The 2XFred West (Burrow Pit) occurrence is located on the north side of Stoney Creek at an elevation of approximately 900 metres and approximately 2 kilometres southeast of Welch Lake.
The area occurs within the Intermontane Belt, underlain dominantly by Lower to Middle Jurassic volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Hazelton Group. These assemblages are overlain by felsic and andesitic volcanic rocks of the Eocene to Oligocene Ootsa Lake Formation (Nechako Plateau Group) and basalt volcanic rocks and sedimentary rocks of the Miocene Chilcotin Group. Intruding Lower Jurassic rocks of the Hazelton Group in the northeastern part of the map sheet is a belt of granodiorite, diorite and quartz diorite plutons of the Lower Jurassic Topley Intrusive Suite. Felsic plutons, probably Cretaceous, intrude both Lower and Middle Jurassic Hazelton strata.
Locally, shallow (30 degrees west) to near-vertical–dipping, banded to chalcedonic (epithermal) quartz veins, greater than 1 metre wide; stockworks and hydrothermal breccias are hosted in silicified and argillic-altered basalts and andesites. Common alteration minerals include hematite, limonite, jarosite, clay, chlorite, epidote, carbonate, manganese, zeolite, specularite, magnetite and pyrite. The zone strikes approximately 015 to 030 degrees.
In 2011, six rocks samples (MK11-340, -343, -346, -356, -358, -361) yielded from 0.126 to 1.072 grams per tonne gold and 1.6 to 17.1 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 33436).
In 2012, eight rock samples (SAK12-42 through -49) from a zone of mineralization located approximately 550 metres north-northeast of the 2011 samples yielded from 0.057 to 0.176 gram per tonne gold and 1.9 to 13.9 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 33436).
In 2013, 28 2-square-metre chip samples (2XF-60 through -87) taken 5 to 10 metres apart over an approximately 200-metre strike length yielded an average of 0.288 gram per tonne gold and 4.7 grams per tonne silver, with values of up to 1.185 grams per tonne gold and 13.3 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 34967).
In 2014, channel and chip sampling of trenches yielded up to 0.66 gram per tonne gold and 8.5 grams per tonne silver over 2 metres in trench 16 (Assessment Report 35291).
In 2018, 11 subcrop rock samples (CK18-110 through -120) yielded from 0.018 to 4.235 grams per tonne gold and 1.5 to 21.2 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 37772).
Work History
During 2011 through 2020, Kootenay Silver Inc. completed programs of prospecting, geological mapping, geochemical (rock, soil and biogeochemical sampling), trenching, 82.3 line-kilometres of ground magnetic and electromagnetic surveys and 13 diamond drill holes, totalling 1627.9 metres, on the area as the 2XFred property.