The Surp 5 South occurrence is located along the Jagiello Glacier, west of Surprise Creek, about 32 kilometres northeast of Stewart.
Hostrocks in the area consist of a belt of northerly trending, reddish to maroon andesitic volcaniclastic and volcanic rocks of the Jurassic Betty Creek Formation (Hazelton Group); included in this sequence are crystal lithic tuffs, tuff breccia, coarse lapilli tuffs and thin beds of ash and fine lapilli tuff. Extensive and pervasive carbonate alteration is very common in the maroon pyroclastics and flows.
A large alteration zone about 200 metres wide trends across the Surp 5 South occurrence area. This zone consists of strong sericite alteration with quartz stockworks. Massive pyrite lenses locally are mineralized with appreciable quantities of galena and sphalerite. These lenses are conformable with schistosity and are up to 0.5 metre in width.
In 2007, a drillhole (SP07-3) intersected a variety of volcanic rocks which include tuffs, lapilli tuffs, flows, epiclastic breccia and subvolcanic intrusions ranging in composition from felsic to intermediate. Overall, the rocks display pervasive K-feldspar alteration and possibly also silicification ranging in intensity from weak to very strong. No significant amount of sulphides was noted in the hole but in a few places up to 2 per cent pyrite with trace galena was spotted along with quartz, carbonate and jasper which form veins, replacements and breccia cement. A total of seven samples were collected from the hole; the best assay came from quartz replacement with 1-2 per cent pyrite and minor galena and yielded 75.7 grams per tonne silver, 0.069 per cent copper, 1.09 per cent lead and 0.22 per cent zinc over 1.07 metres (Assessment Report 29446).
In 1994, a chip sample (KK-529) across 0.8 metre of silicified andesite tuff with pyrite and sphalerite veinlets, 1-3 millimetres wide, analyzed 0.35 per cent lead, 2.81 per cent zinc and 4.0 grams per tonne silver. The zone is about 5-6 metres wide in an intense purple-red-yellow gossan (Assessment Report 23935).
WORK HISTORY
In the 1970s and 1980s, the area underwent prospecting and some trenching was conducted but there are no records for the work done. In 1989, the Surp claims were acquired by Teuton Resources Corp. The following year, Teuton Resources conducted soil, silt and rock sampling.
In 1994 and 1996, Teuton Resources conducted an exploration program consisting of reconnaissance geochemical rock and silt sampling in conjunction with prospecting and reconnaissance geological mapping.
In 2003, Pinnacle Mines Ltd. collected a total of 78 rock samples from outcrop and float as well as 23 silt samples during an exploration program.
In 2004, Pinnacle Mines continued reconnaissance geochemical rock and silt sampling of the property. A total of 220 rock samples both from outcrop and float as well as 19 silt samples were collected during the exploration program.
In 2005, Pinnacle Mines continued exploration on the Surprise Creek property and collected a total of 279 rock and 8 silt samples. Samples A05-242 to 248 represent some very significant values in silver, lead and zinc (Assessment Report 27981).
In 2006, Pinnacle Mines focused on the area immediately west of Short, Long, Grunwald, Jagiello, Ataman and Sarmatia glaciers. This area features a very intense zone of pervasive K-feldspar alteration which stretches out for at least 10 kilometres in the north-south and 4-5 kilometres in the east-west direction. The extent of this alteration zone was determined by K-feldspar staining of a few dozen samples collected from the area. A total of 58 rock samples were collected during the 2006 exploration program.
In 2007, an exploration program by Pinnacle Mines consisted of four diamond-drill holes totalling 1995 metres of NQ core.
In 2016, Mountain Boy Minerals collected 8 rock samples in the rock exposed area of the Surp 5 South showing. One sample was float, one was subcrop and 6 samples were from outcrop. Only the float sample was of significance, yielding 0.3 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 36401).
Refer to Ataman (104A 179) for further details of the work history on the Surprise Creek property.
