Properties
Silver Bay Silver Property – British Columbia, Canada
SILVER BAY INTRODUCTION
Jet Gold Corp (the “Company”, JAU.V) controls up to 75% of the Silver Bay property which comprises 5,413 hectares of Mineral Tenure. The property is located on the south shore of Whitesail Lake, 29 kilometers south of the Huckleberry Mine, which is 50% owned byImperial Metals (TSX:III) in west central British Columbia. Whitesail Lake, being part of the Nechako Reservoir system, was raised 137 feet in 1952 for the hydro-electric powergenerating station at Kemano. The Nechako Reservoir is approximately 2,793 feet above sea level. Silver Bay’s permanent camp, at the Roosevelt target, is accessed by barge and a 3km road from the shore of Whitesail Lake.
Alcan Aluminum built the Kenney Dam on the Nechako River which, in turn, created the Nechako Reservoir – a series of interconnected lakes that runs nearly 125 miles (200 km) east/west in two broad arms that connect near the dam at the easternmost end of the reservoir. The northern arm consists of Ootsa and Whitesail Lakes, while the southern arm, which bisects Tweedsmuir Park, consists of Eutsuk and Tetachuck Lakes.
HISTORY OF MINERAL TENURE ACQUISITION
The Chikamin Mountain area was originally explored for its high grade silver during the late 1800’s. Exploration and ‘hand-cobbed’ production of silver continued intermittently through to the expansion of Tweedmuir area in the early 1970’s.
Circumstantial evidence suggests the First Nations, possibly the Wet’suwe’ten, led early prospectors to the area after being shown hand samples of galena. Interestingly, in the old Chinook language, “chikemen” was the word used for “white man’s money.”
An old mining adage states that “most mines are made and not discovered.” All of Jet Gold’s claims at the Silver Bay location missed out on the last significant cycle of gold exploration in the early 1980’s. It was also passed over by the copper porphyry cycle of the early 1970’s. As one exploration cycle feeds information to the next, through government minfile and assessment reporting, most major mining companies have been kept off the “scent of mining” at Silver Bay. Like JetGold, Equity Silver recognized the mining potential of Silver Bay.
Just prior to the stroke of midnight on April 16, 1989, Equity Silver had 30 volunteers ready to compete directly with four members of Guardsmen Resources (Silver Bay’s original owners) for both the Silver Bay and Deer Horn prospects, Deer Horn Metals, TSX.V: DHM). Although Guardsmen was originally awarded only a 1/3 interest in the most prospective claim block, covering the Roosevelt prospect, persistence eventuallycpaid off when, in 1994, Placer Dome, the majority shareholder of Equity Silver, decidedcto relinquish its interest. This after Placer closed down the Equity Mine in 1992. For a threecyear period during this time a temporary “No Staking Reserve” was in force and thiscmay have hastened Placer Dome’s decision to abandon interest in the area.
After the “No Staking Reserve” was lifted the creation of specific enclaves in the north Tweedsmuir area were allowed for additional claim staking and continued exploration of high-grade potential lands. Specific provisions for access for future development were also included.
HISTORY OF EXPLORATION
The earliest recorded work at Silver Bay was carried out in 1916 on the Mentor, Sunset and Cariboo group of claims along the south shore of Whitesail Lake. The claims were owned and operated by a syndicate that explored underground for a short distance of 15 metres along a shear zone mineralized with galena, sphalerite, pyrite and chalcopyrite. High zinc values likely discouraged miners from further development as there were in those days penalties for “zinc contamination” at most smelters. For this reason, large amounts of accessible, extremely high grade ore were left in place, on surface, virtually untouched throughout the property.
All workings along the original shoreline of Whitesail Lake were flooded in 1952 by the Alcan Kemano project. However, JetGold believes all of the same mineralized structures along the present day shoreline have now been successfully located. In this area, several sulphide rich vents, mineralized with numerous criss-crossing quartz-calcite veins containing pyrite, sphalerite and galena have been observed. Finely disseminated pyrite, sphalerite and chalcopyrite have also been observed within the heavily silicified and brecciated pods.
Minerals present in the vein are pyrite, galena, sphalerite and arsenopyrite. A sample taken across 0.2m by S. Holland (BC Department of Mines) in 1945 assayed 0.29 oz/t gold, 17.9 oz/t silver, 14.3% lead and 15.8% zinc. Similar results over a true width of 6.0 feet were found in 1999. JetGold believes the vein-hosted shear not only demonstrates spectacular ploymetallic grades at mineable widths, but it also appears that an offset splay is responsible for the extraordinary geochemical and geophysical response that remains untested by drilling or trenching.
REGIONAL GEOLOGY
The region was mapped most recently in 1988 by Diakow and Koyanagi as part of the Whitesail mapping project conducted by the BC Geological Survey Branch. The property area lies within the lntermontaine Belt, represented by a discrete sequence of Middle to Lower Jurassic volcanic and sedimentary rocks that accumulated in depositional basins that evolved in response to regional tectonism. In the property area, this basinal sequence is represented by the Hazelton Group, which is comprised of the Telkwa and Smithers Formations. Overlying this sequence to the west are Lower Cretaceous intermediate to mafic volcanics, augite porphyry, polymictic conglomerates and minor fine-grained sediments.
The rocks referred to as the Hazelton group constitute a very thick series of flows; from rhyolites to basic porphyrites. Massive andesites, sometimes porphyritic, are interbedded with waterlain tuffs, limestones and argilites. Vesicular lavas are present, but are not abundant. The basic varieties are characteristically purple or green, whereas the tuffs and rhyolites (where not stained red) are commonly ash-grey or white, and, in places, even black. The Hazelton group strata of the district are distributed so as to appear to form three lithologically distinct subdivisions, each of which characterizes separate areas. These subdivisions may correspond to three stratigraphical horizons, but this relation has not yet been established.
Subdivision No. 1 consists of lava flows which are associated with minor quantities of tuffs and other fragmental rocks. It includes the porphyrites, rhyolites, andesites, breccias and agglomerates. The porphyrites are, as a rule, much weathered and have a characteristic purple colour. The groundmass is invariably dense and holds abundant phenocrysts of decomposed feldspar. In some cases these lavas are vesicular with the vesicles being filled with calcite. The porphyrites are replaced by dark rhyolitic rocks, breccias, agglomerate and andesites but no definite sequence could be established. The andesites are characteristically green and everywhere porphyritic. In some areas the basalts appear to demonstrate a pillow structure.
Subdivision No. 2 is composed of waterlain tuffs, limestones and argillites, with interbedded bands of volcanic rocks, chiefly andesites. The volcanic rocks are decidedly subordinate to the sediments. The rocks of this subdivision are well exposed on the Chikamin Range and near the Huckleberry Mine on Sweeney Mountain.
On the Chikamin Range, tuffs occur at several different horizons separated from one another by beds of volcanic rocks. The greatest thickness of silicified tuffs occurs near the Nickel Plate prospect with a thickness of 175 feet.
Subdivision No. 3 is developed west of the old trail ascending Chikamin ridge from Whitesail lake and consists of andesites, porphyritic and non-porphyritic, and rhyolites with minor quantities of argillites. The porpheritic rocks, breccias and agglomerates of subdivision No. 1 were not observed among the rocks of this subdivision. The andesites are fresh looking, green and brick-red rocks, and occupy fully 2/3 of this part of the area. The rhyolites are invariably badly weathered and stained a brick-red from the decomposition of pyrite.
Throughout the area these rocks have a general northwest-southeast trend and with few exceptions dip at steep angles.
PROPERTY GEOLOGY
The property is underlain by a generally north-northeasterly trending sediments, volcanoclastic sediments and mafic to intermediate flows, truncated by northerly trending fault contacts. Approximately 2/3 of the eastern portion of the property is underlain by the Hazelton Group Telkwa Formation, while the southwestern part is underlain by the Smithers formation and the northwestern part by Lower Cretaceous flows, intrusives and minor interflow sediments.
Locally, the Hazelton group is represented by a great volume of volcanic rocks with some true sediments. A partial section on Chikamin ridge was estimated to be 13,500 feet thick.
At the Roosevelt prospect, a series of porpheritic andesite plugs intrude a zone of steeply dipping north-south shears at the hinge of a broad anticline formation of the Hazelton volcanics. The porpheritic intrusions, at this location, carry a unique coppernickel signature that show up well in soils as a northeast trend, away from their intersection with the shears. The chances of these favourable host structures contuining to considerable depths are excellent.
SILVER BAY MINERALIZATION
The silver-lead deposits on Chikamin ridge are in beds of altered and sheared waterlain tuffs which outcrop near a number of small intrusive masses. Those of Sweeney mountain, near the Huckleberry Mine, occur both in the sedimentary and volcanic members. Mineralization at the Silver Tip prospect on Chikamin Ridge, within the property, is in sheared waterlain tuffs. The waterlain tuffs appear to have been particularly susceptible to mineralization. The presence of numerous small mineralized quartz veins in the volcanic rocks, on Whitesail Lake’s Chikamin ridge suggests that important mineralization may be found in these rocks also.
Along the shore of Whitesail Lake, likely above the area formerly known as the Cariboo mineral claims (now under water) is an area occupied by beds of tuffs, argillites and limestones, with subordinate interbeds of andesitic rocks. In this locality, beds of green tuffs with interbeds of porphyritic andesite occupy the lake shore for 3/4 of a mile. The tuffs appear to be closely folded, have a general trend of 150 degrees, dip steeply, are much weathered, sheared and fractured. The fractures as a rule parallel the strike of the beds; they are seamed with quartz and calcite, which form veinlets a fraction of an inch to 15 inches in width. The veinlets carry zinc blende, galena, pyrite, chalcopyrite and arsenical pyrites, in lenses a few inches to 6 feet in length. Pyrite is sparingly present in both the tuffs and the andesites. A sample of one of the mineralized lenses from this area assayed 1% copper and 7% zinc.
Jack Maclintock, discoverer of the Spence Deposit in Chile (and now leading international exploration for BHP Billiton) had a look at a sample of “near porphyry” mineralization, consisting of a silicious volcanic flow, with “milled” angular clasts; mineralized with fine disseminated pyrite, chalcopyrite and sphalerite (assayed 1% copper, 7% zinc, 1 oz. silver). He said, “No wonder the Equity Silver group had wanted to stake the property.”
ROOSEVELT (SILVER TIP, CHIKAMIN ADIT)
The Roosevelt prospect is located in the bed of a small creek on the north slope of Chikamin Mountain. An old adit was apparently driven to the south for 40 feet on the strike of the rocks and a crosscut to the east across the face for 20 feet. Evidence of some surface work was noted in the creek bed north of the showing.
The deposit is in a bed of waterlain tuff, fine-grained to dense, grey to pink, sheared and stained with limonite. At the top the tuff grades into a coarser-grained rock composed of loosely cemented, rounded, and angular pieces of fresh quartz and weathered feldspars. The cementing material is calcite. This particular phase of the rock has a talcy feel and resembles an arkose. An average specimen of the finer variety of tuff is composed of andesitic material, angular pieces of feldspar and minor quantities of quartz in a dense groundmass. Bedding is well preserved, the strata trending 175 degrees magnetic and dipping 55 to 75 degrees southwest.
The tuff is strongly sheared and slickensided surfaces are common. The shear zone, 25 feet in width, can be traced down the creek for about 200 feet. Here the creek angles across the bed, which disappears beneath a heavy soil covering. A second bed of sheared tuffs 10 feet in width and parallel to the first, outcrops about 30 feet west of the adit and is separated from the first-mentioned bed by porphyritic andesite. This showing was more altered, extensively fractured, with sulfide filled fractures from l-10% pyrite and trace to 5% galena.
The mineral body consists of galena, zinc blende, pyrite and a little chalcopyrite in veins of quartz. With the quartz are calcite and a talcy gouge and this latter in many cases forms the only vein filling. The veins vary from minute stringers to 15 inches in width, parallel the trend of the rock and form a zone 7 feet in width. Of this width about 60 per cent is occupied by country rock and 40 per cent by mineralized veins. Several of the veins can be seen to unite to form a single vein 15 inches wide, but which in a few feet again divides into several narrower veins. The proportion of sulphides to gangue in the veins is as a rule high. In the creek bed narrow lenses of sulphides can be observed for 50 feet north of the adit, but beyond that stream wash and soil conceal everything.
Four chip samples returned the following: 174, 175, 302 and 1530 g/tAg, Au ranging from 7.49 to 13.87 ppm with correspondingly high arsenic values, all over 10,000 ppm As. One sample returned 1.25% Cu. Lead values were 2.17%, 2.21%, 3.52% and 20.6%. Zinc values returned from three samples were 6.26%, l0.l% and 13.9%.
About 1/4 mile southeast of the adit and on the creek referred to above, tuffs interbedded with andesitic flows outcrop, but show no shearing effects. They are finegrained to dense, grey and pink and break with a very even fracture. The strike here is east and west and the dip 40 degrees to northeast. It would thus appear that there are several distinct beds of tuffs interbedded with andesite flows. The bed in which the adit has been driven is mineralized with galena, zinc blende, pyrite and a little chalcopyrite. Only the latter two minerals were observed in the other beds.
OTHER MINERAL OCCURRENCES ON CHIKAMIN RIDGE
On the east face of Chikamin ridge, near the head of Chikamin creek, an old open-cut exposed copper and iron sulphides, and south of this location, a deposit of magnetite. The country rock is porphyritic andesite intruded by numerous narrow dykes of porphyritic diorite. The trend of the country rock is uniform 160 degrees – dip 70 degrees to 80 degrees to the southwest. The intrusive bodies are, as a rule, narrow dykes, a few inches to 15 feet in width with east and west trend. Granular chalcopyrite and pyrite occur in quartz-calcite veins up to 6 inches wide in the dykes and in the andesites. “The sulphides are said to assay about $2 of gold a ton,” (Ref: 1924 GSC Summary Report; Part A). Of note, $2 of gold per ton in 1924 would equate to approximately 1 ounce per ton today.
South of the open-cut referred to above a dyke of porphyritic diorite 15 feet wide, invades porphyritic andesites. Near the contact of the two bodies is a contact metamorphic zone 20 feet wide consisting of bands of iron ore up to 8 inches in width and bands of andradite up to 3 feet in width. These minerals occupy veins and vugs in the andesites. “Specimens of iron ore consist of a peculiar magnetite having an extraordinary magnetism almost equal to lodestone. This magnetite is admixed with ankerite. A little secondary specular iron is also to be seen. On the south slope of Chikamin range, veins of chalcopyrite are reported, but owing to the presence of snow on the slopes, could not be examined.” (Ref: GSC 1924 Summary Report; Part A).
RECENT EXPLORATION
In 1989, Equity Silver Mines carried out a program of silt and rock geochemistry reconnaissance survey with geological mapping on their Midnight property. In the area along “Creek 0,” located within the property, all the bulk and silt samples were strongly anomalous in gold and moderately anomalous in silver, arsenic, lead and zinc. Later Geological mapping by discovered a shear system with associated strong quartzsericite alteration crosscutting the creek where rock samples were found to be anomalous in gold, silver, arsenic, antimony, copper and zinc.
Between 1989 and 1991, Equity Silver Mines conducted geological mapping, soil geochemistry, heavy mineral stream sediment sampling (Aziz, 1990) and induced polarization surveys (Walcott, 1991). In 1991 Equity backhoe-trenched arsenic-silver soil anomalies and parts of a large induced polarization chargeability anomaly. Equity followed up with a 12 hole diamond drilling program in September, 1991. The stated purpose of the drilling program was to test for a bulk tonnage potential (Hanson, 1992). Numerous narrow high-grade intersections were encountered. Equity concluded that the target was adequately tested for bulk tonnage potential, but that further testing was needed to assess the high-grade shoots along shears.
In March, 1993, limited scale VLF-EM and magnetometer surveys were conducted. These tested an area defined by mineralized stream sediment and rock samples and bedrock structures. Coincidence was noted between VLF conductors and shearing and faulting containing mineralized rock.
GUARDSMEN’S 1999 WORK PROGRAM
The 1999 work program on the Zincamp Group comprised geological prospecting and mapping, sampling of mineralized showings, VLF-EM and magnetometer surveys as well as geochemical sampling of soils.
Prospecting, mapping and sampling within the property was done on a reconnaissance basis. Detailed rock chip sampling was done across the exposed sulphide zone at the Zincamp Road Anomaly (a possible splay of the Roosevelt). The Caribou and Nickel Plate Showings were located and sampled.
CONCLUSIONS
At this stage, the Zincamp Road anomaly presents an exciting target. Trenching conducted by Equity Silver uncovered mineralized bedrock within this area. However, Equity drilling did not test the zone. Work to-date has attained an extraordinary coincidental VLF-EM, magnetometer, IP, geochemical and gelogical profile. JetGold continues to maintain a fully equipped cabin within a few hundred feet of the best drill targets along the anomalous zone.
Besides being host to potentially economic mesothermal vein systems, the Chikamin Mountain area also shows numerous indications of porphyry copper-molybdenum mineralization. Without a doubt, the property is located well within the central part of a regionally prolific corridor of such porphyry deposits.
RECCOMMENDATIONS
1) The Chikamin Adit-Zincamp Road Anomaly trend should be closely investigated by means of an active EM system, followed by detailed soil geochemistry. This should be followed up by a phase-2 program of drilling.
2) The Eastern Anomaly trend should be followed up in the same manner with a phase-2 program of either trenching or drilling.
3) Detailed mapping of the property focusing on structures controlling mineralization.
4) Extension of geophysical and geochemical surveys to cover the remainder of the property with detailed sampling over known anomalous areas.
5) Acquisition of surrounding claims.
6) Investigate the porphyry copper potential of the property through the establishment of a second base camp on the shore of Whitesail Lake.
References: Geological Survey of Canada, 1924 Summary Report, Part A; Brian Malahoff, (BCDM Assessment Report #22990); John Gravel, (BCDM Assessment Report #26286), Map Place