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File Created: 17-Mar-2006 by Garry J. Payie (GJP)
Last Edit:  01-Apr-2021 by Del Ferguson (DF)

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NMI
Name SECTION RIDGE, EAST SECTION RIDGE, PRAXIS, NADINE VEIN, PRAXIS GOLDFIELDS Mining Division Skeena
BCGS Map 103O070
Status Prospect NTS Map 103O09E
Latitude 055º 41' 09'' UTM 09 (NAD 83)
Longitude 130º 01' 39'' Northing 6171600
Easting 435400
Commodities Gold, Silver, Lead, Zinc, Copper Deposit Types I05 : Polymetallic veins Ag-Pb-Zn+/-Au
G06 : Noranda/Kuroko massive sulphide Cu-Pb-Zn
Tectonic Belt Coast Crystalline Terrane Stikine
Capsule Geology

The Section Ridge area of the Praxis property is located about 27 kilometres south of Stewart and underlain by rhyolite, mudstone and basalt of the Salmon River Formation of the Lower to Middle Jurassic Hazelton Group.

The basal basalt package is conformably overlain by a marine basinal facies black clastic sediment sequence characterized by a lower turbiditic sequence including graded sandstone and siltstone members, above which lies a well laminated, thinly bedded black carbonaceous mudstone sequence. The clastic sequence as drill intersected has an apparent thickness of 200-300 metres with bedding attitudes ranging from 40 to 70 degrees. The rocks contain 1 to 6 per cent laminated syngenetic pyrite-pyrrhotite with local traces of sphalerite and chalcopyrite.

Overlying this clastic sequence is a rhyolite flow and tuff package. Up to five per cent pyrrhotite-pyrite with local traces of sphalerite occurs in veinlets, as fracture fillings, and in auto breccia matrix. All three anomalous intersections identified in drillhole PR 03-01 are spatially related to rhyolite auto breccias. A 6.0 metre anomalous interval from 209.8 to 215.5 metres includes 1.5 metres of 0.09 per cent zinc, 0.17 per cent arsenic, and 0.16 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 27392).

At Section Ridge, an extensive package of strongly altered bimodal subamarine volcanic and associated clastic rocks occurs near the footwall contact of the rhyolite which caps the main clastic section. The altered rocks host the Nadine vein, a newly discovered, 10-30 centimetre thick quartz-chlorite-pyrrhotite-sphalerite-galena-chalcopyrite vein which yielded up to 19 grams per tonne gold, 250 grams per tonne silver, 10 per cent zinc and 1 per cent lead (Assessment Report 26860). The area of the altered rock also coincide closely with airborne and ground geophysical electromagnetic (EM) conductors.

Prior to 1990, there has been no exploration work recorded in the property area. In 1990, Tenajon Resources Ltd. undertook a program of prospecting, geological mapping and rock saw channel sampling in selected areas of the property. They reported the discovery of bedded exhalative-style zinc-lead-copper sulphides and sulphide-bearing quartz vein stockworks at the N zone (103P 248). Two kilometres to the south of the N zone, Tenajon found more semi-massive sulphide mineralization near the volcanic-sedimentary contact at the Tat zone (103P 247). In August and September of 1993, Aquaterre Mineral Development Ltd. completed an initial field exploration program consisting of geological mapping, prospecting, soil, stream silt and rock geochemical sampling on the Ashwood project. During 1994, Aquaterre undertook a major field program consisting of an airborne geophysical survey, soil and rock geochemical surveys, geological surveys and seven diamond-drill holes totalling 1024 metres of BQ core. A total of 569 core samples, 71 soil samples and 102 rock chip samples were collected and analysed. The airborne survey covered an area of about 18 square kilometres and a total of 150 line kilometres. Strong conductive zones were detected northeast of the N and Tat zones in fine clastic sedimentary rocks. Five holes were directed to test the 1100 zone gold-in-soil geochemical anomaly, however, no mineralization of economic significance was intersected. In 1995, a 3.6 kilometre grid was established over the 1100 zone, with a single line extending southeast to the Hammer Lake area. A total of 126 soil samples were collected from the grid and 1425 metres of induced polarization surveying were completed. Twenty-three lithogeochemical samples were collected from the 1100 zone as well as the Hammer, Camp and Outram Lake areas. The work defined the 1100 zone gold-in-soil anomaly in more detail and suggested that the anomaly may have been transported downslope from a source located southwest of the area tested by the 1994 drill program. In 1996, an induced polarization (IP) survey was completed on behalf of Aquaterre and was conducted across a grid that covers the gold geochemical anomaly referred to as the 1100 zone and extended to the southeast into an area referred to as Hammer Lake. A limited amount of IP surveying (1.4 line kilometres) was conducted across the 1100 zone in September, 1995. Encouraging results prompted an extension of the survey grid and in 1996 an additional 6.3 line kilometres of IP surveying was completed. In 2000, CSS Explorations Inc. conducted 230 line kilometres of airborne electromagnetic surveying, detailed stream silt geochemistry and geological mapping. In 2001, CSS explored the Praxis property with further work which included rock, soil, and stream sediment sampling reconnaissance and detailed geologic mapping, prospecting, and a limited amount of ground geophysical work. In 2002, Praxis Goldfields Inc. optioned the western portion of its Praxis property to Northgate Exploration Limited. Northgate drilled 1945 metes in five diamond-drill holes in the Section Ridge area. Northgate’s second drill hole intersected 0.67 per cent lead and 0.39 per cent zinc over one metre near the top of the volcanic sequence (Exploration and Mining in British Columbia 2002, page 7). Praxis Goldfields Inc. retained the eastern portion of its Praxis claims, the Rhyolite Ridge area south of Ashwood Lake. Two holes were drilled to explore the geochemically anomalous contact between the mudstone and overlying rhyolite. One hole intersected a narrow zone of disseminated sphalerite. In 2003, Praxis Goldfields Inc. continued to explore for volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) mineralization on its Praxis property by drilling 1238.5 metres in three diamond-drill holes. In 2005, Mineral Hill Industries Ltd. collected 392 high-energy stream sediment samples on the company's Praxis Goldfields project. In 2006, an exploration program consisting of geological mapping, prospecting, and geochemical rock and soil sampling was conducted by Mineral Hill Industries Ltd. on their Praxis property which covers the mineralized zones.

Granby Gold Inc. conducted geological mapping, airborne magnetometer and gamma ray spectrometry surveys (and geological interpretation of the same) over their East Georgie River project area, including the Section Ridge showing, from 2015 to 2020. Section Ridge magnetic intensity is low. Colour contours cross over mapped contacts. Diorite is mapped in the southwest corner of the image where the magnetic intensity is high. The implication is that under Section Ridge the favourable stratigraphic interval of the Salmon River Formation may be beneath a lower rhyolite than that exposed on the ridge crest. One group of magnetic and potassium anomalies has characteristics of skarn type mineralization near the Section Ridge occurrence. Rhyolitic volcanics have a generally high potassium response so it is not necessarily indicative of alteration. However, the strong magnetic response at the granite-volcanic contact is indicative of contact metamorphic processes.

Bibliography
EMPR ASS RPT 26552, *26860, *27092, *27392, *28376, *28961, *35636, *36156, *36623, 37824, 38402, 38431, 39001
EMPR BULL 63
EMPR EXPL 2000-7; 2001-8; 2002-7; 2003-11,12
EMPR FIELDWORK 1990, pp. 235-243; 2005, pp. 1-4
EMPR P 2017-1 pp. 61-82; 2020-1 pp. 101-108
EMPR MAP 8
EMPR OF 1986-2; 1994-14
GSC MAP 1385A
GSC OF 864; 2996
GEO CAN Vol 34(3) pp. 113-134
www.granbygoldinc.com
PR REL Northgate Exploration Ltd., Sept.17, Nov.22, 2002; Mineral Hill Industries Ltd., Dec.19, 2005
EMPR PFD 820191

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