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File Created: 24-Jul-1985 by BC Geological Survey (BCGS)
Last Edit:  07-Nov-2019 by Garry J. Payie (GJP)

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NMI 104A4 Ag4
Name BETTY, BLUFFY, BOWSER, PRETIUM, BETTY NO. 3 (L. 3449), BETTY NO. 1 (L. 3447), BETTY NO. 4 (L. 3450), BETTY NO. 6 (L. 3452), BETTY NO. 2 (L. 3448), BETTY NO. 5 (L. 3451), BETTY NOS. 1-6 (L. 3447-3452), DIVIDE 1-3 Mining Division Skeena
BCGS Map 104A021
Status Prospect NTS Map 104A04W
Latitude 056º 12' 26'' UTM 09 (NAD 83)
Longitude 129º 58' 39'' Northing 6229573
Easting 439363
Commodities Silver, Zinc, Lead, Gold, Copper Deposit Types I05 : Polymetallic veins Ag-Pb-Zn+/-Au
Tectonic Belt Intermontane Terrane Stikine
Capsule Geology

The Betty showing is located about 3.3 kilometres north of Divide Lake, about 32 kilometres north of Stewart. The showing comprises several showings on the Betty Crown-granted claims (Lots 3447-3452).

The area is underlain by Hazelton Group rocks of the Middle-Upper Jurassic Salmon River Formation (Open File 1987-22). The showing lies on the eastern, buckled limb of the north-northwest trending, south plunging Mitre syncline. A narrow ribbon of the Lower-Middle Jurassic Mount Dilworth Formation, related to the mineralization, trends north, cutting through the Crown grants. The Lower Jurassic Betty Creek Formation outcrops to the east of the showing. The Long Lake fault, marked by a prominent lineament, is about 1 kilometre east of the showing.

Near the showing, the east-southeast striking, north dipping Salmon River Formation consists mainly of thin-bedded siltstones and argillites. Vuggy white quartz and quartz carbonate veins occur at the contact between argillite and volcanic rocks (Mount Dilworth Formation). These veins contain between 2 and 4 per cent pyrite, sphalerite, galena and minor chalcopyrite and tetrahedrite. A variety of secondary minerals, including malachite, cerussite, hydrozincite, linarite, brochantite and goethite have also been reported. The veins are between 10 and 15 centimetres wide and the hangingwall is silicified for up to 1.0 metre. The veins are predominantly semi-concordant to bedding or parallel to shears, faults and fractures. The following vein attitudes have been recognized in the vicinity (Assessment Report 20905): 0.2 to 2.0 metre wide veins parallel to bedding (including stockwork occurrences); 0.2 to 0.5 metre wide vertical veins, parallel to the synclinal axis; 0.05 to 0.1 metre wide, northeast trending, near vertical veins; and, 0.05 to 0.1 metre wide, east striking and steeply south dipping veins (including stockwork occurrences). It has been suggested that the veins are related to a late event of probable Eocene age (Assessment Report 21132).

Grab samples assay up to 13,714 grams per tonne silver (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1922). A chip(?) sample from an opencut assayed 1968.7 grams per tonne silver and 2.7 grams per tonne gold; a further chip(?) sample from a pit assayed 2027.7 grams per tonne silver, 1.0 gram per tonne gold, 4.90 per cent zinc, 0.70 per cent lead and 0.18 per cent copper (Assessment Report 8939).

Two narrow quartz-carbonate veins are exposed in the Betty adit. The veins are hosted in "pyjama bed" siltstones of the Salmon River Formation. The best assay obtained was from a sample of a 10 centimetre wide quartz vein located at the portal. The sample assayed 0.051 gram per tonne gold, 35.7 grams per tonne silver, 1.85 per cent lead and 7.22 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 21132). The adit ends about 25 metres short of the Salmon River-Mount Dilworth formations contact.

Vertically above the adit, about 40 metres, several narrow, discontinuous quartz veins occur in Mount Dilworth Formation rocks. A total of four exploration trenches and pits tested the poddy mineralization. A 10 centimetre wide quartz vein and a 1 metre silicified zone, in the hangingwall of the vein, is exposed in the Betty trench. The vein contains small blebs of pyrite, sphalerite and galena. The highest assay values were obtained from this trench. A grab sample assayed 1.44 grams per tonne gold, 1952.6 grams per tonne silver, 0.25 per cent copper, 1.77 per cent lead and 3.83 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 21132).

A vuggy quartz vein occurs 50 metres northward along the Mount Dilworth-Salmon River formations contact. The sulphide content is approximately 2 per cent. Samples from this vein assayed 0.444 gram per tonne gold, 1071.6 grams per tonne silver, 0.24 per cent copper, 2.42 per cent lead and 18.33 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 21132).

Another quartz vein, 15 centimetres wide, is located on the Bear property, about 400 metres northward along the contact. The bedding changes strike to east at this location. A grab sample of this quartz vein assayed 0.019 gram per tonne gold, 43.2 grams per tonne silver and 0.45 per cent zinc (Assessment Report 21132). The veins are geochemically anomalous in molybdenum and mercury.

A veinlet, containing visible galena, is located at the northeast corner of the Betty No. 1 claim (Lot 3447). This veinlet assayed 26.7 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 20905).

In 1920, Mahood Mines Ltd. was formed to explore the Divide 1-3 claims. In 1922, the company, renamed the American Mining and Milling Company Ltd., carried out exploration on the Betty Nos. 1-6 claims (Lots 3447-3452) and several other claim groups. It is not known whether the Betty claims were a restaking of the Divide claims or another nearby group. Exploration comprised opencuts, pits, a short tunnel and a slightly inclined shaft. The claims were Crown granted in 1927. In 1980, prospector A. Ingelson sampled the opencut, tunnel and a pit. In 1985, J. Cox conducted further sampling and petrographic studies. In 1990, Eureka Resources Inc. performed geological work, including rock, silt, and soil sampling, on the Betty 1-3 claims. The Betty claims were also sampled in 1990 during exploration of the surrounding HJV claims (Bear property) owned by Canadian Cariboo Resources Ltd.

Prior to 2014, Pretium Resources put together a very large block of contiguous claims called the Bowser Property, stretching from Brucejack Lake to Bowser Lake and farther to the south and southwest, to Summit and Long lakes. The Bowser Regional Project area, approximately 20 kilometers south-east of the Valley of the Kings deposit, comprises approximately 800 square kilometers.

In 2014, on behalf of Pretium Exploration on their Bowser property, an 1,885 line-kilometer magnetic and radiometric survey was flown at 400 metre line spacing. Due to inclement weather, only 350 line kilometers of 1TEM Time Domain Electromagnetics (TDEM) were flown (Assessment Report 36790).

In 2015, Pretium Exploration expanded the magnetometer and radiometric survey area to the east and south, as well as infilling specific block areas to 200 meter line spacing. A total of 1,139 kilometres of magnetics and radiometrics were completed. In 2015, the proposed 2014 1TEM survey blocks were also completed, and the 1TEM survey grid was extended to match the area covered by the 2015 magnetometer and radiometric grids, totaling 3,402 1TEM line kilometers flown that year. Follow-up work was to focus on areas where the resistivity and conductivity indicate alteration, and the conductive anomalies might indicate a massive sulphide bodies.

In 2016, Pretium Exploration initiated a 4 kilometre Magnetotelluric (MT) line starting in the Canoe Glacier valley, crossing over the toe of the Knipple Glacier and continuing on to Scott Creek. A Direct Current Induced Polarization (DCIP) was also completed, focusing on the Salmon River Quock Member sediments and the underlying volcanics at the Kirkham, Pipe Dream, Knipple Lake, and Cone zones. Ten DCIP lines, covering 23.5 kilometres with 19 MT sites, as well as 26 MT stations covering the Bowser Valley were completed. In order to expand the structural and lithological interpretation at KL Gossan and KL East Zones, where outcrop exposure was minimal, 24 more MT sites were surveyed. The results of this 2016 work included the identification of 55 zones of interest related to resolved anomalies over Cone Zone (5), Kirkham (18), Pipe Dream (21), regional MT Transect line (5) and Bowser infill MT area (6) (see Assessment Report 36790 forfurther information).

In 2016, Precision GeoSurveys Inc, on behalf of Pretium Exploration, completed a 1,400 line kilometer airborne magnetic and radiometric survey on the Bowser Property. The survey covered the southern end of the Bowser Property, as an irregular 24.7 by 23 kilometre block, with 200 meter line-spacing, flown north-south, and 2 kilometre tie lines. The purpose of the survey was to complete the magnetometer and radiometrics coverage over the entire Bowser Property claim area, as the northern extents of the property had previously been flown in 2014 and 2015. See Assessment Report 36793, Appendix III for Precision's,"Airborne Geophysical Survey Report", including 2014-2016 magnetic and radiometric maps.

In 2017, Pretium Exploration conducted grass roots prospecting, sampling and mapping on their Bowser property, mostly southwest and south of Bowser Lake. They collected 2901 rock and 429 silt samples (Assessment Reports 37435, 37443). Prospecting and rock sampling has revealed one of the most prospective areas is located in and around the old Betty adit and workings. Two samples collected from within the adit and from a debris pile at the mouth of the tunnel assayed 0.85 gram per tonne gold, 1,480 grams per tonne silver (B066197) and 0.77 gram per tonne gold, 1,285 grams per tonne silver, 1.39 per cent lead, and 2.26 per cent zinc (B067055) respectively (Assessment Reports 37443).

In 2018, Beyond the Brucejack mine area, Pretium continued to evaluate their contiguous surrounding 1250 square kilometre mineral claims. The company carried an 8000 metres drilling program along with mapping and prospecting. Detailed results are pending.

As of September 2019, two drills were testing the high-priority A6 Zone VMS target, 14 kilometres northeast of Brucejack Mine, a third drill targeted a VMS system at the Canoe Zone, and a fourth drill targeted an intrusion related gold system at the Koopa Zone. Drilling earlier in the summer also focused on the Tuck and Lilliane zones, both epithermal gold system targets. To date, approximately 15,300 meters have been drilled, with drilling expected to continue through the end of September (Pretium Resoucres Inc., News Release, September 16, 2019). Detailed results are pending publication.

Bibliography
EMPR AR 1920-65; *1922-83; 1927-480
EMPR ASS RPT 8939, 14851, *20905, 21132, 36790, 36793, *37435, *37443
EMPR BULL 58; 63; 85
EMPR FIELDWORK 1982, p. 188
EMPR MAP 8
EMPR OF 1987-22; 1994-14
EMR MP CORPFILE (American Mining and Milling Company, Limited; British American Holding and Development Company)
GSC MAP 307A; *315A; 9-1957; 1418A
GSC MEM 175, p. 152
GSC OF 2582; 2779
PR REL Pretium Resoucres Inc. Dec.*5, 2017; Dec.*6, 2018; Jun.9, Sep.16, 2019

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