Occurrence Details


Occurrence Number:
105M 149
Occurrence Name:
Middlecoff
Occurrence Type:
Hard-rock
Status:
Deposit
Date printed:
4/29/2025 2:06:23 PM

Print Options


General Information
Capsule
Work History
References

General Information

Secondary Commodities: gold, lead, silver, zinc
Aliases: Haldane
Deposit Type(s): Vein Polymetallic Ag-Pb-Zn+/-Au
Location(s): N - W
NTS Mapsheet(s): 105M13
Location Comments: Georeferenced from AR 097337 (Figure 4).
Hand Samples Available: No
Last Reviewed:

Capsule

Work History

Silver-lead mineralization was probably found on Mt Haldane prior to 1906 and was staked as Lookout, etc cl (2332) in March 1915 by A. Johnson and J.V. Smith. The south (Middlecoff) zone was explored by surface trenching and two short adits prior to 1918 and was optioned in 1919 to Yukon Silver-Lead Mining Company Ltd., which drove a third adit and shipped 24.7 tonnes grading 3 101.7 g/t Ag and 59% Pb in 1920.

Re-staked by E. Bleiler and M. Ewing in October 1944 as Middlecoff cl (55320) which was optioned in 1952 to Lookout Mountain Mines Ltd., and in 1964 to Silver Titan Mines Ltd, which added DB, May, Ted, etc cl (83403) in May 1964 and conducted geochemical sampling, bulldozer trenching and adit rehabilitation.

The property was transferred to Haldane Silver Mines Ltd in 1966 and the Middlecoff and Johnson zones were explored by 701 m of overburden drilling and 533.4 m of underground drilling mainly at Middlecoff. In 1968, Paramount Mining Ltd acquired control of Haldane Silver Mines Ltd.

Re-staked as Middlecoff, etc cl (YA1913) in April 1967 by M.H. Ewing and optioned in 1978 by Barry Way, who added Gopher, etc. cl (YA17722) in April and performed grid soil sampling, bedrock mapping and prospecting in 1978-1979.

Re-staked as Black cl 1-163 (YC02090) in November 1999 by Expatriate Resources Ltd. which carried out a cursory examination of the veins in 2000.

Re-staked and consolidated as Haldane cl 1-99 by Equity Exploration Consultants Ltd. in 2008 who carried out rock geochemistry and bedrock mapping. Equity optioned the claims to Habanero Resources Inc. in 2010 who carried out bedrock mapping and diamond drilling (1 hole, 126.39 m). Habanero carried out diamond drilling (2 holes, 467.6 m), prospecting, bedrock mapping and soil geochemistry in 2011.

Alianza Minerals Ltd. entered a purchase agreement in 2018 with Equity for the Haldane claims. Alianza carried out rock and soil geochemistry and bedrock mapping in 2018 and diamond drilling (2 holes, 387 m) and bedrock mapping in 2019.

In 2020, Alianza drilled 4 holes for 798.6 m, 2 holes in the Mt Haldane target and 2 in the Middlecoff target.

Regional & Property Geology

The Mt. Haldane area is underlain by the early Carboniferous Keno Hill quartzite. The quartzite overlies mid to late Devonian Earn Group quartz- and feldspar-phyric chloritic phyllite metavolcanics (Roots, 1997). Carbonaceous Earn Group phyllite and siltstone underlie the metavocanics. A large regional thrust fault, the Robert Service Thrust, is present in the area, which puts Keno Hill quartzite into thrust contact with Proterozoic Hyland group phyllite and schist. Numerous Triassic age metadiorite sills intrude both the Keno Hill quartzite and Earn Group rocks located around the occurrence. Several small Cretaceous age granitic dykes and intrusions also intrude the sequence (AR 097320).

Mineralization & Results

The Mt. Haldane vein system contains three main mineralized zones, named from north to south, Middlecoff, Johnson (MINFILE occurrence 105M 149), and Haldane (MINFILE occurrence 105M 032) zones. All three zones appear to be part of a single, north-trending, transverse type vein fault with many branches, which cuts the Mississippian aged, Keno Hill quartzite. The vein faults are located in the footwall of the Robert Service Thrust and are believed to cut the thrust and continue into the Hyland Group, although no significant silver mineralization has been discovered above the thrust. Mineralization within the system is primarily galena with manganiferous siderite gangue (AR 095930). Surface mineralization is hosted by manganese and iron oxides breccias (AR 097230).

The Middlecoff Zone is the best mineralized, containing erratic lenses of galena, sphalerite and minor tetrahedrite. Ore shoots are small with the longest being a 13.7 m length grading 774.8 g/t Ag, 18.0% Pb, and 1.2% Zn over a 0.975 m width. Haldane Silver Mines Ltd drifted the Middlecoff vein south to a right hand fault and drilling beyond the fault located the offset which assayed 2 790.8 g/t Ag and 18.7% Pb over a 1.2 m width followed by 0.9 m grading 342.8 g/t Ag and 7.1% Pb.

Prospecting in 2008 at Middlecoff returned grades of up to 5030 g/t Ag and 55.5% Pb from the adit dumps (AR 095638).

Diamond drilling by Habanero in 2010 and 2011 encountered zones of mineralization including: 101.1 g/t Ag, 0.7% Pb, 0.7% Zn and 0.352 ppm Au over 2 m in HLD10-02 (AR 095682) and 36.7 g/t Ag, 0.943% Pb, 6.107% Zn, and 0.028 ppm Au over 4.1 m (AR 095930).

Diamond drilling in 2019 encountered a 0.35 m section of 996 g/t Ag, 28.35% Pb, 0.53% Zn and 1.486 g/t Au in HLD19-16 strongly oxidized, fractured and broken core with fault gouge (Alianza Minerals, News Release, 1 Nov/2019). 

Work History

Date Work Type Comment
7/1/2020 Drilling 2 holes, 275.0 m
7/1/2020 Geochemistry
12/13/2019 Drilling Two holes, 387 m.
12/13/2019 Geology
12/13/2019 Geochemistry
12/13/2018 Geochemistry Grab sampling.
12/13/2018 Geology
12/13/2018 Geochemistry
12/13/2011 Geochemistry Prospecting grab samples.
12/13/2011 Drilling Two holes, 467.6 m.
12/13/2011 Geology
12/13/2011 Geochemistry
12/13/2011 Geochemistry
12/13/2011 Other
12/13/2010 Drilling One hole, 126.39 m.
12/13/2010 Geology
12/13/2010 Geochemistry
12/13/2008 Geochemistry Prospecting grab samples.
12/13/2008 Geology
12/13/1979 Geochemistry Prospecting grab samples.
12/13/1979 Geology
12/13/1979 Geochemistry
12/13/1978 Geochemistry Prospecting grab samples.
12/13/1978 Geology
12/13/1978 Geochemistry
12/13/1966 Drilling 533.4 m of underground drilling.
12/13/1966 Drilling 701 m of overburden drilling between the Middlecoff and Johnson zones.
12/13/1964 Geochemistry
12/13/1964 Trenching
12/13/1918 Trenching
12/13/1918 Development, Underground Two adits were sunk prior to 1918.

Related References

Number Title Page(s) Reference Type Document Type
GM1996-4 Geological Map of Mt. Haldane area, Yukon (105M/13) Indian & Northern Affairs Canada/Department of Indian & Northern Development: Exploration & Geological Services Division Geoscience Map (Geological - Bedrock)