The Meteor occurrence is located on the upper southeast slope of Haskins Mountain, north of McDame Creek and approximately 2.7 kilometres west-northwest of the north end of Hot Lake.
Regionally, the area is underlain by quartzite and quartz arenite sedimentary rocks of the Boya Formation and limestone, marble and calcareous sedimentary rocks of the Rosella Formation, both of the Lower Cambrian Atan Group, and limestone, slate, siltstone and argillite of the Cambrian to Ordovician Kechika Group. The sedimentary units have been intruded by granites of the Eocene Mount Reed stock.
The occurrence area is underlain by a northwest-trending belt of Lower Cambrian Atan Group limestone and argillite, in an area intruded by the Eocene Major Hart pluton granite stock.
The Meteor zone consists of massive to semi-massive sulphide limy skarns with few calc-silicate–altered skarns hosting some lesser amounts of mineralization. The highest-grade mineralization is hosted in magnetite-sphalerite limy skarns with pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, and minor galena.
By the end of 2011, the Meteor zone had been traced on strike for greater than 555 metres. The estimated widths of the zone vary from 4 to 16 metres and it is offset by several faults. The zone is open both along strike to the north and south and downdip. It is centred above a magnetic anomaly interpreted to be an intrusive body, is coincident with a strong VLF electromagnetic anomaly and is along strike from a multi-element geochemical anomaly 2 kilometres to the southeast.
Work History
The area was first staked in part by Yukon Ranges Prospecting Syndicate in the spring of 1948 and the following year a program of geological mapping, sampling and trenching was performed. The property had been staked originally approximately 40 years before this and was the centre of a promotion that collapsed with the death of the promoter, Haskins.
In 1973, a program of geological mapping and geochemical (silt and soil) sampling was completed on the area immediately west of the occurrence as the New Rich 1-2 claims.
In 1994, the area was prospected and sampled by Daniel W. Brett and the Debby claims. In 1996, Daniel W. Brett completed a program of geological mapping and rock sampling on the area as the Reed property. In 1997, Demand Gold Ltd. completed a program of geochemical (rock and soil) sampling, minor trenching and a 9.0 line-kilometre ground magnetic survey on the area as the Reed property. Also at this time, the area was prospected by Barry Ernewein as the Chi 1 and Geo 1 claims.
In 2006, the area was prospected and sampled by G. Diakow and J. Hope as the Haskin claim. In 2008, Pacific Bay Minerals Ltd. completed a 917.0 line-kilometre airborne magnetic and electromagnetic survey on the area as the Haskin-Reed property.
In 2009, Pacific Bay Minerals conducted reconnaissance prospecting and grid construction to provide control for subsequent geochemical sampling. The Della B grid was established above the treeline using pickets creating a 400-metre-long by 450-metre-wide grid (Assessment Report 31584). The target area was within old Crown-granted claims L330 (Meteor Flag) and L303 (Union Jack). An exposed, massive sulphide replacement–style mineralization was the target for trenching and rock geochemical sampling. A total of 70 metres of trenching was performed over three different trenches. A total of 38 soil and 25 rock samples were collected. During this program the old Canadian Superior drillcore collected from 1979 to 1981 to check for missed molybdenum mineralization in the unsplit sections of core. It was found that there were large sections of unsplit core containing moderate to strong molybdenum mineralization along fractures within the quartz-feldspar porphyry.
In 2010, excavator trenching, mapping and sampling identified near-surface, oxidized sulphide mineralization averaging 15 metres in width along a 300-metre northwest strike length. Chip samples collected from one trench (trench 4) returned values of 0.292 gram per tonne gold, 57.11 gram per tonne silver, 1.21 per cent lead and 3.67 per cent zinc across 24.70 metres (Press Release, Pacific Bay Minerals Ltd., April 20, 2011). The Meteor zone later yielded 17.5 metres of 88.35 grams per tonne silver, 3.39 per cent zinc and 1.11 per cent lead (Press Release, Pacific Bay Minerals Ltd., October 26. 2011).
In 2011, a 214-metre, 15-trench program focused on the Meteor zone of Pacific Bay Minerals Ltd. In 2014, the Haskins Reed property contained the Meteor (L330) zone. The property also contained the following occurrences: Joe Reed (MINFILE 104P 021), B Zone (Della ; MINFILE 104P 038), Luna (MEE; MINFILE 104P 039), Mount Reed (Dome; MINFILE 104P 043), Cobra (Tibor; MINFILE 104P 058), Brett (MINFILE 104P 136), Dako (MINFILE 104P 139) and C Zone (Lot 303; MINFILE 104P 138).
In 2019, Pacific Bay Minerals Ltd. released assay results from a seven-hole, 448.2-metre diamond drill program on the Haskins-Reed property that tested targets near the Meteor zone (Press Release January 25, 2019).
See Della B (B Zone; MINFILE 104P 038) and C Zone (L303) as well as other Haskins Reed property occurrences for further historical and geological information.
