The Fort occurrence is situated 1 kilometre east of Specularite Lake, approximately 88 kilometres northwest of Fort St. James.
The Fort property occurs in an area underlain dominantly by metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks of the Mississippian to Triassic Cache Creek Group and by ultramafic bodies of ophiolitic character related perhaps to the oceanic Cache Creek Group. These ultramafic bodies, known as the Permian to Triassic Trembleur Intrusions, are composed dominantly of dunite and peridotite, but pyroxenite and gabbro are also present in some areas. The area is also underlain by Jurassic diorite and quartz diorite and Eocene volcanics of the Endako Group.
A new logging road exposed copper-molybdenum-silver mineralization in a 700 by 400 metre area. Eight grab samples averaged 0.34 per cent copper, 0.017 per cent molybdenum and 72.3 grams per tonne silver. Three of the samples reported values ranging from 0.36 to 1.01 per cent zinc and 0.33 to 0.48 per cent lead. The highest gold value was 98 parts per billion. The mineralized area is supported by high soil sample values (Northern Miner, May 4, 1998). Chalcopyrite and molybdenite occur as disseminations and fracture fillings in association with pyrite-pyrrhotite.
Rocks from the Specularite Lake showing are strongly altered monzonite. Alteration is an intense form of potassium alteration that includes abundant secondary potassium feldspar, green biotite, and secondary hydrothermal silica. A rock sample 3 kilometres northwest of the showing is an altered and brecciated monzonite.
Examination of core indicates the hornblende gabbro, peridotite and volcanic country rock are cut by several latite/monzonite to subvolcanic dikes and/or sills. The Elden breccia zone contains variable amounts of secondary potassium feldspar, green biotite, and abundant hydrothermal silica-carbonate-magnetite-orthoclase alteration, suggesting that porphyry and epigenetic styles of mineralization are present. Chalcopyrite and lesser molybdenite occur as disseminations and fracture fillings associated with pyrite-pyrrhotite-magnetite.
Work History
The Specularite Lake showing was discovered by Elden Nyberg and the area was staked by Richard Haslinger in 1997. In 1998, Ascot Resources Ltd. and Eastfield Resources Ltd. optioned the property and conducted geological mapping, rock and soil sampling and induced polarization and ground magnetometer surveys, the results of which suggested the potential large porphyry-style hydrothermal system. Copper-molybdenum and coincident chargeability anomalies outlined 300 by 900 metre and 300 by 600 metre exploration targets (Assessment Report 25760). Panel and channel sampling yielded an average of 0.023 per cent copper and 0.038 per cent molybdenum over 10 metres, including 0.114 per cent molybdenum over 2 metres on the Moly zone and 0.090 per cent copper with 3.96 grams per tonne silver over 61 metres, including 0.111 per cent copper and 6.26 grams per tonne silver over 29 metres on the main Eldin zone (Assessment Report 25760).
In 2007, Amarc Resources Ltd. held the area as part of the Megamine property. A soil sampling program was completed on the Megamine 5 and 6 claims to the east.
In 2010, Torch River Resources Ltd. optioned the property and carried out geochemical and total field magnetometer surveys. Results suggest north-northwest trending, steeply east-dipping mineralization zones defined by copper-silver-gold-molybdenum in soil and strong positive magnetometer anomalies in the southeast and central portions of the Elden grid (Assessment Report 31570). Follow-up work later that year consisted of geochemical and magnetometer surveys. Rock chip samples (ELD-10-AR-54 and -55) from a roadcut on the Elden breccia zone yielded values of 0.391 and 0.193 per cent copper with 16.1 and 6.3 grams per tonne silver over 0.38 and 0.60 metres, respectively (Assessment report 31904). This work further outlined the Elden hydrothermal breccia, thought to be related to a copper-silver-gold-molybdenum porphyry system (Assessment Report 31904).
In 2011, Torch River Resources Ltd. drilled six diamond-drill holes totalling 1412.33 metres. Significant drill intercepts included 0.39 and 0.20 per cent copper with 6.3 and 22.2 grams per tonne silver over 2 and 4 metres, respectively, in hole 1; 0.11 per cent copper, 0.108 per cent molybdenum, 0.12 per cent zinc, 4.7 grams per tonne silver and 0.23 per cent vanadium and 0.10 per cent copper over 26 metres in hole 2; 0.12 per cent copper over 60 metres in hole 3; 0.11 per cent copper over 29.4 metres in hole 4 and 0.24 and 0.22 per cent copper with 10.6 and 9.3 grams per tonne silver over 10 and 8 metres, respectively, in hole 6 (Assessment Report 32917).
