The QC property is located in the area of the Klastline Plateau about 19 kilometres southwest of the town of Iskut. The QC - Vein zone was discovered in the late 1980s by Teck Exploration and was developed along with the QC claim's Porphry zone (104G 033) to the south. Please refer that occurrence for more work history details. Two small gold-bearing showings (A3 and A4) were located at or near this locale and sampled by members of the B.C. Geological Survey Branch during a mapping program in 1996 (Fieldwork 1996, page 283).
The QC - Vein (Gordon) zone occurs in an area underlain by both Upper Triassic Stuhini Group sediments and Lower Jurassic Hazelton Group andesitic breccias and conglomerates (Open File 1997-03). An east-trending elongate intrusive body, varying from hornblende quartz diorite to monzodiorite and monzonite, intruded the showing area in the Early Jurassic. Property geology maps show the Vein zone to occur in lapilli tuff, tuff, wacke and siltstone (Assessment Report 21903, Map 9).
Vein type mineralization occurs throughout the area and is thought to postdate the porphyry mineralization (104G 033) on the QC property to the south. The best area of vein mineralization is the Vein zone on the QC 1 and 9 claims. The gold-bearing zones are comprised of quartz plus/minus pyrite plus/minus, carbonate plus/minus arsenopyrite, plus/minus sphalerite, plus/minus chalcopyrite, plus/minus galena, plus/minus barite veins which tend to be narrow (less than 1 metre wide) and discontinuous. Most of these veins occupy brittle fractures and are associated with carbonate alteration. The veins are hosted by hornblende diorite and andesitic volcanic breccias of the Lower Jurassic Hazelton Group. Very veins few are associated with shear zones. Six vein systems comprise the QC Vein zone: Upper Gordon, Gordon's, Main, Top, Ankerite and Oz. The Upper Gordon showing has been traced for 75 metres along the creek and the Gordon showing may represent the same vein as at the Upper Gordon showing for a total observed strike of 150 metres.
The most prospective of the veins is the Uppper Gordon. This showing comprises several mineralized veins that are exposed in a series of trenches along a strike of 75 metres. These veins may be mineralized with pyrite, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite. Arsenopyrite is common but minor. A drill hole on this zone intersected 19.9 grams per tonne gold across 2.45 metres (Assessment Report 21903, page 17).
The A3 showing is described as a 3-metre wide malachite/azurite stained gossanous zone hosting pyrite and chalcopyrite. A sample assayed 0.56 per cent copper, 0.74 per cent zinc, 15.2 grams per tonne silver and 1.7 grams per tonne gold (Open File 1997-03, Table 1 (Sample A3, Field Number RMA96-759)).
The A4 showing is a 1-metre wide intensely ankerite-altered zone hosted in a dark green plagioclase porphyry intrusion. A sample from this zone yielded 4.8 per cent zinc, 0.12 per cent lead, 0.03 per cent copper, 1.7 per cent barium, 16.7 grams per tonne silver and 2.0 grams per tonne gold (Open File 1997-03, Table 1 (Sample A4, Field Number RMA96-757)).
Veins are typically 0.05 to 0.5 metres wide with some one metre widths developed in areas of multiple, subparallel veins and stacking in areas of offsets, to a maximum of about three metres. These blow-outs tend to be poddy with a maximum three metre width observed at the Gordon showing. Most of the veins occur within less than 1 metres wide iron carbonate alteration zones.
Several copper oxide zones with malachite on fractures (over a maximum seven metre width) in well fractured Hazelton andesite breccia were observed during the current program and sampled up to about 350 metres along trend to the northwest of the Oz and Gordon showings. One 15-centimetre copper-bearing vein zone (malachite, azurite, bornite, chalcocite) was found almost 200 metres to the northeast of the Oz showing. The fact that mineralization persists through the highly permeable andesite breccias and tuff breccias, further suggests the persistence of the vein structures, below.
A 200 metres by 400 metres, west-northwest trending diorite stock hosts the Top and Main showings (which also exhibit the strongest gold in soil anomaly) and gold in soil geochemical anomalies (up to 620 parts per billion gold from B horizon samples) are associated with another diorite 600 metres along strike to the southeast of the Gordon - Upper Gordon and #2-Oz showings. An initial half day examination of the area revealed intensely silicified and weak sericite altered diorite with pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite replacing the hornblende phenocrysts (suggestive of porphyry style mineralization). Another diorite body, not evaluated at present, occurs about 500 metres southeast along strike of the Top-Main showings. The diorite intrusions appear to be more prospective to host vein mineralization, providing a more competent host to mineralization.
A 050 degrees trending, 25 metres wide altered fault zone was sampled about 500 metres north of the Oz showing. Quartz veining and stockwork plus/minus dark grey patches, and plus/minus carbonate and cubic pyrite occur. Alteration consists of limonite, intense silicification, plus/minus weak sericite, plus/minus weak chlorite. This fault may intersect the Top and Main showings.
WORK HISTORY
In 1990, re-sampling of veins was completed by Triumph Resources Ltd occurred as well as hand trenching. Sampling returned 4.3 grams per tonne gold over 1.5 metres from the Main vein and 90.7 grams per tonne gold over 1.0 metres from the Gordon-Upper Gordon vein (Brock, 1990).
In 1991 and 1992, Dryden Resource Corp conducted trenching, detailed geological mapping, soil and rock geochemical sampling and diamond drilling of two holes from one pad on the Upper Gordon showing (Assessment Report 21903). Drilling on the Upper Gordon intersected 19.9 grams per tonne gold, 202.3 grams per tonne silver, 3.08 per cent copper and 5.31 per cent zinc in hole 91-4 across a reported 2.45 metres true width (probably much narrower based on the azimuth drilled), and trenching returned 57.8 grams per tonne gold, 192.2 grams per tonne silver, 2.72 per cent copper and 15.65 per cent zinc over 0.6 metre, tracing the zone for 75 metres. The Oz showing was discovered 400 metres upstream of the Upper Gordon with values of 4.48 grams per tonne, 82.4 grams per tonne silver, 0.14 per cent copper and 16.4 per cent zinc over 0.4 metre.
In 1996, sampling by the B.C. Geological Survey (Fieldwork 1996) yielded 1.7 grams per tonne gold, 15.2 grams per tonne silver, 0.56 per cent copper and 0.74 per cent zinc from a three metre wide gossan at the western Upper Gordon showing in sample A3; and 2.0 grams per tonne gold, 16.7 grams per tonne silver, 1.7 per cent barium and 4.8 per cent zinc from an ankerite zone in andesite porphyry (sample A4), which may correspond to the #2 showing of Tupper (Assessment Report 22794).
In 2002, soil grid extension to the southeast and prospecting (39 rock and 171 soil samples) by Royal County Minerals resulted in the discovery of the Team showing below and downstream on Gordon Creek from the Main showing, yielding 15 grams per tonne gold, 197grams per tonne silver, 0.4 per cent copper, 2 per cent lead, 6.7 per cent zinc from subcrop in a talus slope (Assessment Report 27147).
In 2016, Skeena Resources Limited, collected grab samples for verification purposes as detailed chip samples had previously been collected (Assessment Report 36505). Skeena found that the veins are persistent, having been traced 600 metres to the southeast to Gordon South, but very narrow (10 to 20 centimetre) where exposed. Copper oxide zones with malachite on fractures (over a maximum seven metre width) in well fractured Hazelton andesite breccia occur up to 350 metres along trend to the northwest of the Oz and Gordon showings, suggesting possible persistence of the vein structures, below. Quartz veining and stockwork plus/minus dark grey patches, and plus/minus carbonate and cubic pyrite occur within a clay gouge zone. Alteration consists of limonite, intense silicification, plus/minus weak sericite, plus/minus weak chlorite. Maximum grab sample results from the gouge were 1.075 grams per tonne gold, 51 grams per tonne silver, with lead, zinc, arsenic and antimony. Soils returned 1.85 grams per tonne gold, 73.5 grams per tonne silver, with lead, zinc, arsenic and antimony. 2016 soil sampling has outlined a narrow 500 metres long gold-silver-arsenic-lead-zinc in soil anomaly associated with the mineralization that is open to the northeast. 1000 metres southeast of the Gordon veins, additional widely spaced soil sampling in 2016 is outlining a 500 by 800 metre area of anomalous gold-silver-arsenic-copper-lead-zinc in soils. The area was first identified by Teck through contour soil sampling in 1988 and was followed up with additional contour soil sampling in 2002 by Royal County Minerals.
