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File Created: 15-Aug-1996 by Keith J. Mountjoy (KJM)
Last Edit:  19-Jul-2020 by Karl A. Flower (KAF)

Summary Help Help

NMI
Name MONTE CHRISTO (L.3125), L FRACTION (L.2575), MONTE, CAP Mining Division Greenwood, Osoyoos
BCGS Map 082E025
Status Prospect NTS Map 082E06E
Latitude 049º 15' 58'' UTM 11 (NAD 83)
Longitude 119º 00' 29'' Northing 5458979
Easting 353914
Commodities Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead, Zinc Deposit Types I05 : Polymetallic veins Ag-Pb-Zn+/-Au
I01 : Au-quartz veins
Tectonic Belt Omineca Terrane Plutonic Rocks, Quesnel
Capsule Geology

The Monte Christo prospect is located at 823 metres elevation, on the east side of Highway 33 between Hay and Boomerang creeks. Beaverdell, British Columbia lies 25 kilometres to the north. The prospect consists of the Monte and Cap claims and the Monte Christo (Lot 3125) and L Fraction (Lot 2575) Reverted Crown grants. The Ohio (Lot 3124) Reverted Crown grant is adjacent to this property along the western boundary.

Mining activity has taken place in the area since 1859, when placer gold was panned from Rock Creek. Old workings on the Monte Christo (Lot 3125) and L Fraction (Lot 2575) Reverted Crown grants indicate early prospecting and development at the Monte Christo occurrence. In 1981, a soil geochemical survey outlined a number of small precious and base metals anomalies. Rock samples yielding 0.75 and 0.86 gram per tonne gold were coincident with the highest base metals soil anomalies (Assessment Report 22282). Limited exploration was carried out around the old Monte Christo workings in 1990 by G.F. Crooker. In 1991 and 1992 exploration consisted of prospecting, small-scale geochemical soil surveying and a electromagnetic geophysical survey.

Hostrocks underlying the Monte Christo prospect are predominantly foliated, medium to coarse grained, hornblende biotite granodiorite, quartz diorite and granite. These are assigned to the Middle Jurassic Nelson intrusions. Massive biotite porphyritic granodiorite and granite of the Cretaceous to Tertiary Okanagan batholith also occur in the vicinity. Outcrops of conglomerate, breccia, porphyritic andesite and trachyte of the Eocene Penticton Group overlie these intrusions. The prospect consists of workings on the Monte Christo and Cap claims. On the Monte Christo, a 10 to 20 centimetre wide quartz vein is hosted in a 50 to 100 centimetre wide shear zone with associated intense chlorite and silicification alteration. The vein was exposed in a 19 metre long adit and several nearby trenches. The vein is traceable for 2.5 metres, where it truncates against a fault. Mineralization is reported to consist of pyrite, chalcopyrite and bornite. A 10-centimetre chip sample of quartz vein in 1981 yielded 58.6 grams per tonne gold and 162.2 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 22282). Another mineralized quartz vein was discovered in siliceous and sericitic altered granite outcrop in 1991, 100 metres to the southwest. However, grab sample 91M-4 yielded only 0.06 gram per tonne gold, 1.0 gram per tonne silver and 0.01 per cent lead (Assessment Report 22282). Three hundred metres to the southwest more abandoned workings were discovered, including several trenches and an adit. They uncovered a 5 to 20 centimetre wide quartz vein in a 20 centimetre wide siliceous zone. The vein strikes 209 degrees and dips 30 degrees west. Pyrite and galena were observed. Sample 91M-6, a grab of dump material, analysed 33.1 grams per tonne gold, 116.3 grams per tonne silver and 2.45 per cent lead (Assessment Report 22282).

At the Cap workings, a 15 to 50 centimetre wide quartz vein striking 027 degrees and dipping 54 degrees west is exposed above the adit portal. The vein has also been exposed by two trenches over a strike length of 20 metres and the adit. The vein is exposed for 2.5 metres in trench A. The vein width varies from 15 to 40 centimetres and is faulted. On one side of the fault the vein strikes 033 degrees and dips 58 degrees west while on the other side it strikes 036 degrees and dips 60 degrees east. Left-lateral movement is indicated along the fault. In trench B, the vein is 15 to 50 centimetres wide and exposed for 1.5 metres. The vein attitude changes across a similar fault. The hostrock is fine grained siliceous granite. Up to 5 per cent pyrite and 2 per cent galena occur within 2 to 5 centimetres of the hangingwall.

Surface samples have yielded low gold values. However, several dump samples of adit vein material yielded anomalous gold. In 1990, sample 90M-1 yielded 16.8 grams per tonne gold and sample 90M-7 yielded 64.0 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 22282). Several samples taken of quartz vein material from the main adit dump in 1991 yielded high gold, silver and lead values. Samples 91M-1 of chloritic and silicified wallrock taken from the dump, analysed 2.08 grams per tonne gold, 9.4 grams per tonne silver and 0.87 per cent lead. Sample 91M-3 yielded 6.09 grams per tonne gold, 6.7 grams per tonne silver and 0.09 per cent lead (Assessment Report 22282).

During 2014 through 2016, Carrara Exploration Corp. completed programs of geological mapping, geochemical (rock and soil) sampling and a ground magnetometer survey on the area as the Boomerang property.

In 2016, samples of outcrop and float from the Monte Christo zone yielded values of up to 0.705 gram per tonne gold, 13.8 grams per tonne silver and 0.421 per cent lead, while a sample (1612) from an old adit on the Cap zone yielded 1.060 gram per tonne gold, 26.1 grams per tonne silver, 0.326 per cent zinc and 1.359 per cent lead over 0.10 metre (MacIntyre, D. (2016-11-10): Technical Report - Boomerang Gold-Silver-Lead-Zinc Property).

Bibliography
EMPR AR 1898-1196; 1901-1145; *1912-326
EMPR ASS RPT *8417, *9504, 21092, *22282
EMPR MR MAP 7 (1934)
EMPR OF 1989-5
GSC MAP 538A; 539A; 37-21; 15-1961; 1738A
GSC OF 481; 637; 1505A; 1565; 1969
Kikauka, A. (2016-08-30): NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Boomerang Gold-Silver-Lead-Zinc-Copper Property
*MacIntyre, D. (2016-11-10): Technical Report - Boomerang Gold-Silver-Lead-Zinc Property

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