The Zak West occurrence is located on a west-facing slope between the two main southern forks of the Nicoamen River, at an elevation of approximately 1275 metres.
The area is underlain by andesitic volcanic rocks of the Lower Cretaceous Spius Creek Formation (Spences Bridge Group). Granodioritic intrusive rocks of the Permian to Triassic Mount Lytton Complex outcrop to the south and west.
Locally, brecciated quartz feldspathic rock with silica, limonite and kaolinite or argillic alteration hosts quartz vein sweats or clasts with up to 5 per cent disseminated pyrite and minor arsenopyrite mineralization.
In 2005, a sample from a trench assayed 0.415 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 28146). In 2009, sampling yielded values up to 0.112 gram per tonne gold across 1.6 metres (Assessment Report 31354). In 2016, a rock grab sample (NICO-023) assayed 1.08 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 36186).
Another zone of anomalous mineralization, referred to as the West IP zone, is located approximately 1.1 kilometres south of the Zak West occurrence. The zone comprises a north-northeast–trending shear zone associated with the contact of a granodiorite and mafic to intermediate volcanics. Alteration patterns are reported to resemble a porphyry style of mineralization and vary from epidote to biotite-potassium feldspar to chlorite ± magnetite and to epidote-biotite(?).
In 2018, a sample (18ARP007) of sheared and argillic-altered granodiorite with minor sulphides from the West IP zone yielded 0.135 per cent copper (Assessment Report 37567).
Work History
During 2003 through 2018, Almaden Minerals, later called Almadex Minerals Ltd., completed programs of prospecting, geochemical (silt, soil, and rock) sampling, trenching, geological mapping and 21.0 line-kilometres of combined ground magnetic and induced polarization surveys on the area as the Zak claims.
In 2019, Independence Gold Corp and Almadex Minerals Ltd., completed a program of geochemical (rock, soil, and water) sampling and a 117.0 line-kilometre ground magnetic survey on the area as the Nicoamen property.
