The Nordic showing is located on Panorama Ridge between Cahill and Winters creeks, 2.25 kilometres south of Nickel Plate Lake and approximately 18 kilometres east of Hedley, British Columbia. The Nordic showing is situated on the eastern slope of Panorama Ridge, approximately 50 metres downslope from its crest, at an elevation of 1840 metres. The showing is approximately 500 metres east of the York showing (MINFILE 082ESW052), both of which are part of Goldcliff Resource Corporation's Panorama Ridge property.
The area is underlain by Upper Triassic Nicola Group sedimentary and volcanic rocks and associated Triassic Hedley diorite intrusions, dikes and sills. Nicola Group rocks host stratabound auriferous skarn deposits. Outcrops consist of Upper Triassic Nicola Group, Whistle Formation (Nicola Group) tuffs and Hedley Formation sediments that have been altered and intruded by diorite dykes of the Early Jurassic Hedley intrusions. Limestone fragmental rocks, some altered, are present along with calcareous sediments.
The Nordic showing is within the Winters Creek drainage basin, which drains to the southwest. A new logging road has exposed the showing for a length of 200 metres in a northeast-southwest direction and vertically for 50 to 75 metres. The Nordic showing is geologically similar to the York showing because both contain gossan mineralization in altered tuff and sediments. As of early 2001, skarn alteration had not been located in the new Nordic exposures. The showing contains several hand trenches (1900s) with pervasive and fracture-related pyrite-pyrrhotite (chalcopyrite) sulphide mineralization. There is no physical evidence of any newer work. Overburden is extensive in the area due to the gentle slope of the terrain off to the east.
The Hedley area has been heavily prospected and explored since the discovery of the Hedley Mascot mine (092HSE036) at the turn of the century. Previous exploration on the Panorama Ridge property consisted of hand pitting in the 1940s and systematic exploration in the 1980s. Trenching in 1985 on the York prospect by Placer Development Limited. (formerly known as Placer Dome Incorporated) obtained significant gold values in bedrock in four trenches, ranging from 0.27 to 1.5 grams gold per tonne (Press Release, Goldcliff Resource Corporation, January 22, 2001). All the trenches are anomalous in gold and copper, with the exception of Trench 1, which contains anomalous arsenic and silver. Little work of significance was done in the area until 1984, when Primont Resources Limited. staked a large area surrounding Nickel Plate Lake. Placer Development Limited. conducted exploration on the claims in 1984, as did Lacana Mining Corporation in 1987.
Placer's work in the mid-1980s consisted of trenching, constructing approximately 63 line-kilometres of grid and conducting magnetic and electromagnetic surveys over the grid, performing an unknown amount of induced polarization surveying, collecting approximately 1600 soil samples and geological mapping and prospecting. Placer then excavated four large trenches (York prospect), one of which (Trench 3) yielded 45 metres of 0.81 gram per tonne gold, including 6 metres of 1.34 grams per tonne gold, and drilled two diamond drillholes.
In the fall of 2000, Goldcliff Resource Corporation started exploration in the Hedley Gold Basin and staked the Panorama Ridge property based on newly exposed sulphide-rich gossan outcrop along new logging roads constructed by Weyerhaeuser Canada Limited. In the fall of 2000, Weyerhaeuser logged a large clearcut that covers the York, Spar and Slope prospects, a second clearcut that covers the Skar prospect and had proposed a clearcut to log the area of the Nordic and Winters prospects. The work by Goldcliff confirmed the anomalous gold values at the York prospect (0.18 to 2.44 grams per tonne) and discovered high-grade gold-skarn float (18.04 grams per tonne) at the Spar prospect and a large area of auriferous disseminated sulphide mineralization (0.44 to 0.48 grams per tonne) at the Nordic prospect (MINFILE 082ESW259).
Goldcliff's 2001 work program extended from June through September and 65 silt sediment samples were collected from the active portions of Cahill and Winters creeks; trenches, pits, outcrops and roads were systematically rock sampled (554 samples). The Placer Development Ltd. grid lines (5.5 kilometres) were relocated and re-established in the area of the York, Spar and Nordic prospects and soil sampled (284 samples).
Goldcliff’s 2002 work program extended from the beginning of May through the end of October and 14 silt sediment samples were collected from the eastern fork of Winters Creek. Placer Development Ltd. grid lines (24.4 kilometres) were relocated and re-established at 100-metre line spacing in the area of the Epic, Spar, York, Saxony, Skar, Pillar, Nordic, Thor, Winters, Viking and Tower prospects. Infill grid lines at 50-metre line spacing were established over the Nordic, York, Spar and Epic prospects. All grid lines were soil sampled (1209 samples) at a 20-metre sample interval. A short road measuring 490 metres was constructed to allow access to the York prospect, and excavator trenching (15 trenches) was carried out at the York, Spar and Epic prospects. A total of 622 rock samples were systematically collected from the trenches and outcrops at the York, Spar, Epic, Nordic, Viking and Tower prospects.
Goldcliff's 2003 work program consisted of establishing grid lines (38.1 kilometres) at 25- and 50-metre spacing, collecting soil samples (522 samples) over the 50-metre spacing lines, conducting a magnetic and electromagnetic survey (56.3 kilometres) over the entire grid, trenching (nine trenches) and rock sampling (239 samples). Early in October 2003, a 17-hole core drilling program (1920 metres, NQTK) was carried out over the York (four holes), Viking (two holes), Thor (three holes), Tower (two holes) and Nordic (five holes) prospects. A total of 1550 core samples were collected from the drilling and sent for analysis. Anomalous and, in many instances, significant gold values were intersected at all five prospects.
Goldcliff's 2004 work program extended from the beginning of June through the end of November, and exploration early in the year was conducted to further define drill targets over the eight prospect areas. This work consisted of establishing grid lines (5.2 kilometres) at 5 to 25-metre line separation, collecting soil samples (545 samples) at 5 to 20-metre sample spacing, trenching (26 trenches) and rock sampling (1179 samples). A number of right-of-ways were logged and roads constructed to the various prospects. In the middle of September, a 22-hole core drilling program (2278 metres, NQTK) started at the York (10 holes), Viking (two holes), Nordic (six holes) and Epic (four holes) prospects. A total of 1843 core samples were collected from the drilling and sent for analysis. Anomalous and, in many instances, significant gold values were intersected at the York and Viking prospects, whereas the Nordic prospect gave weakly anomalous gold values. The Epic prospect did not give any anomalous gold values.
Goldcliff's 2005 work program extended from the beginning of June through the middle of October, and exploration early in the year was conducted to further define drill targets over the Winters, Tower, York, Viking, Thor and Nordic prospects. This work consisted of soil sampling (15 samples), trenching (45 trenches) and rock sampling (1042 samples). A number of right-of-ways were logged and roads constructed to the various prospects. In the middle of September, a 13-hole core drilling program (1211.48 metres, NQTK) started at the York (nine holes), Viking (two holes) and Nordic (two holes) prospects. A total of 1064 core samples and 45 sludge samples were collected from the drilling and sent for analysis.
Goldcliff's work programs have yielded eight prospects. These eight prospects are
1. Epic—gold-arsenic soil geochemical anomaly, magnetic high, induced polarization chargeability high;
2. Spar—gold-arsenic-copper soil geochemical anomaly, strongly anomalous gold in rock float (18.05 grams per tonne), flank of induced polarization chargeability high;
3. York—gold-arsenic-copper soil geochemical anomaly, anomalous gold in rock samples from trench YK-03 (46.03 metres of 0.913 gram per tonne), magnetic high, induced polarization chargeability high;
4. Skar—gold soil geochemical anomaly, anomalous gold in a shear zone striking 41 degrees, dipping 70 degrees east (1.5 metres of 9.77 grams per tonne and 0.9 metre of 14.57 grams per tonne);
5. Nordic—gold-arsenic soil geochemical anomaly, magnetic high, induced polarization chargeability high, anomalous gold in rock samples from outcrop ND-02 (5.4 metres of 3.349 grams per tonne);
6. Thor—gold-arsenic soil geochemical anomaly, magnetic high, induced polarization chargeability high, weakly anomalous rock geochemical gold from outcrop TH-01 (1 metre of 0.92 gram per tonne);
7. Viking—gold-arsenic soil geochemical anomaly, magnetic high, induced polarization chargeability high, anomalous rock geochemical gold from outcrop VK-01 (28.6 metres of 0.893 gram per tonne); and
8. Tower—gold-arsenic-copper soil geochemical anomaly, magnetic high, anomalous rock geochemical gold from outcrop TW-01 (7.3 metres of 0.924 gram per tonne).
The Nordic prospect yielded significant gold values from recent sampling. The gold values ranged from 0.16 to 0.49 gram per tonne gold (Press Release, Goldcliff Resource Corporation, January 22, 2001). Outcrop sampling by Goldcliff Resources in 2002 yielded 3.349 grams per tonne gold over 5.42 metres (Press Release, Goldcliff Resource Corporation, December 18, 2002).
Goldcliff’s 2005 exploration program yielded significant gold values in trenches dug on the Nordic prospect (Assessment Report 28335). The highest gold values were obtained from trench ND-56 with 45.4 metres averaging 2.04 grams per tonne, including 26 metres averaging 3.22 grams per tonne, 8 metres averaging 7.51 grams per tonne and 3 metres averaging 15.6 grams per tonne. Trench ND-74 was excavated 3 metres east of trench ND-56 and also gave significant gold values with 22 metres averaging 2.02 grams per tonne, including 3 metres averaging 4.17 grams per tonne and 1 metre of 8.98 grams per tonne. Trench ND-83 was excavated 15 metres southeast of ND-56 and also gave significant gold values with the entire 16.7 metres of the trench averaging 1.35 grams per tonne, including 4.7 metres of 2.52 grams per tonne. Trench ND-91 is the northerly extension of ND-83 and also gave significant gold values with 12 metres averaging 2.94 grams per tonne, including 7 metres averaging 3.8 grams per tonne and 2 metres averaging 6.95 grams per tonne.
Results from Goldcliff's 2006 work program included 1.56 grams per tonne gold over 44 metres from drillhole 26059 (Assessment Report 29137).
In 2007, Goldcliff carried out an exploration program on the Panorama Ridge property that included trenching and drilling. Trenches at Nordic returned significant gold values (Assessment Report 30076). The program continued into 2008, when 53 NQ-size diamond drillholes totalling 4190.47 metres were drilled on the Nordic and Thor prospects. These holes were not logged until 2009. In 2009, 47 holes from the Nordic prospect were logged and sampled and the mineralized zone was expanded to a known length of 250 metres trending northeast to southwest. Fifteen of the holes returned gold values greater than 1 gram per tonne in sections that were 14 to 43 metres long (Assessment Report 31540). Significant intercepts included a 16-metre section of Hedley intrusive averaging 1.06 grams per tonne gold with 2 metres of 5.73 grams per tonne gold, 25.62 metres averaging 1.54 grams per tonne gold with 1 metre of 12.8 grams per tonne gold, and 32.06 metres averaging 1.04 grams per tonne gold with 1 metre of 10.1 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 31540).
