The Free Gold Zone occurrence is located 3.5 kilometres southwest of the East zone showing (093K 080), along the Germansen-Inzana forest road, about 50 kilometres north of Fort St. James.

The region is underlain by sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic Takla Group within the Quesnellia Terrane. The group comprises the informally named Inzana Lake, Rainbow, Witch Lake and Chuchi Lake formations.

The Inzana Lake Formation is a sequence of epiclastic sediments derived from a volcanic source. It is underlain by fine-grained slates and sediments of the Rainbow Formation derived (in part) from a continental source. In turn, it is overlain by augite porphyry flows and agglomerates of the Witch Lake Formation and the subaerial maroon and green flows of the Chuchi Lake Formation.

A small zone, approximately 10 metres wide, of intense quartz-carbonate alteration is exposed in a quarry. The rocks host up to 10 per cent pyrite with traces of magnetite, malachite, and rare native gold. Propylitized hornblende diorite, with potassium feldspar veins and traces of malachite on the fractures, outcrop near the showing. The diorite and the Free Gold zone are hosted by the Inzana Lake Formation.

Grab samples from the Free Gold zone are reported to have yielded up to 54.79 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 25839).

In 1984, Noranda Exploration conducted a soil survey in the area identifying weak copper anomalies in areas of known bedrock exposure and four spot gold anomalies (30-220 parts per billion) were located (Property File Placer Dome - Pinsnet, R.H., 1985).

In 1985, three select grab samples (39251, 39252 and 55052 ) of syenodiorite and/or syenite to monzonite with clots of chalcopyrite from the Free Gold zone yielded from 2.20 to 3.33 grams per tonne gold, 6.2 to 37.4 grams per tonne silver and 1.00 to 2.70 per cent copper (Property File - 673703). Also at this time, a copper-rich sample is reported to have yielded 0.300 gram per tonne platinum and 0.410 gram per tonne palladium (Property File - 840119).

Work History

In 1982, disseminated copper mineralization was discovered near the Free G old (MINFILE 093K 091) occurrence during construction of the Inzana Lake forestry access road.

The original Tas claims were staked in 1984 by A.D. Halleran to cover copper mineralization and a silicified outcrop associated with aeromagnetic highs. Noranda optioned the property in 1984 after identifying visible gold in quartz-carbonate altered tuffs. In 1984, Noranda carried out soil sampling, ground magnetic and induced polarization surveys, as well as mapping.

Soil geochemical surveys conducted by Noranda outlined intense gold anomalies which corresponded with various geophysical anomalies along the ridge immediately north of the Free Gold zone which became known as the Ridge zone (Tas, 093K 080) originally defined as consisting of the East, Mid, 21, 19 and West zones. The West zone was subsequently given a separate MINFILE number (093K 110) due to its greater distance of separation.

See Tas (093K 080) for related Tas property details and history.