The Maude S. (L.1442) occurrence is located at the 1432.5 metres elevation at the head of Champion Creek some 22.5 kilometres north-northeast of Trail. The claims were Crown Granted and worked at the turn of the century and have subsequently been worked as a part of the Amazing Grace property.
Regionally, the area is underlain by granite and granodiorite of the Late to Middle Jurassic Nelson Intrusions and small areas of volcanic rocks of the Lower Jurassic Elise Formation (Rossland Group). Locally, hydrothermal fluids have been focussed along one or more major northwest-trending, moderately east-dipping faults, with leakage occurring along fractures in the hangingwall of the faults. Wide zones of alteration, brecciation and local quartz veining are common along the northwest- trending faults, which can be traced on strike for several kilometres. Alteration and mineralization is also concentrated along east-west or northeast- trending dilation zones between the northwest trending structures.
The historic Maude S showing consists of one or more narrow gold-bearing quartz veins, trending 350°/50° west and hosted within massive biotite-hornblende granodiorite. These veins are interpreted to represent leakage of fluids from the underlying northwest trending fault zone, along tight fractures in the hangingwall. Veins pinch and swell along strike, ranging from 15 to 35 centimetres in thickness, and have been explored by several historic adits.
The lower (southern) adit follows one particular narrow quartz vein on strike for approximately 100 metres. In the adit, the vein can be observed to locally splay into a weak stockwork zone which ranges up to several metres in width. There is no significant associated wall rock alteration associated with the vein. To the southeast, uphill from the lower adit, a historic trench exposes a 0.5 to 1 metre wide quartz-filled shear zone, trending 270°/90°. Within the shear zone, the host granodiorite is strongly altered to sericite. Several small bedrock exposures nearby, within coarse boulder talus, expose zones of sheeted and stockwork quartz veinlets. The zones of veining are associated with strong to intense sericite alteration and local silica flooding and are interpreted as representing a dilation zone resulting from movement along the northwest trending structures. Quartz veinlets within these zones commonly contain narrow bands of black pyrite, arsenopyrite and high grade gold values have been returned over widths of several meters (Assessment Report 31929).
Values were reported as 20 dollars per tonne in 1900 which is 33.4 grams per tonne based on 0.66 dollar per gram (Minister of Mines Annual Report 1900 page 846). In 2009, samples of the exposure returned up to 85.6 grams per tonne gold over a couple of metres (Assessment Report 31929). In 2011, hole AG-11-01 was drilled, intercepting a narrow quartz vein, which returned 454.4 grams per tonne gold and 85 grams per tonne silver over a 0.10 metre width (www.swiftres.com/projects/amazing).
In 2011, A drill hole (AG-11-01) on the Maud S. occurrence intersected a narrow quartz vein, from 10.19 to 10.29 metres down the hole, which returned 454.4 grams per tonne god and 85 grams per tonne silver over the 10 centimetre vein width (Dandy, L. (2018-05-25): Technical Report on the Cobalt Hill Property)
The Meister showing is located about 300 metres to the northeast of the Maude S adits. It encompasses a zone of sheeted quartz veinlets within strongly sericite altered intrusive has been explored by several historic trenches and test pits. A select grab sample of the showing returned 37.3 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 31929). 175 metres to the southwest, at the Marilyn showing, elevated gold values to 2.2 grams per tonne over 3.0 metres were returned from an area of minor quartz veining in a sericite with quartz and pyrite altered intrusive (Assessment Report 31929).
Work History
Exploration and development activity began on Champion Creek in 1896. The Maud S claim (Lot 1442) was Crown-granted to B.A. True, C.B. Etnier and David Crombie in 1897. By 1900 the property was comprised of five claims, the Maud S, Yellow Jacket, Touch-me-not, Standard, Eric, and Syracuse, held by The Onondaga Mining Company, of Breckenridge Colorado. About 157 metres of development work was carried out during the year and a 10 stamp-mill installed. No report is known on further activity. The adjacent Touch-me-not (Lot 5202) and Yellow Jacket (Lot 5203) fractional claims were Crown-granted to Louis Will in 1902.
The property was acquired in 1981 by Pearson, Gallagher Ltd., of Nelson. Bruce Doyle acquired claims in the area in 1995; these were optioned by Phelps Dodge Corporation of Canada in 1996. They carried out exploration, including soil geochemical sampling, mapping and prospecting on the south-central part of the property in 1997. Interest in the property was acquired by Eagle Plains Resources Ltd., the next year. Cassidy Gold optioned the property in September, 2000 and completed a small diamond (two hole) drill program. Five holes, totalling 607 metres, were drilled. Firestone ventures optioned the property in 2004 and in 2005 completed a program of prospecting, rock and soil sampling and geological mapping. In 2007 and 2008, Medallion Resources examined the property and completed a helicopter-borne mag-AeroTEM-radiometric survey and soil sampling. During 2009 through 2011, Cassidy Gold and Swift Minerals completed programs of prospecting, soil sampling, geological mapping, three diamond drill holes, totalling 147 metes, and 147 metres of trenching on the area. During 2012 through 2018, the area was prospected by B. Doyle. Later in 2018, Walcott Resources Ltd. completed a program of ground geophysical surveys on the area as the Cobalt Hill property.
