British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Natural Gas and Responsible for Housing
News | The Premier Online | Ministries & Organizations | Job Opportunities | Main Index

MINFILE Home page  ARIS Home page  MINFILE Search page  Property File Search
Help Help
File Created: 24-Jul-1985 by BC Geological Survey (BCGS)
Last Edit:  07-Jun-2016 by Karl A. Flower (KAF)

Summary Help Help

NMI 093A12 Cu7
Name ML, LIMECAP, COPPER RIDGE, LL, BUD, MOREHEAD Mining Division Cariboo
BCGS Map 093A052
Status Showing NTS Map 093A12W
Latitude 052º 35' 04'' UTM 10 (NAD 83)
Longitude 121º 46' 55'' Northing 5826742
Easting 582525
Commodities Copper, Gold, Silver Deposit Types E04 : Sediment-hosted Cu
L03 : Alkalic porphyry Cu-Au
Tectonic Belt Intermontane Terrane Quesnel
Capsule Geology

The ML (Bud 3-4) showing is located on Mount Morehead, approximately 1.8 kilometres south of the western end of Morehead Lake. The property is accessible by a paved highway (Likely Road) from 150 Mile House. Access to the rest of the property is by gravel logging roads.

The area is located within the central Quesnel Trough. The area is underlain by Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic sedimentary and mafic to felsic volcanic rocks. This sequence has been intruded by small alkalic stocks of diorite to syenite compositions. This sedimentary and volcanic assemblage is correlative with the Nicola Group.

The western part of the property is largely covered by Pleistocene glacial and glaciofluvial deposits. A maroon, Triassic, pyroxene-phyric alkali basalt covers the west-central part of the property. The central part is underlain by Triassic limestone and calcareous sandstone that has been intruded by a Jurassic stock of monzonitic, monzodioritic, syenodioritic and syenitic composition referred to as the ML stock. It is medium-grained, equigranular to subporphyritic, moderately magnetic and weakly sericite-biotite(?) altered.

The showing occurs in this area and is hosted by the limestone unit. To the east of the limestone and calcareous sandstone lies a narrow band of Jurassic feldspathic tuffaceous siltstone and sandstone. The eastern part of the property is underlain by maroon and grey, Jurassic, polylithic breccia. Local deformation on the property is seen as localized brecciation, shearing and alteration consisting of iron carbonate, quartz, sericite, limonite and hematite.

In the area of the showing, mineralization occurs as disseminated and fracture-controlled chalcocite with malachite in basalt, and as chalcopyrite, chalcocite and malachite along fractures in altered limestone. Sporadic occurrences of copper mineralization occur over an area of approximately l square kilometre near the north side of the contact with the ML stock. In 1984, grab samples from the zone assayed up to 0.648 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 12903). In 1991, select grab samples assayed up to 1.36 per cent copper, 123.1 grams per tonne silver and 0.32 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 21584).

Another zone of east-trending, quartz vein and breccia is reported on a small ridge to the southeast. In 1984, grab samples assayed up to 0.160 per cent copper (Assessment Report 12903).

In 1992, a program of reverse circulation drilling located a zone of copper mineralization, of which the lateral extent and depth is undetermined, in altered volcanics adjacent to the contact of the alkalic ML stock. Copper mineralization was observed as cuprite and native copper. Alteration in the volcanics consists of limonite, hematite, chlorite, epidote, silica and clays, all in variable amounts. Copper values were generally low with a high of 0.07 per cent copper over 3.1 metres from drill hole BRC92-7 (Assessment Report 22897).

In the mid-1960s, low- grade, disseminated chalcopyrite and native copper was found in mafic volcanic flows and monzonite intrusive rocks on the Milestone Mining and Development Ltd. claims south of Morehead Lake. This is now known as the ML occurrence. During the period of 1966 through 1968, Milestone Mining and Development Ltd. carried out geochemical sampling surveys, electromagnetic and induced polarization surveys and 6098 metres of stripping around the ML showing. In 1967, south of Morehead Lake, the Lar and Chick groups were prospected by a geochemical survey program. Seven anomalies were found on the property with an averaged “background” copper value of 27 parts per million (Property File Cyrus Anvil A.G. Hodgson, 1967).

In 1981, geophysical surveys were conducted over large areas and it is believed airborne magnetics and EM surveys were done on the Bud claims, which cover the ML showing. There is no compilation of this work. In 1983 and 1984, Rockridge Mining completed a program of soil and rock sampling, geological mapping and 27 line-kilometres of airborne geophysical surveys on the area as the ACBC 1-3 claims.

In 1990, the Bud claims were restaked and held in 1991 by S. Todoruk. The work program consisted of geological mapping, prospecting, rock chip sampling and soil sampling. During this time, Canim Lake Gold Corp. completed a program of mapping, soil sampling and rock chip sampling in the southeast corner of the Bud 9 claim. Copper mineralization was confirmed, occurring as disseminated and fracture controlled chalcocite with malachite in basalt and as malachite along fractures in altered limestone. During May, 1992, a reconnaissance soil sampling program was carried out on the Bud 3 claim and parts of the Bud 4 and 9 claims by Pamicon Developments Ltd. On July 29, 1992, an infill soil sampling survey was conducted on Bud 4 by Canim Lake Gold corp. to test the continuity of an anomalous copper zone as delineated by the 1992 Pamicon Developments Ltd. geochemical program. An additional 2 kilometres of grid lines were run and 59 soil samples collected and analyzed for copper. A reverse circulation drill program was undertaken in October, 1992 to test the southern geochemical anomaly on Bud 4. Twelve holes were drilled, including two that were abandoned, for a total of 487.8 metres. Soil samples (63) were collected from the overburden and 85 drill chip samples were taken. In 1997, Big Valley Resources completed a program of soil sampling and diamond drilling, totalling 641.1 metres in three holes, on the area as the Calm claims. In 2005, Valley High Ventures completed a program of geological mapping and minor rock sampling on the area.

Bibliography
EMPR AR 1966-249; 1967-123,286
EMPR BULL 97
EMPR EXPL 1975-E126; 1983-390; 1984-290
EMPR FIELDWORK 1975, p. 64; 1987, pp. 147-153; 1988, pp. 167-172
EMPR OF 1987-9; 1989-14, 20; 1990-31
EMPR P 1990-3
EMPR PF Cyprus Anvil (Hodgson, A.G. (1967-02-17): Supplementary Report on Geochemical Survey)
GSC MAP 12-1959; 1424A; 1538G
GSC OF 574; 844

COPYRIGHT | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY | ACCESSIBILITY