L
.
TABLE OF COiNTENTS
Page
There has been c o n t i n u o u s t a l k however, of a p o s s i b l e
i n c r e a s e i n t h e p r i c e of gold, and one expePt, M r . R, M, W i l l i a m s ,
i n an Economic Seminar a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y of Toronto i n 1960,
%
summarized t h e s i t u a t i o n as f o l l o w s :
1.
The supply of monetary gold i s i n s u f f i c i e n t ,
2.
The known gold o r e r e s e r v e supply i s d e c r e a s i n g .
3.
The p r e s e n t dernan i s guaranteed,
4.
A r i s e i n t h e p r i c e seems i n e v i t a b l e .
The u s u a l "guess e s t i m a t e " f o r a f u t u r e gold p r i c e is
$90.00
p e r ounce.
The Golden Age p r o p e r t y h a s t h e advantage of s e v e r a l under-
ground headings, one 1400 f o o t d r i f t and e x i s t i n g s t o p e s and p i l l a r s ,
A d d i t i o n a l sampling, and some s u r v e y i n g is warranted i n o r d e r t o
e s t i m a t e grade and tonnage i n t h e s t o p e and p i l l a r a r e a ,
Limited t e s t
work i s d s o suggested over t h e known v e i n s i n o r d e r t o determine i f
modern geophysical and geochemical methods a r e s e n s i t i v e enough f o r
vein detection.
I f so, a program t o e x p l o r e t h e remainder of t h e
group f o r a d d i t i o n a l v e i n s may b e warranted,
I n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h t h i s work, commencement of r e g i o n a l work
i s suggested, i n t h e hope t h a t t h e v e i n systems a r e i n d i c a t o r s o f o t h e r
t y p e s o f mineral d e p o s i t s .
INTRODUCTION
On March 2 1 and 22, 1971, t h e a u t h o r , i n t h e company of
Messrs. K. S c h i n d l e r and H. Ramsperger, conducted a p r e l i m i n a r y
The
g e o l o g i c a l and sampling program on t h e Golden Age Property.
m i n e r a l c l a i m s a r e s i t u a t e d 9 r o a d m i l e s s o u t h of Nelson, B.C,
on
Highway No. 6.
A t t h e time, j u s t o v e r a f o o t of snow covered t h e ground
and t h e r e f o r e examination was r e s t r i c t e d t o t h e main a d i t (approximately 14-25' l o n g ) , and upper a d i t ( 1 7 3 f e e t l o n g ) .
A lower a d i t i s
now i n a c c e s s i b l e , s i n c e t h e p o r t a l was burned d u r i n g r e c e n t highw
construction.
0'
A t o t a l of 21 c h i p and c h a n n e l samples were c o l l e c t e
from t h e 2 a c c e s s i b l e a d i t s , and a s s a y s of t h e s e samples were comp l e t e d by C r e s t L a b o r a t o r i e s i n Vancouver, B,C.
T h i s r e p o r t des-
c r i b e s t h e sampling procedure, t h e r e s u l t s of t h e program, and
c o n t a i n s s u g g e s t i o n s f o r f u r t h e r work.
SAMPLING PRCICEDUlU
The main a d i t was chained and marked a t 5 0 f o o t i n t e r v a l s and
sample p o s i t i o n s a r e r e f e r r e d t o d i s t a n c e from t h e p o r t a l e n t r a n c e ,
A l l d r i f t samples were c o l l e c t e d from t h e back, by c h i p p i n g w i t h a
hammer,
mail
and c h i s e l ,
Sample m a t e r i a l w a s caught on a sample
s h e e t , bagged, tagged and numbered.
The sample l o c a t i o n and numbers
were s p r a y p a i n t e d on t h e d r i f t w a l l f o r f u t u r e r e f e r e n c e .
A brief
g e o l o g i c a l d e s c r i p t i o n of sample m a t e r i a l w a s made by t h e a u t h o r , and
4h
a microscopic examination of hand picked v e i n m a t e r i a l w a s made.
d. r.
sschrane, p. eng.
The Golden Age v e i n system is c l a s s e d by W.
E, Cocltfield
( 1 ) + , as "poorly defined s h e a r zones c a r r y i n g s t r i n g e r s and bunches
of quartz".
Cockfield a l s o n o t e s , !'The lower s l o p e s of t h e h i l l s i d e
a r e e x t e n s i v e l y d r i f t - c o v e r e d , b u t o u t c r o p s show t h e u n d e r l y i n g
f o r m a t i o n s a r e s c h i s t s of t h e R o s s l m d Volcanic group."
The a u t h o r found t h a t t h e main d r i f t w a s d r i v e n i n s h e a r e d
and a l t e r e d c o u n t r y rock, and no d i s t i n c t o r s t r o n g v e i n system w a s
present.
S h e a r i n g and s i l i c i f i c a t i o n a r e d i s c o n t i n u o u s , and appar-
e n t l y a r e en echelon.
s t r i k e s between I'Jorth
0
53 and 80 degrees.
The main a d i t f o l l o w s a s t r u c t u r e which
35' t o 50' West, and d i p s Southwest between
The s h e a r e d and n ~ i n e r a l i z e ds e c t i o n s are o f t e n
bounded by d i k e s =and/or f a u l t s .
These b o u n d a r i e s a r e sometimes o b s e r -
v a b l e on both t h e hanging w a l l and f o o t w a l l s i d e s of t h e m i n e r a l i z e d
zone.
F a u l t gouge is p r e v a l e n t and t h e a t t i t u d e of t h e f a u l t s are
q u i t e variable.
Quai-tz s t r i n g e r s o f t e n e x h i b i t boudinage of "sausage-
l i k e " s t r u c t u r e , and a r e sometimes d r a g f o l d e d .
Sone o f t h e f a u l t i n g
i s p o s t mineral s i n c e s l i c k e n s i d e f a c e s ( s c r a t c h e s caused by l a y e r s
rcoving p a s t one a n o t h e r ) c o n t a i n smeared and crushed s u l p h i d e m i n e r a l s ,
The w e l l m i n e r a l i z e d s e c t i o n s of t h e v e i n - s h e a r system appear t o have
developed i n c u r v i l i n e a r o r a r c u a t e p o r t i o n s of t h e main s h e a r zones,
( T h a t is, where t h e s t r i k e a t t i t u d e v a r i e s from t h e normal ( t h r o u g h
going) a t t i t u d e ) ,
*
Mineralized w i d t h s v a r y from a few i n c h e s t o
s e v e r a l f e e t wide, and from a few f e e t t o a b o u t 100 f e e t long.
In
s h o r t , t h e v e i n system is p h y s i c a l l y q u i t e complex.
*
liiote, s e e b i b l i o g r a p h y , Appendix I1
d. r.
csehrane, p. emg.
The c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of t h e s h e a r zone as a n e n e c h e l ~ n
one ( t h a t is, r e l a t i v e l y s h o r t s h e a r zones t h a t o v e r l a p one a n o t h e r
w i t h o u t a c t u a l l y touching) has s e v e r a l r a m i f i c a t i o n s .
It is. pos-
s i b l e t h a t t h e e n echelon system ( t h a t is, on which t h e main d r i f t
is d r i v e n ) is n o t t h e main f a u l t zone, b u t a secondary one.
There
i s a p o s s i b i l i t y of a s u b p a r a l l e l major f a u l t zone c l o s e by,
which, i n i t s e l f , would be a prime t a r g e t f o r fuCure e x p l o r a t i o n .
A microscopic examination w a s made of a "high grade"
specimen c o l l e c t e d from a s l a s h e d up s e c t i o n i n t h e d r i f t , a t a p o i n t
907' from t h e p o r t a l and j u s t passed t h e second and t h i r d s t o p e s ,
T h i s specimen may be c l a s s e d as " m i n e r a l o g i c a l l y simple",
Gangue
m i n e r a l s i n c l u d e d q u a r t z ( b o t h milky and b l u e ) w i t h t h e development
of o c c a s i o n a l small vugs.
nizalbe.
A t l e a s t two a g e s of q u a r t z a r e recog-
Other gangue m i n e r a l s , ( i n d e c r e a s i n g o r d e r o f abundance)
a r e c a l c i t e , anlccrite ( ? ) and s e r r i c i t e .
The predominant m e t a l l i c
m i n e r a l is p y r i t e , and c h a l c o p y r i t e is t h e second major m e t a l l i c
mineral present.
N a l a c h i t e w a s observed i n and around c h a l c o p y r i t e
b l e b s , and t r a c e s of s p h a l e r i t e and g a l e n a were i d e n t i f i e d .
A few
microscopic s p e c k s of a v e r y f i n e g r a i n e d , s o f t , s t e e l g r e y m 5 t a l l i c
m i n e r a l were t e n t a t i v e l y i d e n t i f i e d as t e t r a h e d r i t e ,
The s u l p h i d e
SAMPLING REXJLTS
The following t a b l e l i s t s p e r t i n e n t sample and assay data:
Width Locat5pn-Description
Sample Xo.
oz,/ton
A. Main k d i t
11106
u
261t
11108
lB1!
11109
29"
11110
24"
11111
48"
11112
12"
11113
11114
50"
11115
11116
60"
24''
36"
Ag
Au
.grab eample of v e i n on sur0.06
face above p o r t a l
3151:across sheared zone near 0.10
1st stope
361 :s l i g h t shearing -and sil- tr
icif ication
400' :on f o o t ~ m l ls i d e of 7"
tr
dike
4581 : s l i g h t shearing and sil- tr
icification
522' :across l?hffwide qtz.
0.16
vein, p y r i t e and chalco, .
,580' :chip sample acyoss bAok 0.04
650':channelsmple across
0.18
s h e s zone
tr
750' :Chip sample a c r o s s bad{
8211: a c r ~ s ss i l i c i f i e d zone 0.08
near skope
87611in p i l l a r between 2
43-56
stopes
8681:i n p i l l a r , sheared and 0.22
folded gone
907': slashed up m e a i n main 0.20
drifB
975 :sheared, drag f oMed si1; tr
i c i f i e d gone
21001:across 3 narrow qtz.
0,02
stringers
120O1:s1ightly sheared-siltY
i c i f i e d zone
13001:B1ightly s h e m e d - s i l ts
icif6ed Bone
1400v: on f o o t wall side of
0.04
narrow dike
1424q :f l u o r e s c e n t zone on ~ J B 0.20
well neal= f a c e
'
oz./ton
Cu
TEIO
3
q%/o>, _(%I
0.3
0.05
0.2
0.07
---
tr
0.01
-2
tr
0.02
tr
0.02
---
0.3
0.07
---
0-8
6-03
0.2
0.05
kr
0-01
0.1
0.04
---
1.5
o,&
-&
Q.6
0.34
-&
0~38
--
'
llli7
38"
11118
35'l
11119
24"
11120
39"
11121
53!'
11122
48"
11123
54"
11124
9''
11125
~7~~
tr
0.03.
--
0-1
O,O~
--
tr
daO2
--
tr
O,Ok
--
0-1
0.11
O,CQ
0.8
0.30
0.23
I-
Other. Samples
-U
2.1104
.a$'1
11126
451r
vein material in roadcut 602' tr
east of p b r t a l
upper a d i t , 85' i A froin poFtd. 0.20
-0,7
A-
O,O9
-2
6201
d. r. caehrane, p. eng.
--
-
-
-- -
-
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
Gold i s t h e most economically i n t e r e s t i n g m e t a l i n . t h e
Golden Age v e i n system.
Sample 11117 a s s a y e d 0.57 t r o y ounces of
gold p e r ton, ($19,601,
(AU c a l c u l a t e d at $35.00 p e r ounce),
Gold
c o n t e n t i n e x c e s s of 0.19 ounces i s c o n s i d e r e d noteworthy, and a
t o t a l of 5 samples f a l l i n t h i s c a t e g o r y ,
They i n d i c a t e t h r e e a r e a s
of immediate i n t e r e s t ;
( a ) i n and around t h e main s t o p e a r e a (samples
11117, 11118 end 11119) between 876 and 907
f e e t , main a d i t l e v e l ,
( b ) at t h e f a c e , main a d i t (sample 11125) where
moderate v a l u e s i n g o l d and t u n g s t e n were
encountered.
43
( c ) upper a d i t (sample 11126)
p o r t a l entrance,
,
85' i n from t h e
These 3 a r e a s a r e worthy of l i m i t e d a d d i t i o n a l work as
d i s c u s s e d i n t h e f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n on S u g g e s t i o n s f o r Fw-ther Uork.
The r e l a t i o n s h i p s between t h e t h r e e m e t a l s (copper, g o l d
and s i l v e r ) were analyzed s t a t i s t i c a l l y i n t h e hope t h a t one e a s i l y
r e c o g n i z a b l e m e t a l ( o r m i n e r a l ) might b e a g u i d e t o o t h e r m e t a l s ,
The c o e f f i c i e n t of c o r r e l a t i o n of t h e Au, A g and Cu a s s a y d a t a were
analyzed, and t h e mathematical procedure is d e s c r i b e d i n r e f e r e n c e
(4).
A c o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t may v a r y between -1.0
( a perfect
i n v e r s e c o r r e l a t i o n , f o r example, h i g h copper v a l u e s may c o r r e l a t e
w i t h low gold v a l u e s ) , through z e r o , ( i n d i c a t i n g no c o r r e l a t i o n of
*
m e t a l v a l u e s ) , t o a c o e f f i c i e n t of +1.00 ( t h e l a t t e r i n d i c a t i n g
p e r f e c t one t o one c o r r e l a t i o n , f o r example, h i g h copper may c o r r e l a t e
w i t h h i g h gold v a l u e s , e t c , ) ,
t i o n t o warrant a d d i t i o n a l work on t h e Golden Age property.
In
order of importance, these are:
1. Main Stope Area, between 850 and 950 f e e t from t h e
main p o r t a l entrance.
The following program is recommended.
(a) r e b u i l d l a d d e r s i n s t o p c s t o permit entrance
f o r s m p l i n g and g e o l o g i c a l examination.
( b ) s c a l e and wash stope w a l l s .
( c ) survey stopes, and p i l l a r s .
(d) sample ( i n d e t a i l ) t h e s t o p e s and p i l l a r s .
eng.
B, T e s t i n g f o r Adjoining Claim Worlr
I n conjunction with t h e above described program, s e v e r a l
geochemical s o i l s a x p l e s should be c o l l e c t e d along c l o s e sample p o i n t
Q
t r a v e r s e s a c r o s s t h e main and upper a d i t s .
S o i l samples should be
analyzed f o r copper, s i l v e r , mercury, l e a d and zinc, i n order t o
determine i f s u f f i c i e n t geochemical c o n t r a s t i s present t h a t may d e t e c t
a d d i t i o n a l s i m i l a r vein systems.
T e s t electromagnetic and magnetometer
t r a v e r s e s should a l s o be made along t h e same l i n e s as t h e geochemical
t r a v e r s e s i n order t o determine i f t h e s e geophysical systems a r e
s e n s i t i v e enough t o d e t e c t t h e v e i n systems.
Future e x p l o r a t i o n plans,
designed t o l o c a t e extensions and/or new v e i n systems on t h e Golden
,a
Age property w i l l be l a r g e l y d e p n d e n t on t h e r e s u l t s of t h e proposed
geochemical and geophysical t e s t s .
C.
FGGIOI\iAL WORK
It i s t h e a u t h o r ' s opinion t h a t even at t h i s e a r l y point,
i n planning, consideration should be given t o l i m i t e d reconaissance
e x p l o r a t i o n work within t h e Nelson-Ymir area.
advantages t o t h i s type of p r o j e c t ,
There a r e many
F i r s t , it w i l l f u r n i s h broad
g e o l o g i c a l guide l i n e s within which reasonably a c c u r a t e assessment of
t h e Golden Age nnd Uuphrates groups may be placed.
This w i l l r e s u l t
i n a more r e a l i s t i c a p p r a i s a l of t h e p r e s e n t Bobert Nines claim
showings.
Furthermore, t h e very f a c t t h a t many gold and s i l v e r
b e a r i n g v e i n s are p r e s e n t i n t h e v i c i n i t y , i s an i n d i c a t i o n t h a t
o t h e r t y p e s of d e p o s i t s m a y be p r e s e n t ,
( f c r exmple, larger dis-
seminated copper o r copper-molybdenum d e p o s i t s ) ,
Prime t a r g e t a r e a s
would be a c i d i c i n t r u s i v e rocks, and may be guided by r e g i o n a l mineralo g i c a l zoning.
Cockfield (1) o b l i q u e l y h i n t s a t t h i s p o s s i b i l i t y ,
and on page 5 s t a t e s when d i s c u s s i n g v e i n d e p o s i t s i n Pend d l O r e i l l e
rocks, l'In general, t h e ore slioots p i t c h eastward towards t h e main
g r a n o d i o r i t e mass And, it i s assumed, i n t h e d i r e c t i o n from which t h e
m i n e r a l i z i n g s o l u t i o n s entered;,,..".
Bowen ( 2 ) remarks "The d i o r i t e
porphyry dilce, a l a s k i t e and quartz-feldspar pegmatite dilrs, and t h e goldq u a r t z v e i n s i n t h e Second R e l i e f camp a r e g e n e t i c a l l y r e l a t e d t o t h e
same paxent source, t h e Nelson B a t h o l i t h .
The d i o r i t e porphyry and
a l a s k i t e d i k e s r e p r e s e n t intermediate and a c i d i c d i f f e r e n t i a t e s of
t h e b a t h o l i t h , and although no p l a g i o c l a s e composition w a s determined
f o r t h e a l a s k i t e , t h e change i n p l a g i o c l a s e composition (AnllO t o ~
n
~
f o r t h e d i o r i t e - g r a n o d i o r i t e t r a n s i t i o n a g r e e s w i t h t h a t expected.
Vein q u a r t z r e p r e s e n t s t h e last s t a g e of d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n b e f o r e t h e
i n j e c t i o n s of l a t e magmatic f l u i d s c o n t a i n i n g concentrated amounts
of m i n e r a l i z e r s (mainly water), v o l a t i l B s , m e t a l s and gold".
Recent e x ~ l o r a t i o nwork by Copper Horn Wining Ltd, on t h e
Fresno p r o p e r t y immediately west of Ymdr ( 3 ) h a s been c e n t e r e d on
d.
r. cochsanc, p. eng.
~
)
I
-
fiWPZNDIX I
CERTIFICATE
I, D. 2. Cocllrane, of t h e M u n i c i p a l i t y of D e l t a , P r o v i n c e
of B r i t i s h Columbia, hereby c e r t i f y t h a t :
43
8~ Avenue,
1.
I a n a g e o l o g i c a l engineer and r e s i d e a t 4352
B.C.
2.
I am a graduate of tQe U n i v e r s i t y of Toronto (B.A,SC.,
a g r a d u a t e of Queen's U n i v e r s i t y (M.Sc. Eng., 1964).
3.
I have p r a c t i s e d my p r o f e s s i o n s i n c e 1962 while employed w i t h
U.S. S t e e l , Idoranda Exploration, Meridian Syndicate, and Geo-X
Surveys, Ltd.
4,
I a m a member i n good s t a n d i n g of t h e A s s o c i a t i o n of P r o f e s s i o n a l
Zngineers of B r i t i s h Columbia and a l s o t h e A s s o c i a t i o n of Prof e s s i o n a l Engineers of O n t a r i o and Saskatchewan.
5.
I am a member of t h e C.I,M.M.,
6.
T h i s r e p o r t i s based on a p e r s o n a l examination of t h e Golden Ag
p r o p e r t y , Iblarch 21 and 22, 1971, and on r e f e r e n c e s l i s t e d i n
Appendix 11.
7.
I have no d i r e c t o r i n d i r e c t i n t e r e s t i n t;he s e c u r i t i e s o r
p r o p e r t i e s of Robert M n e s Ltd,, nor do I expect t o r e c e i v e any
such i n t e r e s t .
G.A.C.,
E.I.C.,
D.K.
Delta
1962), and
and W.A.C.
Cochrane, P.dng.
4952 8~ Avenue,
D e l t a , B,C.
A p r i l 7, 1371.
e
d. r.
cochranc, p. eng.
Bibliography
(1) COCKFIEW, W.E. (1936), Lode Gold Deposits of the YrnirNelson ,Area, G.S.C.
Memoir 191