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File Created: 03-Dec-1987 by Garry J. Payie (GJP)
Last Edit:  24-Jan-2022 by Del Ferguson (DF)

Summary Help Help

NMI
Name SNOW Mining Division Alberni
BCGS Map 092F033
Status Prospect NTS Map 092F06W
Latitude 049º 18' 23'' UTM 10 (NAD 83)
Longitude 125º 24' 24'' Northing 5464303
Easting 325060
Commodities Gold, Silver, Lead, Copper, Zinc Deposit Types I06 : Cu+/-Ag quartz veins
Tectonic Belt Insular Terrane Wrangell
Capsule Geology

The Snow occurrence is located on a ridge separating the upper Kennedy and Taylor rivers, approximately 5.5 kilometres northwest of Sutton Pass, and 45 kilometres west of Port Alberni.

The area is underlain by Upper Triassic Karmutsen Formation basalt and various members of the Jurassic Island Intrusive Suite. The Karmutsen Formation consists of pillow lava and flows and associated tuffaceous and hyaloclastic strata. Intrusive rocks within the property area are extremely variable in texture and composition but can be subdivided into two main groups, i) fine grained, aphanitic to porphyritic dikes of probable granitic or quartz monzonitic composition and which may be related to small stocks of similar composition, but which exhibit a much coarser grain and ii) diorite to quartz diorite bodies which are usually of irregular shape.

The Snow prospect consists of mineralized veins occurring chiefly in chloritized basalt of the Upper Triassic Karmutsen Formation, Vancouver Group. Lesser veining occurs in quartz diorite of the Early to Middle Jurassic Island Plutonic Suite. Faults and fractures are numerous in the occurrence area, particularly in the volcanics, and act as hosts for vein emplacement.

A series of parallel veins striking at 140 degrees and varying in width from a few centimetres to up to 90 centimetres were exposed by a road cut in 1986. The veins are composed of quartz or quartz carbonate and may contain traces, or up to 40 per cent pyrite and galena with lesser amounts of chalcopyrite and rarely sphalerite. Gold and silver values are high with the sulphides. Minor argillic, sericitic, and epidote alteration is associated with veining. The vein structure is about 300 metres and extends for 1000 metres along the valley.

A 62 centimetre drill section made up of quartz diorite and quartz veining contained 38.40 grams per tonne gold, 69.94 grams per tonne silver, 3.60 per cent lead and 2.78 per cent zinc. A similar, adjacent, 52-centimetre interval assayed 7.99 grams per tonne gold, 168.69 grams per tonne silver, 7.75 per cent lead and 4.92 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 17574).

In 1986, The Snow 1-5 and White 1-2 claims were staked following the discovery of an auriferous polymetallic vein in outcrop exposed during logging activities. From 1987 to 1989, Cassau Exploration completed programs of geological mapping, geochemical sampling surveys, trenching, VLF-EM surveys and 3 diamond drill holes, totalling 150.6 metres. From 1990 to 2012, Snowfield Resources optioned the property and completed programs of soil and rock chip sampling and diamond drilling, totalling 933.9 metres in 10 holes. Six holes intersected either no or minor mineralization with no gold values. Hole DDH 598-1 intersected 25 centimetres of quartz vein that assayed 8 grams per tonne (Assessment Report 25663). The other three holes intersected weak mineralization and anomalous gold values.

In 2012, an airborne geophysical survey was performed by Precision Geosurveys Inc. for Snowfield Development Corporation.

In 2015, an air-photo-geological interpretive study was conducted over the Snow and Snow-Lower Road occurrences for owners T. and D. Paterson. In 2019 a program of rock chip sampling was conducted of mapped and unmapped mineral zones located within a 500 metre radius of the Main Zone. Two samples (19SNOW-8 and 10) returned anomalous values of greater than 25 grams per tonne Au, 23.4 and 120 grams per tonne Ag, 0.03 and 0.17 per cent Cu, 1.48 and 1.49 per cent Pb; and 1.86 and 5.09 per cent Zn (Assessment Report 38488).

Bibliography
EMPR ASS RPT *16208, *17269, *17574, 17575, 17708, 22443, *25663, 33113, *35364, *38488
EMPR EXPL 1998-47-55
EMPR PF (Company promo information, 2001)
GSC MAP 17-1968; 1386A
GSC OF 463; 1272
GSC P 68-50; 72-44
GCNL #18 (Jan.27), #90 (May11), #101(May 27), #156(Aug.14), 1998
N MINER Apr. 27, 1998
V STOCKWATCH Nov. 18, Sept. 15, 1987
Carson, D.J.T. (1968): Metallogenic Study of Vancouver Island With Emphasis on the Relationships of Mineral Deposits to Plutonic Rocks, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Carleton University
Times Colonist, June 3, 1998, p. B8

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