The Axel Ridge (Ponderosa) occurrence is located at an elevation of approximately 1190 metres on a southwest-trending ridge, east of Spius Creek and approximately 4.9 kilometres south of Mount McInnes.

Regionally, the area is underlain by andesitic volcanic rocks of the Lower Cretaceous Spius Creek Formation (Spences Bridge Group), which are locally overlain by andesitic volcanic rocks of the Eocene Princeton Group. Granodioritic intrusive rocks of the Permian to Triassic Mount Lytton Complex outcrop to the southeast.

Locally, a north-south–trending, apparently subvertical-dipping zone of banded quartz-chalcedony±adularia veining and brecciation hosted by strongly silicified and clay-altered andesitic volcanic rocks has been identified by trenching. Other alteration minerals include carbonate, hematite, limonite, manganese oxide, jarosite and chlorite. Minor disseminated pyrite is the only sulphide mineralization reported. The mineralized zone has been firmly established along a 57-metre strike length and traced along a 275 metre north-northwest trend with a horizontal width of up to 14 metres, approximately 2.5 to 3 metres true width. The main mineralized zone has a strike varying from 109 to 117 degrees and dips from 12 to 84 degrees south to southwest, whereas at the northwest end of the traced mineralized zone, referred to as the Road zone, the veins are orientated striking northeast to east and dip near vertically to 84 degrees south. In the area of the Road zone an east-northeast–trending regional scale post-mineralization fault zone bisects the area. The fault zone comprises crystalline calcite cementing and breccia-filling with minor iron carbonate.

Another zone of mineralization, referred to as the Dump Pile zone, is located approximately 350 to 400 metres northwest of the main Axel Ridge trenched zone and comprises silicified, brecciated and clay-altered volcanics with quartz flooded zones resembling sheeted veinlets and veins and quartz masses. The zone has been traced for 55 metres along a 023-to 025-degree strike and over a width of 25 metres with a dip of 45 to 70 degrees northwest. The zone is open to the west. Disseminated pyrite, up to 5 per cent, is the only sulphide reported.

Work History

In 2005 and 2006, Almaden Minerals Ltd. completed a program of prospecting, geological mapping, geochemical (rock, soil and silt) sampling and trenching on the area as the MC 1-15 claims of the Ponderosa property. Prospecting identified subangular float over an approximate 2500 metre strike length within a narrow, 100 to 700 metre wide, north-south–trending structural and alteration corridor; 58 grab samples yielded from trace to 12.22 grams per tonne gold and averaged approximately 1.10 grams per tonne gold with silver values of up to 44.5 grams per tonne (Assessment Report 28830). Later that year, channel sampling of three trenches (PT06-1, -2 and -3) yielded values from 0.11 to 6.57 grams per tonne gold with grades of 2.22, 1.50 and 2.83 grams per tonne gold over widths of 11.7, 10.0 and 6.6 metres, respectively (Assessment Report 28830).

Also at this time, Strongbow Explorations Ltd. completed a program of prospecting, geological mapping and geochemical (rock, soil and silt) sampling on the area immediately west of the occurrence as the Inn 1-3 claims.

In 2007, Strongbow Exploration Inc. optioned the Ponderosa property from Almaden Minerals Ltd. and completed a program of rock sampling, 213 metres of trenching in five trenches, six diamond drilling holes, totalling 960.7 metres, and a 6.8 line-kilometre ground magnetic survey on the property. Trenching on the main Axel Ridge zone yielded values of 1.92 grams per tonne over 14 metres in trench PT07-02 and 1.05 grams per tonne gold over 4 metres in trench PT07-04, whereas a trench (PT07-05) located approximately 275 metres north-northwest of the main zone and on the Road zone, yielded 0.60 gram per tonne gold over 38 metres, including 5.98 grams per tonne gold over 1.5 metres (Assessment Report 29633). Drilling failed to intercept any significant mineralized sections.

In 2019, 1201361 BC Ltd. completed a program of geological mapping, 45 metres of trenching in five trenches and soil sampling on the Ponderosa property. This work focused on a new target area of silica flooding, referred to as the Dump Pile zone, located north of the Axel Ridge occurrence. A select sample (J991890) of quartz vein float from the main Axel Ridge trenched zone yielded 8.69 grams per tonne gold, whereas a sample (L995192) from the Road zone yielded 3.24 grams per tonne gold and a sample (L995181) from the Dump Pile area yielded up to 2.96 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 38762).