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Yukon - Tintina Gold Belt
Gold Dome Project, Yukon Project
Property Overview
The Gold Dome property ("Gold Dome"), formerly known as Scheelite Dome, is located approximately 25 km northwest of Mayo, in central Yukon. The project lies within the Tintina Gold Belt: a zone of gold deposits related to mid-Cretaceous aged Tombstone plutonic suite granitic rocks. Notable deposits in this belt include the nearby Dublin Gulch deposit (Indicated resource of 2.69 million oz Au, at a grade of 0.849 gpt Au; Jankovic 2009), the Company's Brewery Creek deposit (Indicated resource of 145,000 oz Au, at a grade of 1.135 gpt Au with Inferred resource of 143,000 oz Au, at a grade of 2.01 gpt Au; Diment and Simpson, 2009), and the Company's Clear Creek Project. Highet Creek, which transects the property, has produced in excess of 45,000 ounces of placer gold since 1903 (LeBarge et al., 2002), and accounts for almost 25% of all placer gold production in the Mayo area. The project comprises 509 two-post quartz claims within the Mayo mining district, and covers over 10,500 hectares. It has a Class 3 Mining Land Use permit valid until 2011.
The Company owns a 100% interest in the Gold Dome property, subject to a 4% net smelter royalty (NSR) of which 2% can be bought back for $2,000,000.
The Gold Dome project hosts one of the largest gold-arsenic-bismuth soil anomalies in the Yukon, and is associated with Cretaceous granodiorite and monzonite intrusions of the TPS adjacent to sourceless placer deposits in Highet Creek. Identified gold mineralization is primarily hosted in Hyland group sedimentary rocks adjacent to the Scheelite Dome composite stock. Mineralization has been found in (1) clinopyroxene-plagioclase retrograde skarn, (2) quartz-sulphide veins, and (3) as replacement of limy horizons within the sedimentary sequence. Exploration efforts on the property so far have identified 14 mineralized zones, however, most exploration programs prior to Golden Predator's 2009 diamond drilling program were underfunded and the Gold Dome property remains under-explored.
Historical Exploration
Exploration at Gold Dome dates back to the discovery of placer gold in 1903 on Highet Creek. Following the discovery of the Fort Knox deposit near Fairbanks, Alaska, in the late 1980s, the property was explored for a similar intrusion-hosted gold deposit. Between 1994 and 1997, Kennecott Canada Exploration Inc. conducted a series of field programs that included geological mapping, prospecting, stream sediment and soil geochemical sampling, trenching, airborne geophysics, and core and RC drilling (8 diamond holes totaling 1,035 m and 13 RC [RC] holes totaling 1,052 m). In 1998, La Teko Resources Ltd. completed an Induced Polarisation ("IP") survey, further soil sampling and a core drilling program (7 holes totaling 1,268 m). In 1999, Copper Ridge Explorations Inc. ("Copper Ridge Explorations") completed geological studies, a ground magnetic survey and core drilling (13 holes totaling 1358 m). In 2003, the property was optioned to Golden Patriot Mining Inc., who carried out an IP survey and a 310 m five-hole drilling program focused on the Tom zone. Golden Patriot subsequently terminated its option. Highlights of drilling conducted during the period 1998 to 2003 include 6.4 m @ 7.09 gpt Au including 1.7 m @ 24.4 gpt Au (SH03-30), 7.7 m @ 3.67 gpt Au (SH98-12); 4.5 m @ 3.66 gpt Au (SH99-23) and; 5.9 m @ 2.41 gpt Au (SH99-24)
During the 2006 field season, Copper Ridge Explorations carried out a program of line cutting, soil sampling and geophysical surveying over the newly defined Toby zone. The work defined a 2 km by 1 km area of anomalous coincident bismuth, arsenic, gold and antimony soil geochemistry, located two km south of the Tom zone. The geophysical program included IP, magnetic and VLF-EM ground surveys on 21 grid km. This work was followed by road building and 1,430 m of mechanical trenching. The trenching program focused on the southeast part of the Toby zone where the soil anomaly is coincident with a moderate IP chargeability anomaly. The trenching exposed large areas of intense alteration in the metasediments surrounding discrete 1 to 3 m wide zones of quartz-arsenopyrite-bismuthinite veining. A total of 622 grab and chip-channel samples were collected from the trenches. Highlights included 4.2 gpt Au over 2 m from trench 06-2 and 8.1 gpt Au over 1 m in continuous chip samples from trench 06-3.
In 2007, Riverside Resources Ltd. optioned the property and completed a five-hole, 600 m diamond drill program targeting bulk tonnage gold potential along the Aorta structure. Results of this program included several ten-meter intervals of >1 gpt Au, including 10.18 m of 2.03 gpt Au and 0.25 m of 22.70 gpt Au (SD07-34) and 10.10 m of 2.21 gpt Au (SD097-37). Historic drill holes into the Aorta structural corridor returned similarly long intervals of gold mineralization including 54.9 meters of 0.45 gpt (RC97-11); 43.4 meters of 0.56 gpt (SH98-10); 20.3 meters of 1.03 gpt (SH99-23); 8.9 meters of 1.81 gpt (SH99-24); and 15.8 meters of 1.88 gpt (SH98-12). The combined results demonstrate continuity of low-grade, near-surface gold mineralization along the Aorta structural corridor.
Mineralization and Geology
Highly deformed metasedimentary rocks and stocks and dykes of the mid-Cretaceous Mayo suite underlie the Gold Dome property. The metasedimentary strata are part of the Neoprotoerozoic to early Cambrian Hyland Group and comprise strongly foliated muscovite-chlorite phyllites, quartzite/psammite with minor carbonate, calc-phyllite and graphitic argillites, which were deformed to lower greenschist facies during the late Jurassic and early Cretaceous. The Gold Dome, Morrison Creek and Minto Lake quartz monzonite and granodiorite stocks are the most prominent intrusive rocks on the property. Compositionally, these stocks comprise largely medium to coarse-grained hornblende and biotite bearing granodiorite. The Morrison Creek stock is relatively homogeneous whereas widespread mafic to felsic dykes intrude the Scheelite Dome stock. Thermal metamorphic aureoles, evident in airborne magnetic surveys and characterized by the development of andalusite, biotite, recrystallised quartz and pyrrhotite envelop the stocks. Narrow lamprophyre dykes, which occupy fracture and fault zones, occur throughout the property. They are typically calcareous and commonly contain fine grained biotite and minor pyrrhotite. Fine-grained to aphanitic rhyodacite, trachyte and quartz monzonite dykes, likely related to the TPS intrusions, also occur throughout the project area.
The Gold Dome area hosts a number of different mineralization styles including tungsten-rich skarns and sheeted quartz veins, gold-rich skarns and quartz veins, and silver-lead-zinc-antimony--rich veins. Mineralization at Gold Dome is likely related to the intrusion of the Scheelite Dome stock, and is characteristic of intrusion-related gold systems (IRGS), which are important producers of gold in Canada, Alaska and elsewhere around the world.
Gold mineralization on the property is associated with concordant or discordant veins, and skarns, predominantly within the hornfels surrounding the intrusion. Concordant mineralization manifests as either arsenopyrite, marcasite, pyrrhotite and pyrite replacements of limey horizons within the metasedimentary package or within and adjacent to structurally-controlled undeformed quartz-arsenopyrite-pyrite tension veins parallel to the regional S2 foliation. Discordant mineralization consists of structurally controlled quartz-sulfide veinlets that cross cut both the metasediments and the Scheelite Dome stock, and are hosted within and external to the contact metamorphic aureole surrounding the intrusion. Tungsten-rich skarns occur on both the northern and southern sides of the Scheelite Dome stock, whereas gold-rich skarns are more extensively developed on the southern side. Gold-rich skarns, such as that identified at Tom, comprise thick (2-15 m) zones of coarse-grained, semi-massive sulfide (arsenopyrite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite) with associated plagioclase-clinopyroxene alteration partially retrograded to tremolite-actinolite. Within the Scheelite Dome stock itself, tungsten-rich, gold-poor sheeted quartz-muscovite-scheelite-tourmaline veins occur. The Sheeted Zone lies along the projection of the Hawthorne vein on the northern side of the dome.
Current Work
In 2009, the Company drilled 17 diamond drill holes for a total of 2,416 m on three targets (Tom, Toby, Hawthorne). The Tom zone, a skarn-hosted gold target located south of the Scheelite Dome stock within hornfels alteration, returned the best results and will be the primary focus of the 2010 exploration field season. Golden Patriot Mining Inc. completed five diamond holes on the Tom zone in 2003 and intersected several narrow zones of gold mineralization, including 7.09 gpt Au over 6.4 m (SH03-30). The Company was the first to follow up these encouraging results and completed six core holes for a total of 1,216 m. This drilling targeted extensions of the mineralization identified in 2003. Four of the six holes intersected significant thicknesses of partially retrograded calc-silicate (clinopyroxene-plagioclase → tremolite-actinolite) skarn with associated semi-massive to massive arsenopyrite+pyrite+pyrrhotite±chalcopyrite mineralization. Highlights of the Tom drilling include 4.15m of 6.23 gpt Au from 26.77 m (GD09-005), 1.03 m of 21.64 gpt Au from 13.62 m (GD09-006), and 2.70 m of 52.35 gpt Au from 13.00 m and 10.45m of 12.96 gpt Au from 25.20 m (GD09-007). The Tom holes also intersected minor gold mineralization at depth, associated with disseminated and vein-hosted arsenopyrite with tourmaline and actinolite alteration.
Gold mineralization at Tom appears to be associated with calc-silicate skarn that is partially retrograde altered and contains significant amounts of arsenopyrite, pyrrhotite, pyrite, and chalcopyrite. Preliminary petrographic analyses have identified relict clinopyroxene-plagioclase partly altered to tremolite-actinolite, variable quartz, biotite or phlogopite, local carbonate, and sericite, as well as scheelite. Geochemically there are two distinct mineralization styles at Tom - shallow high-grade mineralization with a strong bismuth-tellurium-tungsten-selenium-antimony metallogenic signature, and deeper, low-grade gold-only mineralization. High-grade mineralization is associated with skarn alteration whereas low-grade mineralization is associated with disseminated and vein-hosted arsenopyrite in sericite-altered phyllite.
Drilling at Toby targeted a coincident IP and gold-arsenic-bismuth soil geochemical anomaly and extensions of mineralization beneath trenches excavated and sampled by Copper Ridge Explorations in 2006. Samples recovered from the 2006 trenches comprised vuggy quartz-arsenopyrite-scorodite veins and returned up to 15.0 gpt Au in grab and trench samples. In 2009 the Company drilled three holes for a total of 664 m; however, drilling at Toby was hampered by poor ground conditions and low recovery. All three holes at Toby intersected abundant quartz-arsenopyrite veins, minor pyrrhotite and a sulphide-altered monzonite dyke, but despite these promising indicators of gold mineralization, the Toby drilling returned no significant gold values. The plan for the 2010 field season is to remap and resample the Copper Ridge trenches to gain a better understanding of the controls on gold mineralization at Toby.
The Hawthorne quartz-arsenopyrite-scorodite vein was discovered and staked by prospectors in 1916. Grab samples from the vein returned up to 64.0 gpt Au, and trenching in the footwall of the vein by Kennecott in 1997 returned 744 m of 0.19 gpt Au (Trench 97-1 & 5, YGS Assessment Report 093791). There had been no previous drilling on the vein. The Company drilled 8 holes for 580 m into the vein and intersected up to 5% arsenopyrite+pyrite with accessory scorodite and stibnite, and minor quartz-sulphide stringers in the vein footwall. Best results from this program included 2.52 m of 5.17 gpt Au (GD09-015) and 2.15 m of 3.79 gpt Au (GD09-012). Geochemically, gold mineralization at Hawthorne is similar to the low-grade gold-only mineralization encountered at depth at the Tom zone.
The Company's proposed Phase I 2010 program at Gold Dome includes:
- 9,000 m of RC drilling, targeting soil anomalies in previously untested areas of the property, and following up mineralization previously identified in the Rudolph Creek-Aorta and Heon zones;
- 1,500 m of diamond drilling targeting extensions of mineralization previously identified at the Tom zone, and follow up of mineralization identified in other areas of the property during the RC program. The Company plans on utilizing oriented HQ core during this program to determine the orientation and attitude of mineralization and aid in structural interpretations; and
- re-opening and re-mapping the Toby zone trenches to gain a better understanding on the potential controls and orientation on gold mineralization in the area, to be followed up with additional RC and/or Diamond drilling.
Summary of Results
The following table presents significant intercepts from the Company's 2009 Gold Dome drilling program, and highlights of Riverside Resources' 2007 program on the Aorta corridor.
Gold Dome Project, Yukon
Select Significant Intercepts > 0.5 gpt Au
|
| Drill Hole # |
From
(m) |
To
(m) |
Interval (m) |
Au
gpt |
Interval
(ft) |
Au
opt |
| GD09-004* |
5.18 |
7.16 |
1.98 |
10.87 |
6.5 |
0.32 |
| GD09-005* |
21.34 |
30.92 |
9.58 |
2.56 |
31.4 |
0.07 |
| incl. |
27.44 |
30.92 |
3.48 |
5.39 |
11.4 |
0.16 |
| incl. |
30.01 |
30.92 |
0.91 |
12.59 |
3.0 |
0.37 |
| GD09-005* |
55.70 |
57.63 |
1.93 |
2.46 |
6.3 |
0.07 |
| GD09-005* |
161.99 |
163.15 |
1.16 |
1.17 |
3.8 |
0.03 |
| GD09-006* |
13.62 |
15.54 |
1.92 |
11.55 |
6.3 |
0.34 |
| incl. |
13.62 |
14.65 |
1.03 |
21.64 |
3.4 |
0.63 |
| GD09-007* |
10.25 |
35.65 |
25.40 |
11.12 |
83.3 |
0.32 |
| incl. |
10.25 |
18.60 |
8.35 |
17.56 |
27.4 |
0.51 |
| incl. |
13.00 |
15.70 |
2.70 |
52.35 |
8.9 |
1.53 |
| incl. |
25.20 |
35.65 |
10.45 |
12.96 |
34.3 |
0.38 |
| incl. |
26.65 |
27.91 |
1.26 |
21.87 |
4.1 |
0.64 |
| incl. |
30.97 |
33.92 |
2.95 |
19.08 |
9.7 |
0.56 |
| GD09-007* |
240.15 |
243.25 |
3.10 |
1.12 |
10.2 |
0.03 |
| GD09-008* |
59.93 |
61.49 |
1.56 |
1.23 |
5.1 |
0.04 |
| GD09-008* |
64.61 |
66.60 |
1.99 |
1.00 |
6.5 |
0.03 |
| GD09-009* |
77.90 |
79.67 |
1.77 |
1.00 |
5.8 |
0.03 |
| GD09-010* |
56.39 |
57.93 |
1.54 |
1.43 |
5.1 |
0.04 |
| GD09-012* |
20.00 |
22.15 |
2.15 |
3.79 |
7.1 |
0.11 |
| GD09-012* |
48.96 |
50.40 |
1.44 |
1.92 |
4.7 |
0.06 |
| GD09-013* |
48.68 |
50.39 |
1.71 |
2.29 |
5.6 |
0.07 |
| GD09-014* |
14.20 |
27.43 |
13.23 |
1.40 |
43.4 |
0.04 |
| GD09-015* |
24.35 |
25.81 |
1.46 |
2.81 |
4.8 |
0.08 |
| GD09-015* |
36.35 |
38.87 |
2.52 |
5.17 |
8.3 |
0.15 |
| GD09-015* |
92.77 |
94.37 |
1.60 |
2.34 |
5.2 |
0.07 |
| SD07-34** |
36.47 |
46.65 |
10.18 |
2.03 |
33.4 |
0.06 |
| |
88.09 |
88.34 |
0.25 |
22.70 |
0.8 |
0.66 |
| SD07-35** |
32.61 |
35.66 |
3.05 |
1.74 |
10.0 |
0.05 |
| |
136.64 |
146.72 |
10.08 |
1.01 |
33.1 |
0.03 |
| incl. |
136.64 |
140.32 |
3.68 |
1.15 |
12.1 |
0.03 |
| incl. |
144.72 |
146.72 |
2.00 |
2.69 |
6.6 |
0.08 |
| SD07-36** |
42.96 |
47.95 |
4.99 |
1.03 |
16.4 |
0.03 |
| |
59.55 |
63.29 |
3.74 |
1.22 |
12.3 |
0.04 |
| SD 07-37** |
35.66 |
39.54 |
3.88 |
0.60 |
12.7 |
0.02 |
| |
56.10 |
75.74 |
19.64 |
1.25 |
64.4 |
0.04 |
* Reported in November 16 2009 News Release
** Reported in February 4 2008 News Release
Corwin Coe, PGeo, is the Qualified Person as defined under National
Instrument 43-101 who has reviewed and verified the information
presented on the Company's Gold Dome Project.
2010 Photos
(Above photos By Cathie Archbould, Archbould Photography)
2009 Maps & Photos
Click to Enlarge
Hawthorne Vein quartz + very fine grained sulphides from True North hole GD09-011 |
|
Hawthorne Vein quartz + very fine grained sulphides from True North hole GD09-011 |
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