Work History

Discovered during a 1971 stream sediment sampling program by United Keno Exploration (a consortium representing United Keno Hill Mines Ltd, Falconbridge Nickel Mines Ltd , and Canadian Superior Exploration Ltd), which staked TUV cl 1-24 (Y66799) in Jul/72 and explored with soil sampling and mapping in 1972 and 1973 and three hand trenches in 1973.

Restaked as DDH cl 1-16 (YB67058) by B. Sauer in Jun/96 and optioned to Camdan Exploration Inc in Aug/96. Camdan surrounded the occurrence with Mars cl 1-272 (YB96047) between August and Oct/96. In 1996 the company prospected and established a grid over the northern portion of the DDH claims. Later in the year a magnetics survey and limited soil sampling was carried out on the grid.

The DDH and Mars claims were optioned to Placer Dome Canada Ltd in Jun/97. Placer Dome flew an airborne gamma ray and magnetic geophysical survey over both claim groups and carried out line cutting, soil sampling, geological mapping and an IP geophysical survey over portions of the DDH claims. In Sept/2000 Placer Dome dropped its option and the DDH and Mars claims were transferred to R. Doherty and B. Sauer.

In Sep/2001 the DDH and remaining Mars claims were optioned by Saturn Ventures Inc which carried out grid based rock and soil sampling in Sept and Oct/2001. The company carried out a small excavator trenching and compilation program in 2003. 
In May/2004 Saturn Ventures reorganized and changed its name to Saturn Minerals Inc. The company initiated a helicopter-supported diamond drilling program on the property (7 holes, 827 m ) in Jul/2004. In Oct/2004 the company canceled the option agreement and returned the claims to Doherty and Sauer.

In 2007, ATAC Resources Ltd. staked the STARS claims adjacent to the DDH claims, and in 2009 it purchased B. Sauer’s 50% stake in the DDH claims. In 2010, Strategic Metals Ltd. purchased ATAC Resources’ interests in the DDH and STARS claims, and A. Doherty’s 50% holding in the DDH claims. That year, Strategic Metals carried out a helicopter-borne magnetics and radiometrics survey, which identified a northwestly trending magnetic anomaly that corresponds to anomalous soil geochemistry (Fu, 2010). In 2011, Strategic Metals optioned the property to New Dimension Resources Ltd., which performed a two hole, 635.5 m diamond drill program designed to test the northwestly trending geochemical and geophysical anomalies identified by previous workings. Two intersections from one of these holes were particularly interesting: 23.07 m from 179.83 m to 202.90 m assayed 0.27 g/t gold, 0.16% copper, 1.22 g/t silver and 0.028% molybdenum; and 14.75 m from 224.23 to 238.98 m graded 0.17 g/t gold, 0.25% copper, 2.03 g/t silver and 0.028% molybdenum (Unger, 2011).

Capsule Geology

The occurrence is located towards the northern end of the Stikinia Terrane, the largest terrane underlying the Intermontane region of the Cordillera. Stikinia consists of an Upper Paleozoic volcanic arc basement upon which the Lewes River volcanic arc was built during the Middle and Late Triassic. Detritus from the uplifted arc accumulated up to seven kilometers of strata in the adjacent marginal basin through Middle Jurassic time. This basin, known as the Whitehorse Trough, is composed of Late Triassic volcanic rich detritus and carbonate of the Lewes River Group and Jurassic intrusive-rich clastics of the Laberge Group. 
The occurrence is located within the Teslin Crossing Pluton, a slightly elliptical body which intrudes shallowly-dipping Early to Middle Jurassic Laberge Group siltstone and shale rocks assigned to the Tanglefoot Formation of the Laberge Group. Along its eastern margin the pluton is in fault contact with Upper Triassic Lewes River carbonate rocks assigned to the Hancock Member of the Lewes River Group.

The pluton consists of multiple intrusive phases of varying composition (syenite, monzonite and granodiorite) and is inferred to be emplaced at high levels. Country rocks immediately adjacent to the pluton dip steeply away from it. Contacts are irregular and locally follow (or control) topography. Incipient brecciation is found over a large area in the northern part of the stock and small areas of intense brecciation occur in the west and southwest parts. Extensive potassium metasomatism accompanied the brecciation and the surrounding monzonite exhibits weak propylitic alteration. Lamprophyre and hornblende-plagioclase porphyry dikes cut the main pluton following brecciation but prior to completion of mineralization.

Geological mapping completed by a contractor employed by Placer Dome outlined an inlier of reddish-brown weathering, locally porphyryblastic, phyric dacite to trachyandesite near the center of the pluton (Keyser, 2002). This unit has locally strong carbonate alteration and may comprise a sequence of reworked tuff and represent either a coeval volcanic pile into which the pluton intruded or high-level volcanics associated with the intrusive event.

Minor disseminated chalcopyrite associated with pyrite, magnetite and traces of molybdenite, galena, scheelite and purple fluorite is erratically distributed throughout the brecciated and altered areas, occasionally associated with carbonate and quartz veining. United Keno Exploration's soil sampling program outlined isolated Cu and Mo anomalies, three of which were tested with hand trenches the following year. The trenching did not expose any significant mineralization. United Keno never tested for gold.

Camdan's initial exploration program verified earlier results reported by United Keno Exploration. The best results were obtained from the X-zone described as a small knob located south of the Windy Mountain peak, close to the intrusive-sediment contact. Potassic altered and mineralized rock is exposed for in an area measuring 1.5 m wide and 5 m long. Surface samples consist of orange-rust weathering, malachite stained (with minor azurite) intensely altered intrusive rock containing well developed limonitic boxworks associated with magnetite stockwork veinlets, minor carbonate and argillic alteration and manganese dendrites. The best assay from this zone returned 4 790 ppb Au, 195.7 ppm Ag and 0.28% Cu.

A total of 81 rock chip, 25 soil and one silt sample was collected by Camdan in 1996. Of the rock samples 38 samples returned values of > than 100 ppb Au and 57 samples returned values of > 500 ppm Cu. The anomalous samples were distributed throughout the DDH claims. The soil samples were collected from an area located over an intense magnetic high as outlined by a ground magnetometer survey. The survey outlined a weak Cu-Au soil anomaly over the strongest part of the magnetic anomaly. A total magnetic field survey conducted over the same grid as the soil survey outlined several areas of pronounced magnetic response which was attributed to magnetite rich rocks lying along the ridge on which the grid was centered.

Placer Dome's IP geophysical survey outlined a broad zone of high chargeability that is coincident with the X-zone, a zone in which Cu-Au surface mineralization was previously reported. The airborne magnetic survey confirmed the elliptical shape of the stock at surface and indicated that the intrusive continues at depth to the south-west. The survey also confirmed the zoned nature of the pluton. The potassium channel of the radiometric survey outlined several unconnected regions of high potassium counts within the pluton. The high counts were thought to be due to introduction of potassium as a consequence of hydrothermal alteration associated with a mineralization event and/or merely represent portions of the intrusion that are richer in potassic feldspar where feldspar is primary (eg. rock type may be syenite rather than monzonite). Results from the mapping and soil sampling programs were not filed for assessment credit. However later reports by Saturn Ventures show that anomalous gold and copper values in soil were restricted to the southwestern part of Placer Dome¿s grid. All known soil geochemical anomalies appear to relate to known bedrock mineralization.

Saturn Venture's exploration program was located adjacent to, and northeast of the area explored in detail by Placer Dome in 1977. Soil samples were only tested for copper and zinc content and did not return any significant areas of anomalous values. The majority of rock samples were collected in and around known mineralized zones. Trenching confirmed bedrock mineralization at the Kelly zone which had only been seen previously in float. The best results were obtained from grab samples of porphyry-style malachite-azurite-bornite-quartz-carbonate mineralization located at the X zone. One sample returned 240 ppb gold while a second sample returned 17 000 ppm copper.

The 2003 compilation work allowed the company to pull all of the known data together and produce the first map of alteration distribution and assemblages. Prior to drilling the company identified 9 separate zones of bedrock mineralization The 2004 drilling tested the Kelly (3 holes), the Moon Knob (3 holes) and Andrew zones (1 hole). None of the holes returned economic values and geochemical results indicated the presence of only weak mineralization amongst elements of potential economic interest (copper, gold, molybdenum and silver). Although the results were poor, the drilling only tested a small portion of the property.

The Andrew Zone is situated 400 m northeast of the Moon Knob Zone. It straddles the contact between the border phase of the Teslin Crossing Pluton and Tanglefoot Formation sedimentary rocks. The zone represents a complex area of large screens and xenoliths of metasedimentary rocks within the pluton. Mineralization comprises magnetite veins up to 30 cm wide, areas of centimetre-scale magnetite veinlet/vein swarms hosting trace chalcopyrite and local malachite staining, and gold-rich pyroxene-chlorite skarn screens/xenoliths. The veins and screens/xenoliths generally trend east-southeastly and dip steeply to the south. A chip sample taken in 2016 across a 30 cm wide magnetite vein with moderate malachite staining on weathered surfaces graded 1.32% copper, 0.11 g/t gold, 5.09 g/t silver and 29 ppm molybdenum. Chip samples collected from a hand trench excavated in this zone are discussed in the Hand Trenching section below. The Andrew Zone is located below tree-line and most of the area is blanketed by glacial till (Mitchell, 2017).

In 2016, a three hole, 393.19 m drill program was conducted at the Andrew Hole MAR-16-001 intersected 17.37 m containing 0.03% copper and0.66 g/t gold. Hole MAR-16-003 intersected 4.99 m containing 0.02% copper and 0.87 g/t gold.