float returned up to 23.7% Zn and 5.7 % Pb at the Champagne North Zone. Contour soil sampling also returned anomalous results in Cu, Co, Zn, and Pb. Many other zones were mapped west of the “Donut” and are reported in MINFILE occurrence 116B 103.

Geological reconnaissance and sampling carried out in 2001 and 2002 identified numerous additional areas of mineralization, all of limited extent, consisting typically of malachite and azurite with minor amounts of chalcopyrite. Gradual refinement of the gravity survey through infill, detailed surveying and full terrain correction resulted in a significant reduction in the amplitude of what had initially been interpreted as a `gravity anomaly apparently of significant magnitude’. Drilling carried out prior to the completion of the detailed geophysical surveying intersected mostly unmineralized breccia and shale cut by the occasional diorite dyke and revealed that the earliest interpretations of the density contrasts thought to be present in the area were not the result of iron-rich material at depth. These apparent contrasts, after final interpretation of the detailed survey, were determined to be of very low order (0.1 to 0.15 g/cm3). The only significant mineralization intersected during drilling was a 0.5 m wide clast of andesite with chalcopyrite as disseminations and stringers that returned 1.7% Cu.