Projects
Tay-LP Property, Yukon Territory
Location
The Tay-LP property is within the Tintina Gold Belt (Tintina Gold Belt Map) and 50 kilometres south-southwest of the town of Ross River in the Yukon Territory. (Go to Property Location Map) The property is accessible from the South Canol Road via a good four-wheel-drive trail that runs along the length of the property.
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Property
The property consists of 413 contiguous mineral claims, extending over a length of about 20 kilometres and a width of about 4 kilometres, and covering approximately 8,600 hectares. The property includes 69 RAM claims, optioned from Almaden Minerals Ltd.
History
Exploration commenced in 1984 after the chance discovery of a float boulder assaying 9.05 g/t gold. The property was explored by Cominco from 1984 to 1987, by Pacific Comox from 1988 to 1998, Ross River Gold Ltd. in 1999, by Newmont Exploration from 2000 to 2001 and Ross River Minerals Inc. from 2002 to 2004. Exploration methods have included prospecting, mapping, trenching, geochemical surveys, ground and airborne geophysical surveys, overburden auger drilling, reverse circulation drilling and diamond drilling.
Geology (Go to Geology Map)
The Tay-LP property is underlain primarily by weakly metamorphosed, folded and faulted Paleozoic pelitic sedimentary rocks. The basement of lower Cambrian age calcareous phyllite and phyllitic marble underlie the central portion of the property, where most of the recent drilling has been carried out. The Seagull Creek fault, on the east side of Seagull Creek valley, juxtaposes Devono-Mississippian age metavolcanic, metavolcanoclastic and pelitic rocks to the east against lower Cambrian calcareous phyllites to the west. Drilling to date has focused on gold-bearing vein and replacement mineralization hosted by the calcareous phyllites. The last hole of the 2004 program encountered Devono-Mississippian metavolcanics and non-calcareous argillite while testing a ground magnetic anomaly on the east side of the valley. Cretaceous age granitic rocks occur in the west-central area of the property. Outcrops of these rocks are limited to one ridge and several sills, exposed along Seagull Creek. Airborne geophysical evidence and calc-silicate alteration trends suggest that a larger intrusive body underlies part of the western-central area of the property. The intrusive rocks are the interpreted source rocks for the gold mineralization. This is supported by their age, geological setting and geochemical signature.
Mineralization
Gold mineralization occurs in sulphide-rich, structurally-controlled veins and replacement bodies. Pyrrhotite is the dominant sulphide mineral, often accompanied by low to trace concentrations of chalcopyrite and pyrite. Rare occurrences of bismuthinite, tellurides, arsenopyrite and galena have also been identified with mineralization. Gold mineralization has bismuth and tellurium geochemical signatures, characteristic of deposits of the Tintina Gold Belt. The following styles of mineralization have been recognized on the property:
- steeply southwesterly dipping quartz-pyrrhotite veins: texture and pyrrhotite concentration varies, typically 5 to 30% pyrrhotite cross-cuts the quartz in anastomosing veinlets which follow fractures in the quartz; pyrite concentration is variable; trace concentrations of chalcopyrite are common; vein intercepts in core range from 0.3 m to 9.5 m
- massive pyrrhotite veins: greater than 50% pyrrhotite, often containing quartz or altered lithic fragments, giving these veins a brecciated texture, these veins can be steeply cross-cutting or sub-parallel to foliation, up to 8.7 g/t gold
- quartz tourmaline pyrrhotite pyrite veins, variable sulphide concentrations, sub-parallel and cross-cutting foliation, <1g/t - 14 g/t gold
- replacement mineralization: highly variable concentration and textures, sulphide replacement mineralization is thinly laminated and occurs parallel to foliation, pyrrhotite with subordinate pyrite concentration varies from 5 to 50%, commonly accompanied by silicification and decalcification of host rocks, locally grades into brecciated varieties, cross-cutting dilation structures and “feeder veins” are often observed, +/- 1 g/t gold
- massive, pyrrhotite-arsenopyrite float - up to 2 .5 g/t gold and over 100 g/t silver, source unknown but probably south of the areas drilled to date within Seagull Creek valley
- Quartz-po/py +/- MoS2 veins within altered quartz-monzonite sill - up to 8.4 g/t gold
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Alteration
Mineralization is commonly non-magnetic high temperature form of pyrrhotite. Silicification, secondary phlogopite, and pervasive sericite occur in host rocks enveloping the veins. Variable concentrations of tourmaline occur within the veins and in vein selvages. Calc-silicate alteration and skarnification occur in several holes on the west side of the property and are important alteration types in calcareous rocks close to granitic intrusions, as they indicate circulating hydrothermal fluids which can be enriched in gold.
2004 Exploration Program
The 2004 program included 16.5 km of ground VLF and magnetometer survey and 9 diamond drill holes, totaling 1,001.6 metres. Diamond drilling intersected steep, southwesterly dipping vein structures in three areas along a strike length of 1.8 km. Eight of the nine holes tested the westernmost of three parallel Max-Min electromagnetic geophysical anomalies. Most of the holes that previously tested these anomalies were drilled in a southwesterly direction, missing the vein structures but intersecting lower grade replacement mineralization. All holes in 2004 were drilled in a northeasterly direction. The first hole in the 2004 program,TLP04-01 was drilled 10 metres east of TLP02-07, to define the dip of the vein structure intersected in 2002. This led to the recognition that the quartz-pyrrhotite veins dip steeply to the west. Hole TLP04-02, drilled 50 metres to the south, confirmed the westerly dip and indicates a northwest strike. Holes TLP04-03 to TLP04-08 followed the Max-Min anomaly south over 1.8 km. All eight holes drilled on this trend intersected mineralization controlled by steep southwesterly dipping vein structures. The highest grade intercepts are presented in the Summary Table of 2004 drill holes.
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Summary of 2004 Tay-LP Drill Hole Assays |
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From |
To |
Width |
gold |
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Drillhole |
metres |
Metres |
metres |
g/t |
Comments |
TLP04-01 |
77.40 |
97.00 |
19.60 |
1.33 |
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includes |
3.40 |
5.13 |
TLP04-02 |
60.55 |
71.02 |
10.47 |
3.96 |
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includes |
1.00 |
16.00 |
and |
2.00 |
11.49 |
TLP04-03 |
59.57 |
65.12 |
5.50 |
0.67 |
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TLP04-04 |
58.45 |
69.45 |
11.00 |
2.99 |
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includes |
1.08 |
12.50 |
TLP04-05 |
62.27 |
65.48 |
3.21 |
1.85 |
Hole lost in mineralization |
and |
69.64 |
79.74 |
10.10 |
1.97 |
TLP04-06 |
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Three zones totaling 7.0 metres anomalous gold |
TLP04-07 |
29.28 |
37.30 |
8.02 |
0.91 |
Three zones totaling 6.8 metres anomalous gold |
TLP04-08 |
40.12 |
74.81 |
34.69 |
0.13 |
Faulted |
TLP04-09 |
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No significant assays. Hole lost in sulphides. |
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Drill holes and the interpreted geology are shown for sections 11+00S and 28+00S showing the southwest dipping vein
Hole TLP04-09 tested one of three magnetic anomalies defined by a ground survey in 2004. This hole encountered Devono-Mississippian metavolcanic and argillites below 54 metres of overburden. Pyrrhotite was also encountered but gold concentrations are low. The hole was lost in sulphide mineralization.
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Tay-LP Soil Geochemistry
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Tay-LP Ground Magnetic Anomaly
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Targets and 2005 Tay-LP Field Program
Results from the 2004 drilling program on the Tay-LP are very encouraging. Further drilling is warranted to extend known mineralization and complete testing of geophysical anomalies . Ross River plans to carry out a drilling program in 2005 to test the following targets :
- Mag. anomalies 1000 x 500 metres wide southeast of TLP04 09
- Max-Min anomalies to east of anomaly drilled in 2004
- Along strike and down dip of structure drilled in 2004
- Replacement mineralization towards Cretaceous intrusive, beneath resistivity anomaly (sill or zone of silicification)
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