The Quartz Basin (Quartz Lake South) occurrence is located at an elevation of approximately 1700 metres in the headwaters of a small northeast-flowing tributary of the Toodoggone River, approximately 4.5 kilometres southwest of the river’s junction with Bronlund Creek.
Regionally, the area is situated within a Mesozoic volcanic arc assemblage, which lies along the eastern margin of the Intermontane Belt, a northwest-trending belt of Paleozoic to Paleogene sediments, volcanics and intrusions bounded to the east by the Omineca Belt and to the west and southwest by the Sustut and Bowser basins.
Permian Asitka Group crystalline limestones are the oldest rocks exposed in the region. They are commonly in thrust contact with Upper Triassic Stuhini Group andesite flows and pyroclastic rocks, and marine sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Lower to Middle Jurassic Hazelton Group. These rocks have been intruded by plutons and other bodies of the mainly granodiorite to quartz monzonite Early Jurassic Black Lake Suite and are in turn unconformably overlain by or faulted against Lower Jurassic calc-alkaline volcanics of the Toodoggone Formation (Hazelton Group).
The dominant structures in the area are steeply dipping faults that define a prominent regional northwest structural fabric trending 140 to 170 degrees. In turn, high-angle, northeast-striking faults (approximately 060 degrees) appear to truncate and displace northwest-striking faults. Collectively these faults form a boundary for variably rotated and tilted blocks underlain by monoclinal strata.
Locally, quartz-chalcedony-amethyst veins and breccia-stockwork zones host gold and silver values. These silicified zones contain adularia, potassic alteration and sericite, whereas the veins host minor disseminated pyrite, galena and sphalerite with lesser tetrahedrite and sulphosalts. The veins are likely related to the ‘570’ veins exposed at the nearby Quartz Lake (MINFILE 094 301) and Sickle Creek (MINFILE 094 237) occurrences to the northeast and southeast, respectively.
In 2003, a grab sample (151529) of quartz-chalcedony veins and breccia yielded 9.2 grams per tonne gold and 491.0 grams per tonne silver, whereas other grab samples from the area yielded up to 3.4 grams per tonne gold, 131.5 grams per tonne silver, 0.149 per cent copper, 1.00 per cent lead and 3.138 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 27429). Also, at this time, a chip sample yielded 2.3 grams per tonne gold with 128.0 grams per tonne silver over 2.0 metres (Assessment Report 27429).
In 2004, two outcrop samples (165862 and 165863) of chalcedonic quartz veins assayed 1.21 and 1.14 grams per tonne gold with 139.4 and 11.7 grams per tonne silver, respectively, and up to 0.206 per cent lead and 0.268 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 27790). Also at this time, diamond drilling on Quartz (Breccia) Ridge, located immediately to the east, yielded intercepts of up to 2.40 and 1.01 grams per tonne gold with 4.3 and 1.3 grams per tonne silver over 1.1 and 1.5 metres, respectively, in hole SG04-19 and 1.01 grams per tonne gold with 31.8 grams per tonne silver over 2.0 metres in hole SG04-18 (Assessment Report 27790).
In 2005, a chip sample (64657) assayed 1.55 grams per tonne gold and 13.3 grams per tonne silver over 1.0 metre (Assessment Report 28038).
Work History
In 1999, Stealth Minerals staked the initial claims in the area of what is now known as the Sickle-Sofia property and, later that year, Standard Metals conducted a small-scale geochemical program on the area on behalf of Stealth Minerals.
In 2003, Stealth minerals completed a program of rock, silt and soil sampling and 78.4 line-kilometres of ground geophysical surveys on the Pine property. Also, at this time, as part of a private-public partnership with the Geological Survey of Canada and the British Columbia Department of Mines and Energy, the Sickle-Sofia property was included in a multi-parameter helicopter-borne geophysical survey over the Toodoggone district. Several high potassium anomalies and low thorium-potassium ratio anomalies were detected.
In 2004, Stealth Minerals expanded the Sickle Sofia property package by staking additional claims. A grid-based soil survey was conducted over 27 square kilometres and a total of 728 rock and 2103 soil samples were collected. Also, at this time, two diamond drill holes, totalling 484.0 metres, were completed on the Quartz (Breccia) Ridge area, located immediately to the east.
In 2005, a program of geological mapping and a 21 line-kilometre induced polarization and ground magnetic geophysical survey was completed over the lower, glacial-fluvial–covered portion of the Sofia (MINFILE 094E 238) copper-gold porphyry target. This survey outlined an 800-metre wide by 1200-metre long +40 millisecond induced polarization chargeability anomaly that was open to the north.
In 2006, Stealth Minerals further expanded the IP/ground magnetic survey by another 21 line-kilometres and expanded the chargeability anomaly a further 600 metres north and 300 metres west. During the 2006 season, a total of 28 rock samples were taken from outcrop and float. Geophysical surveys were completed in the area between and covering the Sofia (MINFILE 094E 238) to Quartz Lake (MINFILE 094E 301) occurrences.
In 2015, a program of geophysical review completed for Cazador Resources Ltd. on the Sofia property identified five target areas.
In 2017, Cazador Resources completed 239.0 line-kilometres of airborne magnetic surveying and a 2.5 line-kilometre ground induced polarization survey on the Sofia property.
See Sickle Creek (MINFILE 094E 237) occurrence for further details of the Stealth Minerals Limited Sickle-Sophia property.
