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File Created: 16-Jul-2015 by Karl A. Flower (KAF)
Last Edit:  12-Aug-2015 by Karl A. Flower (KAF)

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NMI
Name RED TUSK NORTH, SILVER TUSK, SILVER SPIDER Mining Division Vancouver
BCGS Map 092G074
Status Prospect NTS Map 092G14W
Latitude 049º 46' 49'' UTM 10 (NAD 83)
Longitude 123º 19' 31'' Northing 5514252
Easting 476582
Commodities Gold, Silver, Lead, Zinc, Copper Deposit Types G06 : Noranda/Kuroko massive sulphide Cu-Pb-Zn
Tectonic Belt Coast Crystalline Terrane Plutonic Rocks, Gambier
Capsule Geology

The Red Tusk North (Silver Spider) occurrence is located on the north western arm of Silver Tusk Creek, a south-flowing tributary of Red Tusk Creek, at an elevation of approximately 1430 metres. The area has been explored in conjunction with the nearby Red Tusk Discovery (MINFILE 092GNW051), South and North Extension occurrences.

The area occurs in the Clowhom pendant, an elongate pendant of Lower Cretaceous Gambier Group volcanic and sedimentary rocks. The pendant is surrounded by quartz diorite/diorite of the Cenozoic-Mesozoic Coast Plutonic Complex and appears to have undergone local hornfelsing, folding and faulting.

The occurrence is underlain by a series of marine sediments and volcanics in a relatively undisturbed sequence of north to northwest trending and moderately to steeply west-dipping units. Stratigraphic tops also face west. The sedimentary units are composed of cherts and argillites and do not constitute a large portion of the stratigraphy volumetrically, but are important as marker horizons. The cherts are generally massive but occasionally are well laminated. The argillites are frequently hornfelsed, uniformly fine-grained, black pyritic rocks, occasionally containing narrow (10 centimetres or less) beds of semi-massive pyrite/pyrrhotite and rarely sphalerite. The dominant pendant rocks are andesites and include agglomerates, flows and tuffs. The intrusive rocks are diorite to quartz diorite in composition with minor differentiated zones of granodiorite and gabbro.

The volcanic rocks are variable in composition and include basalts, dacites, rhyodacites, rhyolites, massive andesite porphyries and laminated tuffs, and a distinctive fragmental unit. Late mafic dikes cut the stratified sequence and usually strike northeast and dip vertically. Some folding is evident and faulting is randomly distributed, with little or no movement. An altered siliceous horizon trends north across the property and is comprised of a light grey to grey massive, aphanitic, siliceous, rhyolitic unit with a characteristic chalky white weathering. Prominent foliation and shearing accompanied by quartz veining is present along the entire length of the unit.

Intermediate to felsic volcanics occupy the central portion of the property. The rocks are dacite to rhyodacite in composition and include flows, gritty lapilli tuffs and finely laminated ash tuffs. A fragmental volcanic rock unit (polymictic volcanic breccia) occurs and is composed of crowded, angular to sub-angular, mixed pebble to cobble sized clasts of tuffs, flows, chert and argillite in a fine-grained, dusty matrix. This unit generally overlies two thin units of andesite agglomerate and tuff, which in turn overlies andesite flows.

Mineralization on the Red Tusk property is associated with the altered siliceous rhyolite horizon, which varies from 30 to 100 metres in width and is 2000 metres long. The Discovery, North, South and North Extension zones occur within this unit.

The North zone is a 350- metre long segment of this horizon with a width of 40 metres. Mineralization is found in a barite-rich section of altered, siliceous, pyritic rhyolite, rhyolite breccia and in highly chloritized andesite. A sulphide assemblage of pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite and galena is generally confined to fractures and vein-like structures. A smaller sub-zone, the Silver Spider, is 6 to 8 metres wide and 100 metres long and consists of a steeply dipping barite-rich rhyolite.

In 1983, four chip samples (R013843 through R01386), each over 2.0 metres, assayed from 1.45 to 6.85 grams per tonne gold and 6.1 to 20.9 grams per tonne silver. Another chip sample (R01369), taken a short distance to the south in the creek bed, assayed 2.31 grams per tonne gold, 39.6 grams per tonne silver, 1.105 per cent lead and 1.936 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 12660).

In 1985, diamond drilling yielded intercepts of (Assessment Report 14478):

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Drillhole From To Length Gold Silver

(m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t)

85-1 8.5 10.0 1.5 1.70 64.0

85-2 13.0 15.5 2.5 0.54 27.0

85-2 21.0 23.0 2.0 1.80 3.4

85-2 25.0 27.0 2.0 1.30 6.1

85-3 7.0 9.0 2.0 1.80 39.0

85-5 25.5 27.7 2.2 0.12 19.4

85-5 27.7 30.0 2.3 0.13 26.0

85-5 30.0 32.0 2.0 0.11 27.4

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In 1988, grab samples from the Silver Spider zone assayed 0.12 per cent copper, 20.06 per cent zinc, 17.89 per cent lead, 5694.59 grams per tonne silver and 15.28 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 18615).

In 1981 and early 1982, the area was prospected and sampled as the Silver Tusk claims. During late 1982 through 1985, Newmont Exploration of Canada completed programs of geological mapping, rock, silt and soil sampling and 12 diamond drill holes, totaling 647.7 metres, on the area as the Red Tusk property. In 1988, Schellex Gold completed a program of prospecting, rock sampling and trenching on the area. In 1995 and 2000, limited programs of heavy mineral stream sediment sampling were completed. In 2003, Red Tusk Resources, on the behalf of Gambier Mining, completed a program of geological mapping and rock, silt and soil sampling. In 2005, the area was prospected as the Iota claim. In 2009, a petrographic analysis was completed on samples collected in 2005.

Bibliography
EMPR ASS RPT 10279, 11180, *12660, *14478, *18615, 24421, 26304, 27547, 28096, 30775
EMPR FIELDWORK 1980, pp. 165-178
EMPR OF 1999-2
EMPR PF (Prospectus, Schellex Gold Corp., June 20, 1988)
GSC MAP 42-1963; 1386A
GSC MEM 158
GSC OF 611
GSC P 89-1E, pp. 177-187; 90-1E, pp. 183-195; 90-1F, pp. 95-107
Ditson, G.M. (1978): Metallogeny of the Vancouver-Hope Area, British Columbia, M.Sc. Thesis, University of British Columbia

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