The Cat in the Hat showing is underlain by volcanic and sedimentary rocks tentatively correlated with the Lower Jurassic Unuk River Formation of the Hazelton Group. However, more recent compilations indicate a correlation with the Upper Triassic Stuhini Group. Host rocks consist of cherts, andesite agglomerates and andesite tuffs intruded by small syenite stocks.
The Cat in the Hat showing consists of a wide stockwork zone of quartz-pyrite- arsenopyrite veinlets and fracture fillings. Within this zone, mineralization was also noted as massive pods and cement in voids between rhyolite breccia fragments. The stockwork zone has veinlets that strike in two directions. One direction is flat lying, with veinlets generally 1 centimetre wide with coarse cube pyrite and minor patchy arsenopyrite. The second veinlet direction is at 310 degrees with shallow dips to the northeast. These veinlets vary from 1 to 10 centimetres in width and contain finer grained pyrite and locally massive arsenopyrite. The arsenopyrite is present as 2 to 4 per cent overall in the most fractured zone of the stockwork area. Locally in heavily mineralized sections, the arsenopyrite may represent 20 per cent of the narrow sulfide stringers. In addition to sulphides and quartz in the stockworks, pyrite and arsenopyrite occur as fine-grained mineralization along minute fractures. The largest, most intensely fractured zone is at least 15 metres wide within the more extensive stockwork area. Arsenopyrite has been noted in amounts up to 40 per cent as fracture filling in voids within fractured rhyolite. These pockets of arsenopyrite cemented fragments are generally sparse and usually are less than 1 metre in diameter. The stockwork zone is about 30 to 40 metres in length with overburden obscuring it to the south. It may be terminated or offset to the north by a north-south linear feature. Within the zone, arsenopyrite mineralization is obvious because of its distinct green weathering hue. The mineralized zone is apparent due to the dark red-brown weathered surface in comparison to the surrounding lighter red weathered surfaces.
The 1994 work program on the Orion 9-10 and Weasle claims resulted in the discovery of a gold-bearing quartz-pyrite-arsenopyrite stockwork zone from which a trench returned a value of 2.67 grams per tonne gold over 13 metres (Assessment Report 23885). Native sulphur was also reported.
The 2007 drill program was designed to test Cat-in-the-Hat showing, on the west side on a northerly trending nunatak. The most prominent rock unit exposed on the consists of felsic rocks thought to be of the Mt. Dilworth Formation, locally marked by a series of intense gossans rich in pyrite and other sulphides and which, in certain discrete zones, host anomalous gold-arsenic mineralization. The felsics are overlain by fine carbon-rich sediments of the Salmon River Formation and underlain by andesitic volcanogenic rocks. It is suspected that narrow zones of intense sericite alteration represented by the schists are along shear zones. Width of these schist zones is generally 2 to 3 metres.
WORK HISTORY
Due to the remote location and high alpine setting, work in the Orion property area has been relatively minor. In 1987 and 1988 the Hat claims of Jantri Resources, covering much the same ground as the later day Orion claims, saw limited prospecting, sampling (253 rock samples) and geological mapping (Assessment Report 16479, 19264). This work resulted in the discovery of a stockwork zone about 30 by 13 metres in dimension, within which the best vein ran 31.37 grams per tonne gold over 1.6 metres (the showing was named the "No. 13" (MINFILE, (Tribe 104B 201)) (Assessment Report 16479). In 1990, a helicopter-borne magnetic, electromagnetic and VLF-electromagnetic survey was conducted by Aerodat on behalf of Swift Minerals Ltd. and Jantri Resources Inc. This work identified a strong conductive zone with as many as six subparallel conductors on the HAT 8 claim along with six scattered weakly conductive zones elsewhere on the claim group. In 1991, Jantri conducted a program of mapping and prospecting on the Hat claims; a total of 15 rock, 16 soil and 10 stream sediment samples were collected at the time (Assessment Report 21978).
Almost all the Hat claims were subsequently allowed to expire.
In 1994, Teuton Resources Corp. acquired the key showings as the Orion 9-11 and Weasle claims. Prospecting, rock geochemical sampling and trenching were carried out on the property identifying several new mineral occurrences the most important of which was the Cat-in-the-Hat showing. Trenching of the latter returned an interval grading 2.54 grams per tonne and 1.36 per cent arsenic across 13 metres in an outcrop of brecciated rhyolite. Further to the south, small quartz carbonate veins were sampled carrying silver values up to 2434 grams per tonne (Assessment Report 23885).
In 1995, Teuton located the previously sampled “No. 13” showing described by Jantri Resources in the 1980s. The 1995 work indicated that the ‘No. 13” showing consists of 0.5-centimetre-wide massive arsenopyrite/pyrite veinlets associated with a quartz-calcite stockwork in sheared argillites. The aerial extent of the showing appears to be no more than 4 metres in diameter (Assessment Report 24397).
The 2006 work on the Orion, Big Gold and Eskay Rift properties was part of a larger, summer program involving exploration of several Teuton properties located in the Stewart region. A total of 57 rock samples were collected.
In 2007, Teuton Resources reported on the completion of 1 of 5 thin-walled BQ diamond-drill hole on the Cat-in-the-Hat showing which totalled 211 metres depth. A small rock geochemical reconnaissance survey was undertaken. The hole was said to have proved the continuity of anomalous gold-arsenic mineralization to depth in the 1994 Cat-in-the-Hat showing.
In 2016, prospecting was carried out the Tribe and Cat in the Hat area several areas of subtly gossanous tuff and biotite schist were discovered and sampled. The location and descriptions of these are given in Table of Assessment Report 36395). No elevated precious or base metal values were detected.
Also, in 2016, Simcoe Geoscience Limited was commissioned by Tudor Gold Corp to conduct a magnetotelluric ground survey on the Orion portion of their Mackie Property with focus on “The Cat in the Hat" showing. The survey was designed to give a subsurface understanding of the property near the Cat in the Hat showing and to try to verify the Kyba line. The other objective was to define any other property scale structure that could be defined in the absence of any other geophysical data that Simcoe could locate for that area. Two profiles were designed to be on the outcrop in a roughly northwet direction along the ridge. These profiles were expected to define any structure trending in a roughly east-west direction and covered the ridge and outcrop as reasonably expected. Four other profiles were designed to be included with the stations taken on the ridge.
