The QC property is located in the area of the Klastline Plateau about 19 kilometres southwest of the the town of Iskut. The QC occurrence was first staked in 1964 by Conwest Exploration Company Limited (as the QC claims) and some work may have occurred. They followed this up in 1965 with a geophysical survey (IP and mag.) and in 1969 with additional geochemical surveys and a ground magnetometer survey. The property was optioned by Amoco Canada Petroleum Company Limited in 1970 and they drilled 1949 metres in 9 diamond drill holes. Texas Gulf restaked the property in late 1976 as the King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine claims and followed up in 1977 with a rock sampling progam. By 1980, these claims had lapsed and Teck Explorations Limited restaked some of the ground as the Boot claims. A small prospecting program was conducted and a few rock (12) and silt (2) samples were taken. Teck's Boot claims lapsed later-on but Teck returned to the prospect in 1988 and staked the QC 1 to 15 claims. Teck conducted a regional geochemical survey program, collecting 187 rock, 34 silt and 1079 soil samples; 287 metres of trenching was also completed. However, although the QC 1 to 15 claims covered the Porphyry zone, Teck's work centred on the newly discovered polymetallic Vein zone (see QC - Vein zone (104G 160)) to the northwest. In 1990, Triumph Resources Ltd. optioned the QC claims from Teck and conducted some rock and soil sampling surveys over the Porphyry zone and Veins zone. Triumph re-optioned the property to Dryden Resources and late in 1990 they conducted more geochemical surveys and drilled 377 metres in 2 diamond drill holes on the Porphyry zone. In 1991, Dryden further tested the Porphyry zone, the Vein zone and areas previously untested. A total of 711.5 metres were drilled in 5 holes, 15.4 kilometres of magnetometer and induced polarization surveys were completed and 10 metres of trenching was done. At the same time, 333 rock and 1307 soil samples were collected. In 1992, Dryden collected 85 rock and 31 soil samples and excavated 5 trenches totalling 35 metres. To date (September 1998), no further work has been submitted for assessment on the QC property.
The QC porphyry prospect is underlain by Upper Triassic rocks of the Stuhini Group (Open File 1997-3). Property reports describe the rocks as green to grey altered tuffs of intermediate (andesitic) to felsic composition that contain minor interlayered argillite. Several irregular dyke to sill to plug-like bodies of fine to medium-grained hornblende (plus/minus biotite) diorite intruded the strata in the Early Jurassic.
Porphyry copper mineralization is generally restricted to the dioritic intrusions and to altered volcanics within 30 metres of the diorite-volcanic contact.
The zone of known porphyry alteration and mineralization extends in west-southwest direction from the area of the QC's HBA and Cliff zones to the Al property (104G 044) at the western end. This alteration consist of a propylitic zone about 4 kilometres long by 0.8 kilometres wide. Alteration intensity, including the presence of weak quartz veining, minor clay replacement of feldspar and minor potassium feldspar flooding increases with proximity to the diorite contact.
The style of mineralization is consistent throughout this zone with pyrite and chalcopyrite as the sole sulphides. Pyrite content ranges from 2-10 per cent, chalcoyrite from 0-1 per cent. Pyrite occurs with chalcopyrite as well as in a chalcopyrite-absent halo that extends up to 200 metres away from the copper mineralization. There is an apparent lack of gold accompaniment with the copper. Gold values appear to be associated with narrow dicontinuous quartz veins that occur randomly throughout the area. Chalcopyrite and pyrite with the Porphyry zone occurs as fine disseminations, fracture coatings and with quartz veins (less than 5 centimetres in width). Chalcopyrite is the main copper mineral but minor bornite, azurite and malachite also occur.
A 36-metre wide chip sample yielded 0.249 per cent copper and 0.076 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 21903, page 14).
