The Mariposite occurrence is located on the south side of a small peak, in the head waters of Mariposite Creek, a tributary of Goldway Creek.
The area is underlain by Upper Triassic Takla Group volcanics. These volcanics are bounded to the east by the north-trending Dortatelle fault and to the west by the Ingenika fault. Locally, the area is underlain by andesitic volcaniclastics, predominantly crystal and lapilli tuffs, interlayered with minor andesite flows. Minor feldspar porphyry dikes intrude the volcaniclastics. The general stratigraphic trend is north-south but this is complicated by intense polyphase deformation. The regional metamorphic grade is greenschist facies, locally overprinted by biotite grade thermal metamorphism.
Locally, sericitic altered andesite tuffs, monzonite and agglomerate hosts quartz-calcite veins with pyrite, chalcopyrite and galena mineralization. In 1995 on the Mariposite property, Hemlo Gold collected a chip sample (GG0627) that assayed 5.90 grams per tonne gold over 1.0 metre (Assessment Report 24138).
The main focus of the 1996 diamond drilling program by Battle Mountain (for Hemlo Gold) was to test the supposition that the talus-filled gullies located proximal to areas of increased vein density and associated with upwards of 500 parts per billion gold in talus fine anomalies represented fault-controlled feeder zones to the stockworked vein systems mapped on surfaces. Diamond drilling yielded values up to 0.98 gram per tonne gold over 1.54 metres from a section of quartz-calcite veined altered andesitic tuff, and 0.256 grams per tonne over 4.5 metres from chalcopyrite-galena bearing veins in a sercitized monzonite. Both of these were from Hole BMM96-01. Drill Hole BMM96-02, located 100 metres away, intercepted 0.76 metre yielding 1.61 grams per tonne gold from a micro fractured and quartz-calcite veined agglomerate (Assessment Report 24778).
WORK HISTORY
In 1985, BP Resources completed a program of geological mapping and rock, silt and soil sampling on the area as the Goldway claims.
In 1986, Laramie Mining, focussed their work on the Goldway showings (094D 027) but while prospecting about 1.5 kilometres east-northeast of the Goldway showing they discovered a new quartz vein stockwork zone which they called the Glacier zone. Sampling yielded resulted in up to 25 metres of 0.96 grams per tonne gold from a 140-degree trending sheeted quartz-carb vein-set cutting iron-carbonate altered and pyritized tuffs (Assessment Report 15313).
In 1994, Noranda completed a program of soil sampling and a ground magnetometer survey on the area as the Jo 4 claim. In 1994 and 1995, Hemlo Gold Mines completed programs of rock and soil sampling, geological mapping and a ground magnetic survey on the area as the Dort 1-4 and Jo 4 claims. In 1996, Catalyst Ventures, on the behalf of Battle Mountain Gold, completed a program of geological mapping and rock sampling.
In 1996 Battle Mountain Canada (formerly Hemlo Gold Mines lnc.) drilled 461 metres in 2 diamond drill holes on the Mariposite Property (Assessment Report 24778). The program was conducted in order to test amomalous gold in talus line anomalies associated with quark-quartz/calcite stockworking hosted by sericite-ankerite plus/minus biotite -altered andesite volcanics and epiclastics. The drill program incorporated geological and geochemical data collected during the 1994-1995 field seasons.
In 2012 and 2013, J.B. Kreft prospected the area (Assessment Reports 33552, 34436).
Refer to Goldway (094D 027) and Bruce (094D 013) for further details.
