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File Created: 19-Aug-1986 by Allan Wilcox (AFW)
Last Edit:  07-Nov-2019 by Garry J. Payie (GJP)

Summary Help Help

NMI
Name KNIP, KNIPPLE LAKE, BOWSER, PRETIUM, KL 1-3, TREATY 12, TREATY 9-11, TREATY 13-15 Mining Division Skeena
BCGS Map 104A041
Status Prospect NTS Map 104A05W
Latitude 056º 24' 12'' UTM 09 (NAD 83)
Longitude 129º 59' 28'' Northing 6251412
Easting 438833
Commodities Silver, Lead, Zinc, Copper, Gold Deposit Types I05 : Polymetallic veins Ag-Pb-Zn+/-Au
Tectonic Belt Intermontane Terrane Stikine
Capsule Geology

The Knip prospect is located just west of the toe of Knipple Glacier on the north side of Knipple Lake, about 60 kilometres north of Stewart.

The Knipple Lake area is underlain by Hazelton Group rocks comprising the Lower Jurassic Betty Creek Formation, the overlying Lower to Middle Jurassic Mount Dilworth Formation and the Middle Jurassic Salmon River Formation (Open Files 1988-4; 1991-21). The rocks are deformed by east trending "warping"; a synclinal axis has been mapped close to the mineralization. North, northeast and north-northwest faults transect the rocks.

The hostrocks to the mineralization have been variably described as andesitic tuff (Assessment Report 9555), Betty Creek Formation rocks (Assessment Report 17694) or air-fall tuffs of the Mount Dilworth Formation (Open File 1988-4). The dacitic to andesitic Knipple porphyry body lies immediately east of the exposed mineralization. It has been interpreted as an Eocene (or older) intrusion (Bulletin 63), as part of the Mount Dilworth Formation (Open File 1988-4) or as a volcanic intrusion of the Texas Creek plutonic suite (Open File 1991-21). Disseminated pyrite is conspicuous in the porphyry body and subjacent rocks.

The Knip prospect consists of an anastomosing system of narrow, northeast trending, steeply dipping quartz-carbonate veins. The system consists of multiple veins across a width of about 50 metres and a length of 150 metres. Individual veins are 2 to 20 centimetres in width and are exposed for up to 50 metres in length. The veins contain scattered pods and lenses of galena, sphalerite, pyrite and minor chalcopyrite and tetrahedrite. Wallrock alteration is apparently inconspicuous.

In 1987, channel sampling assayed up to 1028.9 grams per tonne silver, 21.84 per cent lead, 4.73 per cent zinc and 0.24 per cent copper across 0.61 metre at a depth of 0.91 metre in trench 1987-2. Composite grab samples from trenches 1987-1, 1987-3 and 1987-4 assayed 325.0, 1282.3 and 3766.7 grams per tonne silver respectively (Assessment Report 17694). The highest silver value, from samples taken during the 1988 drilling (6.4 grams per tonne silver over 1.35 metres), was reported in hole 88-1 which was drilled southwest of trench 1987-2. Base metal values encountered in the drilling were negligible.

Other mineral occurrences in the area, are as follows:

1. About 150 metres south of the Knip prospect, northeast-trending veins have been exposed. Composite chip samples from one narrow vein assayed up to 2208.0 grams per tonne silver, 2.5 grams per tonne gold, 46.40 per cent lead, 2.35 per cent zinc and 1.15 per cent copper (Assessment Report 14606).

2. Approximately 200 metres east of the prospect, a selected grab sample from a vein carrying pods of tetrahedrite assayed 7776.1 grams per tonne silver, 16.10 per cent lead, 0.37 per cent zinc and 3.44 per cent copper (Assessment Report 14606). This location corresponds to trench 1987-1.

3. About 300 metres north-northeast of the prospect, north of a small pond, a grab sample from a north-northwest trending vein assayed 83.7 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 14606).

4. A further 550 metres north-northwest of location 3, a northwest striking quartz-calcite vein contains sparse galena, chalcopyrite and pyrite. A grab sample assayed 296.2 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 14606).

5. About 750 metres northeast of the Knip prospect minor chalcopyrite occurs in an east trending quartz-epidote-calcite vein (Assessment Report 14606).

6. Approximately 1500 metres northeast of the prospect, on the KL claims?, a prominent quartz-sericite-chlorite-pyrite-clay alteration zone is exposed on the east side of Knipple Glacier. Sampling yielded negligible results (Assessment Report 14606; Open File 1988-4).

In 1980, mineralization at the Knip occurrence was discovered during prospecting by Can-Lake Explorations Ltd. In 1980-81, Can-Lake and E & B Explorations Ltd. conducted prospecting and sampling; the occurrence was deemed uneconomic. During 1983-85, Teuton Resources Corp. optioned the property and conducted sampling, trenching and a heli-borne geophysical survey. There was no geophysical response over the mineralization. In 1987, Crystal Cove Resources Ltd. (later renamed Pennilane Development Corp.) collected 10.1 tonnes from four different sites: 9.65 tonnes from trench 1987-2, 136 kilograms from each of trenches 1987-3 and 1987-4, and 181 kilograms from trench 1987-1. Trench 1987-2 was channel sampled at depths of 0.46, 0.61 and 0.91 metre during excavation. In 1988, Pennilane drilled four holes from two setups to test the vein system; the results were disappointing.

To the northeast of the Knip claims, Noranda staked the KL 1-3 claims in 1988 and the Treaty 12 was acquired in 1990. Geological and geochemical surveys were completed in 1990. The work was attempting to locate the source of high grade float boulders. In 1991, Noranda drilled six holes and conducted a geochemical survey on the property; this program was unsuccessful. In 1991, prospecting failed to locate the source of the boulders. In 1996-97, Alpine Exploration Corporation and Westpine Metals Ltd. conducted a magnetometer, MaxMin horizontal loop and Genie (SE-88) electromagnetic surveys, and geological prospecting survey on the Ringer 1 and 2 claim group previously claimed as the KL 3 and Treaty 12 claims.

In 1990, geochemical surveys were completed on the Treaty 13-15 and 9-11 claims which occur to the north and northwest of the Knip claim. The results were generally poor except in the northwestern portion of the Treaty 11 claim where several samples were anomalous in mercury, arsenic and antimony.

In 1992, the Knip occurrence area was staked for Newhawk Gold Mines Ltd. and Granduc Mines and a subsequent work program comprised detailed mapping and the collection of 47 rock chip samples, 8 silt and 95 soil samples for geochemical analysis.

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

In 2015, Pretium 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).

Pipe Dream (PD05) and Cone DCIP lines and MT sites occur directly on or near the Knip prospect and area.

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).

In 2018, Beyond the Brucejack mine area, Pretium continued to evaluate their contiguous surrounding 1250 square kilometre mineral claims. The company completed 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 ASS RPT 9555, 13403, *14606, 16634, *17694, 17897, 19550, 19997, 20074, 20256
20543, 20545, 20546, 20556, 22074, 22832, 25058, 25565, *36793, *36790, 37435, 37443
EMPR BULL 63
EMPR EXPL 1984-386; 1988-A15,A32
EMPR FIELDWORK 1990, pp. 235-242
EMPR MAP 8
EMPR OF 1987-22; 1988-4; 1991-21; 1994-14
EMPR PF (*Pennilane Development Corp., Prospectus, July, 1988)
GSC MAP 9-1957; 1418A
GSC OF 2582; 2779
PR REL Pretium Resoucres Inc. Dec.5, 2017; Dec.6, 2018; Jun.9, Sep.16, 2019

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