The Angus occurrence area encompasses Mount Averil and is centred 19 kilometres southeast of the community of Bear Lake and 59 kilometres north of Prince George. Road access to the property is provided by Highway 97 and the recently upgraded North Olsson Forest Service Road (FSR) which extends eastward from Highway 97. A spur road (formerly the partially decommissioned Darby FSR) at 17.5 kilometres on the North Olsson leads to the centre of the property. The north end of the property is accessed by the 6600 Road off of the Chuchinka FSR/700 Road.
The Angus property area is principally underlain by phyllite, quartzite/quartz arenite, and clastic sedimentary rocks of the Upper Proterozoic to Cambrian Misinchinka, Gog and Boulder Creek groups. The Mount Averil ridge that is the focus of the exploration is almost entirely underlain by Misinchinka Group quartzite striking about 120 degrees and dipping variably to the southwest. Within the quartzite/quartz arenite interval of interest, a persistent quartz pebble conglomerate layer of two to three metres of thickness serves as a marker unit along the strike length of the exposed deposit. Generally, the Misinchinka Group consists of a fine to medium grained, well sorted, subangular quartz sandstone and quartzite. Limestone and shale, likely belonging to the Cambrian to Ordovician Kechika Group are exposed in the southern and northern part of the property, and are in fault contact with the older sedimentary rocks. Kechika Group fossiliferous limestone occurs in areas listed as Gog sedimentary rocks on the government map.
The Angus showing covers a sequence of weakly metamorphosed quartz arenite (quartz sandstone) and quartzite belonging to the Upper Proterozoic Misinchinka Group. The persistence and homogeneity of the sedimentary beds along strike suggests a littoral depositional environment. Cross-beds in the quartzite are rare but do occur and are interpreted as intermittent channels between baymouth bars.
In 2009, whole rock analysis (by XRF) and trace element analysis was conducted on one rock sample. This analysis showed a silica content of 98.50 per cent SiO2, an iron oxide content of 0.63 per cent Fe2O3, and an alumina content of 0.36 per cent Al2O3 (Assessment Report 31622).
Work History
Prior to Stikine Energy Corp.’s interest, the Angus property had not been the subject of any recorded mineral exploration. The Angus property was staked in 2009 to cover an outcropping sequence of the sedimentary Misinchinka Group that were thought to include quartz arenite/quartzite suitable for high-value frac sand. In 2010, an exploration program verified the geographic extent of the Misinchinka quartzites and quartz arenites, and representative samples for geochemical analysis and thin-sections were collected.
In 2011, Radius Drilling Corp., of Prince George, drilled 10 diamond-drill holes (in excess of 1500 metres) of a planned 11-hole program. The drill program is expected to be completed by June 30, 2011, and results will be used to generate a resource estimate. The drill program covers a strike length of approximately 2500 metres by approximately 400 metres wide with hole depths of up to 200 metres. Drilling has successfully intersected massive to thickly bedded quartz sandstone with occasional thin silty interbeds. Surface mapping has also continued, and will be used to update geological maps of rock types and structures in the project area (Press Release – Stikine Energy Corp., June 28, 2011). In 2011, a bulk sample of 516 tonnes was excavated and shipped to Abbotsford, British Columbia for processing in the company’s pilot plant.
Stikine Energy Corp. received the results of a technical report and preliminary economic assessment for the Angus frac sand project dated December 12, 2011. The report is compliant with the requirements of National Instrument (NI) 43-101 and was prepared by Wardrop, a Tetra Tech company. Tetra Tech is an international engineering consulting firm that is independent of Stikine. The Angus deposit contains a unique and continuous occurrence of fine grained, slightly metamorphosed sandstone (quartz arenite) with sand grain sizes that appear well sized for frac sand products used in the Montney basin. The area identified for the inferred resource estimate is about 2.5 kilometres long by 0.4 kilometres wide and is located in the middle of the Angus sandstone outcrop which extends over a total length of approximately 5.0 kilometres. An inferred maximum mineral resource of 726 million tonnes is based on bedrock mapping, core drilling, 3-D wire-frame modelling and volume estimates (Press Release - Stikine Energy Corp., December 12, 2011).
Follow-up work in 2014 consisted of a week-long field program in early October to identify and sample extensions of the quartz arenite to the northwest and southeast of the central claim area. In addition, a detailed cross-section of the newly identified outcrop to the southeast was completed. A suite of rock samples that characterize the exposure were collected and submitted for whole rock analysis and petrography. Six of the seven samples came from an exposure of quartz arenite/quartzite at the south end of the mapped area. The resulting analyses show consistently pure quartz arenite/quartzite, with silica (SiO2) contents ranging from 97.75-98.67 per cent (average: 98.18 per cent), alumina (Al2O3) ranging from 0.29-0.84 per cent (average: 0.56 per cent), iron oxide (Fe2O3) ranging from 0.40-0.63 per cent (average: 0.53 per cent) and potassium (K2O) ranging between 0.07-0.23 per cent (average: 0.16 per cent) (Assessment Report 35207).
During 2017 through 2019, Corus Exploration Corp. completed programs of geological mapping and rock sampling on the Angus property. Also in 2019, Glen Prior completed a minor prospecting and rock sampling program on the area as the AV claim. In 2020, Vitreo Minerals Ltd., on the behalf of Corus Exploration, completed a program of trenching and bulk sampling on the Angus property.
