The Paul-Mike claim group is located in the Rocky Mountain Trench, at the foot of the west-facing slope of the Hughes Range. The staking of the claims was based on a geological model which postulated that Sullivan-style lead-zinc-silver mineralization (082FNE052) could exist at depth in the area.
The Paul-Mike property is believed to be underlain by clastic rocks of the Helikian Purcell Supergroup (Fort Steele and Aldridge formations) but are extensively covered by overburden which covers the position of the Rocky Mountain Trench fault. The Fort Steele Formation crops out on the west edge of the property and has moderate westerly dips towards the centre of the claims. Here, the Fort Steele Formation represents the upper limb of a recumbent fold whose axial plane strikes north-northwest and dips west. If the projection of the Rocky Mountain Trench fault passes through the property it would transect and displace the upper limb of the recumbent fold. Because the direction and magnitude of movement on the fault is unknown, it is difficult to predict which formation underlies the overburden on the west half of the claims area.
Diamond drilling in 1991 intersected quartzites and siltstones similar to Fort Steele Formation units but with some intervals similar to Aldridge Formation. Chloritic alteration, minor pyrite, and very minor chalcopyrite were noted in the core.
WORK HISTORY
The Paul and Mike claims were staked in 1981 to1983 to cover the area of a possible fault extension of the Sullivan lead-zinc deposit. In 1981 and heavy mineral reconnaissance samples of glacial drift were collected and analysed on behalf of C. Fipke (Assessment Report 10289).
In 1982, an airborne electromagnetic, resistivity, and magnetic survey was completed on behalf of Dia Met Minerals Ltd. (Assessment Report 10289). This survey outlined a resistivity anomaly on the eastern edge of the claims and a weak EM conductor in the southeast. The western portion of the claims were characterized by low resistivity (high conductivity). The magnetics revealed a northerly trending anomaly along the eastern edge of the claim block, roughly following the boundary between the resistive and conductive zone. A heavy mineral in till geochemical survey was conducted roughly concurrent with the Dighem geophysics, revealing several significant lead, zinc, and copper anomalies.
In 1984, an induced polarization survey and heavy mineral geochemical sampling were completed on behalf of Dia Met Minerals Ltd. (Assessment Report 13689). The induced polarization survey outlined two anomalous zones which coincided with several of the till anomalies.
In 1985, Bearcat Exploration Ltd. optioned the property from Dia Met Minerals Ltd. and drilled three rotary holes totalling 546 metres, and heavy mineral concentrates were prepared from several till samples obtained from 3 metre intervals. Several samples contained appreciable lead and silver concentration (Assessment Report 14835).
In 1987 and 1988, Dia Met Minerals Ltd. drilled three deep holes through overburden to reach bedrock in preparation for diamond core drilling (PFD 842117). Two of these holes were successfully cased to bedrock while a third was drilled to bedrock but subsequently lost due to technical problems. During this phase of the work on the property, one of the earlier rotary holes was deepened but technical difficulties prevented getting to bedrock. Till samples were again taken for heavy mineral separation. Peculiar lead nodules, consisting of almost pure metallic lead were found in several till samples in two of the drill holes. Analysis of the concentrates revealed up to 3.66 per cent lead from drill hole W-85-3 (2 kilometres to the south of the 1987-1988 drilling) (PFD 842117 and Assessment Reports 14835 and 25631).
In 1991, Dia Met Minerals re-entered the 2 cased holes with a diamond-drill core rig; bedrock was successfully recovered. The 54.9 metres of core recovered quartzites and siltstones attributed to the Fort Steele Formation (Assessment Report 22258).
In 1997, Dia Met collected over 1200 soils samples from the base of the "H" horizon on 500 metre lines and 30-metre stations (Assessment Report 25631). Geophysical work consisted of Induced Polarization, Resistivity, Self-Potential and limited Borehole-EM surveys over an east-west oriented grid of fourteen lines totalling approximately 43-line kilometers. Lines were generally spaced 400 meters apart.
In 1998/1999, Dia Met Minerals drilled PM98-1 (3 kilometres to the south of the 1987-1988 drilling) to a depth of 1529.6 metres with the first 613 being in overburden. Representative grab samples of core were collected between 616 and 817.5 metres; continuous core sampling was conducted from 1019 metres to 1433 metres and sludge samples of the drill cuttings were collected from 1280 metres to the end of the hole. A suite of eleven ‘grab’ samples were taken in the upper part of the hole between 616 and 817.5 metres as a check for possible anomalous metals. The continuous core sampling was taken over 3 metre intervals continuously from 1019 to 1433 metres. A high number of these samples were strongly anomalous, with maximum values being 0.11 per cent lead (AA method), 0.33 per cent zinc (AA method), and 0.032 per cent copper (ICP method) (Assessment Report 25938).
