MINFILE Mineral Inventory

MINFILE Record Summary

MINFILE No 092L 102

File Created:	24-Jul-1985	by	BC Geological Survey (BCGS)
Last Edit:	24-Jun-2022	by	Karl A. Flower (KAF)

SUMMARY

Summary Help


		NMI	092L6 Fe11
Name	SNOWBIRD (L.1586-1588), OWL (L.1585), NEW HANDY ANDY, HEMLOCK 2	Mining Division	Alberni, Nanaimo
		BCGS Map	092L034
Status	Showing	NTS Map	092L06W
Latitude	050º 22' 57''	UTM	09 (NAD 83)
Longitude	127º 16' 41''	Northing	5582577
		Easting	622421
Commodities	Magnetite, Iron, Gold, Copper, Silver	Deposit Types
Tectonic Belt	Insular	Terrane	Wrangell

Capsule Geology

The Snowbird (L.1586-1588) occurrence is located on a ridge south of Kathleen Lake and approximately 1 kilometre west of Craft Creek.

Regionally, the area is underlain by basaltic volcanic rocks of the Upper Triassic Karmutsen Formation (Vancouver Group), which are overlain sequentially by limestone of the Upper Triassic Quatsino Formation (Vancouver Group); limestone, mudstone and siltstone of the Upper Triassic Parson Bay Formation (Bonanza Group) and mixed volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Lower Jurassic LeMare Lake volcanic unit (Bonanza Group). The volcanic and sedimentary rocks have been intruded by gabbro to quartz diorite of the Lower to Middle Jurassic Island Plutonic Suite.

Locally, mineralization occurs within greenstone dikes and proximal to the contact between Bonanza volcanics and Quatsino limestone. Mineralization consists of magnetite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and trace bornite.

Massive magnetite mineralization occurs on Lot 1104 (Hemlock #2) and Lot 1588 (Snowbird #2) in skarn altered rocks.

In 1990, sub-angular, semi-massive sulphide float boulders were discovered in a creek to the west. Samples of these assayed up to 1.7 grams per tonne gold, 0.24 per cent copper and 3.1 grams per tonne silver (Sample R-115537; Assessment Report 21130).

In 2020, two boulder samples, taken approximately 250 metres downstream of the occurrence, yielded up to 0.24 gram per tonne gold, 0.051 per cent copper and 0.056 per cent cobalt (Assessment Report 39420).

Work History

In 1961, J. Lamb prospected the area. In 1990, Noranda completed a program of geological mapping and rock sampling on the area. In 2007, Grande Portage Resources Ltd. completed a program of geochemical (rock, silt and soil) sampling and a 1748.1 line-kilometre airborne magnetic survey on the area as the Merry Widow and Merry Widow Extension properties. In 2019, Mirva Properties Ltd. completed a rock sampling program on the Merry Widow property. In 2020, Roughrider Exploration Ltd. completed a program of rock, silt and soil sampling on the area as the Empire Mine property.

Bibliography

EMPR AR 1921-348; 1960-90; 1961-97

EMPR ASS RPT 385, *21130, 29307, 30002, 38855, *39420

EMPR MAP Preliminary Geological Map, Alice Lake-Benson Lake Area, Jeffery, W.G., (1962)

EMPR PF (Lamb, J., (1959): Report in Merry Widow - 092L 044)

GSC MAP 4-1974; 255A; 1552A

GSC OF 9; 170; 463

GSC P 69-1A; 70-1A; 71-36; 72-44; 74-8; 79-30

GSC SUM RPT 1918A; 1929A

Carson, D.J.T., (1968): Metallogenic Study of Vancouver Island with emphasis on the Relationship of Plutonic Rocks to Mineral Deposits, Ph.D. Thesis, Carleton University, Ottawa

Sangster, D.F., (1964): The Contact Metasomatic Magnetite Deposits of Southwestern British Columbia, Ph.D. Thesis, University of British Columbia

Giroux, G.H. (2007-09-04): Technical Report on the Copper-Gold Resource for the Merry Widow Property

Giroux, G.H. (2008-11-30): Technical Report on the Copper-Gold Resource for the Merry Widow Property